What Is TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return)?

Trap-Neuter-Return is the only humane and effective strategy for reducing community cat populations. TNR involves humanely trapping feral/stray cats living in cities, towns and rural areas and transporting them to a veterinary clinic where they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies, medically treated, ear tipped for identification, microchipped, and returned back to their outdoor location where they were found to live out their lives. Friendly social cats and kittens are adopted into homes.

Trap-Neuter-Return has been proven to be the best and only solution for minimizing the feral cat population. This method has been practiced in the United Kingdom for decades and now in the USA.  A female cat can get pregnant as young as 3-4 months of age, having a litter when they are 5-6 months old. Each litter can contain anywhere from 3-6 kittens. Although, most kittens will not survive their first year of life outside due to disease, weather conditions, etc.  the numbers are still staggering if you do the math.

The old approach to try to control free-roaming cats was “Catch And Kill”. This method is not only cruel and heartless, but it is also expensive and it does not work. Scientific research has shown it does not keep cats out of the area due to the “vacuum effect”.  Each time cats were removed, the population would rebound, causing an endless cycle of trapping and killing. Trap-Neuter-Return however, stabilizes the feral cat population, is healthier for the cats, and is the least cost to the public. This method is now being recognized and implemented nationally.

What are the benefits of TNR?

Feral cats minimize rodent problems. While cats do not hunt rats and mice into extinction, they do keep their populations down and discourage new rodents from moving into the area. Feral cats fill in a gap in the current ecosystem. This is a natural way of rodent control costing less to the taxpayer.

Nuisance behaviors such as spraying, excessive noisemaking and fighting are eliminated and no additional kittens are born.

It is more cost effective than repeated attempts at eradication, by decreasing the number of euthanasia at local shelters, which is a substantial savings to the taxpayer.

Stabilizes the population of community cats and over time reduces them.

Helps end the suffering of unwanted, homeless cats.