Trap, Neuter, Return

Is your neighborhood over-run with feral (wild) cats? How about unwanted and stray pets that were “dumped”? Abandoning cats (or any animal) is illegal! Have you noticed the never-ending cycle of unwanted kittens? If fighting, yowling and spraying behaviors are causing a problem for you, TNR is the answer!

TNR, or trap-neuter-return, is a humane, simple and effective approach to managing feral and stray cat populations. Eventually this leads to a decrease in feral and unwanted cats in the area. Sterilization also helps keep the cats calmer, healthier and leads to fewer aggressive and unwanted behaviors like fighting and spraying.

Although originally started around 1980, TNR didn’t get much traction until the early part of the 21st century. In the past ten years, TNR has become a byword for managing community cats, rather than removing “unwanted cats.” TNR is best utilized for feral (community) cats and unsocialized strays in order to prevent uncontrolled breeding. We know that community cats are not social and cannot be "turned" into house cats. These cats are truly wild and placing them in a shelter or private home causes them a great deal of distress.

Male cats that are neutered tend to roam less often; female cats that are spayed don’t have litter after litter of kittens. This helps them maintain their own health, as well, making them less likely to be preyed upon by large predators because they are healthy enough to defend themselves.