Which free tool fits you?
- You want to see how a colony may change: the cat colony population calculator projects the population with and without TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and how many sterilizations a year it takes to reach 80% per colony. Free, no sign-up. It is a projection, not a prediction.
- You want to keep your census with a template: the Free data template for community cat census and management (Excel) has one row per colony, per cat and per intervention, and an automatic summary of the sterilized cats and the percentage per colony. You get it after a short form, and it has no macros.
- You care for colonies on your own and want an app: the free account (“free user”) is for one person: colonies, map, cat census with photos, alerts and actions, and statistics, with no limit on cats or colonies and your data kept private.
- You work as a team: for the team of an association or rescue or of a local government, Meow Metrics adds roles, reports and work with volunteers. The cost is presented after a demo.
Data template, free account or a plan for teams?
| Data template | Free account | Association or local government | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A municipality, an association or your own colonies | One person | The association’s team or the municipal team |
| Collaborative management | No: it is a file | No: it is for one person | Yes: volunteers, trappers, veterinarians, municipal technicians, police and elected officials, all in the same place |
| Cat census | Yes, one row per cat | Yes, with photos | Yes, with photos |
| Colony map | No | Yes, private | Yes, private |
| Alerts and actions | You log the interventions | Yes | Yes |
| Team with roles | No | No | Yes |
| Reports and documents | An automatic summary | No | Yes, plus a monthly report by email |
| Cost | Free, after a short form | Free | Presented after a demo |
The main advantage of Meow Metrics over a data template or over the free account is collaborative management: when you work with us as an association or a local government, everyone involved in the management takes part in the same place, from volunteers and trappers to veterinarians, municipal technicians, the police and elected officials.
Are you a municipality? The management plan
The management plan is not a free tool: it is part of Meow Metrics for local governments. Meow Metrics prepares the draft community cat management plan for your municipality using its own data, without AI: editable, approvable, in Word and PDF. If you want to start measuring first, the calculator and the template are enough to begin.
Data template or app?
A data template is a good way to start, and it only counts what you record: it makes no projections and does not connect to Meow Metrics, so what you write stays in your file. An app like Meow Metrics adds the map of your colonies, alerts and actions and statistics, on your phone and on your computer.
If you later start working as a team, you do not have to start from scratch: you send us your census and we enter it, or we give you a template to fill in. The data structure of the template is almost the same as that of the Meow Metrics database (colonies, cats and interventions); the difference is that in Meow Metrics the work is collaborative.
What if you are an association, a rescue or a local government?
The free account is for one person: it does not include team or roles, reports and documents, routines and work logs, or the monthly report. To work as a team there is Meow Metrics for associations and for local governments, with grant and technical documents and reports and a monthly report by email; the cost is presented after a demo. If an association or a local government invites you to collaborate, you decide whether to accept the invitation.
Frequently asked questions
What free tools are there to keep track of a community cat colony as a volunteer caregiver?
The free data template (in Excel), to keep your census, and the free Meow Metrics account (“free user”), an app for one person, with their data kept private and no limit on cats or colonies, on your phone and on your computer.
Is there free software for rescues and nonprofits?
The free account is for one person and does not include team or roles, or reports and documents. A nonprofit or a rescue can start for free by keeping its census in the data template; to work as a team there is Meow Metrics for associations, whose cost is presented after a demo.
How does a free data template compare with a community cat management app?
The template only counts what you record and does not connect to Meow Metrics: it is a way to start. An app like Meow Metrics adds the map, alerts and actions and statistics and, in the plans for associations and local governments, collaborative management: when you work with us as an association or a local government, everyone involved in the management takes part in the same place, from volunteers and trappers to veterinarians, municipal technicians, the police and elected officials, with the team and its roles, reports and volunteers.
What free options are there for a nonprofit’s colony census?
The free data template, designed for a municipality or an association, with one row per colony, per cat and per intervention. If the nonprofit later moves to Meow Metrics, it sends us its census and we enter it, or we give it a template to fill in.
Is Meow Metrics free for volunteers and nonprofits?
For one person, yes: the free account has no cost. For the team of an association or a local government, the cost is presented after a demo.
Is there a free calculator to project how a cat colony may change?
Yes. The cat colony calculator projects how a colony may change with and without TNR, free and with no sign-up. It is a projection, not a prediction, and it assumes that the current care of the colonies continues.
