What is TNR?
TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Return, a humane approach designed to manage and reduce the population of free-roaming cats. The process includes evaluating cat colonies, using humane traps to capture them, providing ongoing care such as food, fresh water, and shelter, and ensuring that any new arrivals are promptly spayed or neutered.
Where Do These Cats Come From?
Domestic cats have been living alongside humans for thousands of years. They were originally brought to North America by Europeans for rodent control. Today, free-roaming cats are found everywhere, often the result of unspayed or unneutered pets who roam outdoors.
What is Ear Tipping?
Ear tipping involves a small portion (about a quarter-inch) being removed from a cat’s left ear while they are under anesthesia during spay/neuter surgery. This procedure marks the cat as one that has been humanely altered and vaccinated for rabies, helping to distinguish them from unaltered free-roaming cats.
Why Don’t You Remove All the Cats and Find Them Homes?
There are currently far more free-roaming cats and kittens than shelters and rescue organizations can house, and there aren’t enough indoor homes for them. Additionally, as long as food sources such as garbage and dumpsters remain available, new cats from nearby colonies will keep moving in.
Why Should I Care About Fixing a Cat That Isn’t Mine?
The growing population of free-roaming cats affects everyone. Tax dollars fund animal control and sheltering services, and much of the workload involves handling free-roaming cats. By participating in TNR and reducing the number of unwanted cats, we can redirect those resources to other community needs. TNR also reduces nuisance behaviors like noise, property damage, and fighting, which often lead to neighborhood disputes and police involvement.
Why Not Relocate Cats?
Cats rely on familiarity with their surroundings to thrive—knowing where to find food, shelter, and how to avoid danger. Relocating them to an unfamiliar area is a difficult and often unsuccessful process. Moreover, even if the colony is moved, other cats will often move into the area. There are also fewer places to relocate cats than there are cats to relocate.
Why Not Just Round Up the Cats and Euthanize Them?
While this may seem like a solution, studies have shown that simply trapping and killing cats doesn’t solve the problem. Cats breed much faster than they can be eradicated, and new cats from nearby areas will quickly take over the space. This method is costly, ineffective, and not widely supported by communities.
Do Cats Kill Wildlife?
While some free-roaming cats may kill wildlife, their primary reason for doing so is survival, particularly when regular food sources are scarce. It's important to note that cats generally pose a smaller threat to wildlife than humans do. Reducing the number of free-roaming cats through TNR can help alleviate this impact.
Should I Be Concerned About Rabies from Free-Roaming Cats?
The risk of contracting rabies from a cat is extremely low. According to the CDC, more than 90% of rabies cases in the U.S. occur in wildlife, particularly raccoons. Rabies vaccination is a key part of the TNR process, so by managing free-roaming cats, we also increase rabies vaccination rates, further reducing any risk to humans.
Isn’t It Better to Euthanize Free-Roaming Cats?
While life for a free-roaming cat can be tough, it is possible for these cats to live long, healthy lives if they are spayed or neutered and provided with food, water, and shelter. Studies have shown that humanely managed free-roaming cats can live as long as those kept indoors, and TNR prevents the birth of unwanted kittens who would otherwise have a much shorter lifespan.
Why Neuter Male Cats?
Male cats contribute significantly to the overpopulation problem. A single male can father many kittens, as females become fertile as early as five months old. In addition to their role in reproduction, unaltered males exhibit nuisance behaviors like territorial marking and fighting, which can cause problems in neighborhoods.
At What Age Can Free-Roaming Cats Be Altered?
Kittens as young as three months old (and around three pounds in weight) can safely undergo spay/neuter surgery and receive a rabies vaccine. Early alteration helps prevent reproductive health issues and allows cats to live healthier lives.
Is It Safe to Spay a Pregnant, In-Heat, or Lactating Cat?
Spaying a female cat who is pregnant, in heat, or nursing is completely safe. While ending a pregnancy may seem harsh, it's far kinder than allowing kittens to be born into an environment where they are likely to suffer or die young. Many kittens born in such circumstances are never given a chance to thrive, and spaying helps prevent this cycle.
How Many Litters Do Free-Roaming Cats Have Each Year?
On average, a female cat can have two litters of three or more kittens each year. Some cats may even have three litters, although this is less common due to the physical strain of pregnancy and raising young. Each year, this can lead to a rapid increase in the free-roaming cat population.