Local Resources in PDF

 TNR, which stands for trap-neuter-return, is a nonlethal strategy for reducing the number of community cats and improving the quality of life for cats, wildlife and people. (It’s sometimes referred to as trap-neuter-release, but trap-neuter-return is more accurate, since the cats are returned to the place where they were captured, their “home territory.”)

TNR is the fundamental component of community cat programs which are essential to effectively combating cat overpopulation and reducing the flow of cats and kittens into shelters.

Trap-neuter-return is a nonlethal strategy for managing community cat populations while improving the lives of outdoor cats. TNR involves:

• Humanely trapping  community cats
• Spaying or neutering them
• Vaccinating them against rabies and other diseases
• Surgically removing the tip of one ear (a “tipped" ear is the sign of a cat who has been spayed or neutered)
• Returning the cats to their home (the location where they were trapped)

 Spaying and neutering not only improves the welfare of individual cats, it can also solve many common complaints:

• The cats no longer reproduce. That means no more kittens to worry about and the family of outdoor cats won’t continue to grow.
• Behaviors associated with mating, such as yowling and fighting, are dramatically reduced.
• Neutered cats also roam less; they will stay closer to home and are less likely to be hit by cars.
• Foul odors are greatly reduced as well because neutered male cats, no longer producing testosterone, won’t have that distinctive tomcat smell to their urine.

If enough cats in a community are TNR’d, the population will stabilize and over time, will decline and eventually die out. Fewer cats means fewer complaints.