Saving the lives of helpless kittens is not the only way to help felines in your community. Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) is a name for community-based programs that spay and neuter free-roaming cats. This helps to keep the unhoused cat population under control, thereby reducing the amount of suffering and disease. Continue reading to learn why TNR is an essential component of the rescue cycle and how you can help!

What is TNR?

TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, Return. It is a program for community cats who would not be best served in a home with humans. In this program, free-roaming cats are humanely trapped and taken to a clinic for a spay or neuter surgery, along with some vaccinations and an ear-tip. Once they have recovered from surgery, the cats are returned to the place where they were found.

Some say the “R” stands for “release,” but this implies that the cat can be simply released into the outdoors after they have recovered from surgery. Instead, it’s important that the cat is returned to the place where they were trapped. 

There are TNR programs in many communities around the United States. Unfortunately, however, not every community has direct access to a TNR program. Visit FixFinder, a project of Community Cats United, Inc., to find a spay and neuter clinic near you that can assist with TNR.

Why TNR is Important

TNR saves lives

The bottom line is that TNR saves lives. It prevents litters of kittens from being born that shelters and foster homes do not have the space for, thus preventing euthanasia. It prevents undersocialized, or feral, cats from being placed into shelters that will likely euthanize them due to their behavior. It prevents free-roaming community cats from being injured due to mating fights and from and being subject to diseases such as rabies and feline leukemia. 

TNR keeps cats out of shelters

TNR offers an alternative to trying to force every cat to live with humans as the only way to help them. Some people trap community cats with feral behavior and take them to a shelter, assuming that the cat will be able to be adopted. The reality is that the majority of these cats are euthanized because they are not comfortable interacting with humans. Instead, by TNR-ing the cat, they’ll be seen in the community with an ear-tip. 

An ear-tip is the surgical removal of the tip of a cat’s ear. This is done while the cat is already undergoing sterilization surgery. Different communities prefer to remove from the right or the left ear. Either way, the sight of an ear-tipped cat signals to community members that they can leave the cat alone. When you see an ear-tip, you will know that the cat has been sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to exactly where they want to live. 

TNR lowers the number of kittens born outside each year

When kittens are born outside, many of them are subject to suffering due to exposure to the elements, predators, and diseases. They are in desperate need of foster homes. Unfortunately, there are not enough spaces in shelters and nowhere near enough foster homes to help the large number of kittens being born each year. 

Just one intact female cat can create up to 32 kittens in one year (Roice-Hurst Humane Society). TNR-ing one female cat reduces the number of kittens in need of homes and the number of kittens who will suffer and die outside due to being orphaned, injured, infected, and without loving homes.

TNR benefits both human and cat communities

By sterilizing the cats in the local colony, disruptive cat behavior, sounds, and levels of aggression that occurred when the cats were mating will decrease. This not only makes for a more peaceful residential living space, but it increases cats’ health and decreases their stress levels. 

TNR’d cats are calmer because they have more stable hormone levels. Females are no longer going into heat, and males are no longer fighting for the ability to mate with them. These cats not only have a more peaceful existence, but they are also less likely to become ill with serious diseases thanks to their vaccinated status. 

How You Can Help with TNR in Your Community

• Search online for local TNR programs. See what educational resources they offer, and sign up to volunteer at their next TNR site. 

• Donate to the efforts of a local TNR program.

• If there’s a community cat (or 20) in someone’s neighborhood, point them in the direction of a TNR program. 

• If you foster kittens, always make sure that you trap the parents! 

• If you foster for an organization, ask a staff member if they have TNR’d the kitten’s parents. If they haven’t, ask them to share the location of where the kittens were found and either make a plan to do TNR yourself or find another program who can help you. 

• If you foster independently, please go back to where the kittens were found! If there are neighbors or care-givers around, have a conversation with them or leave a note.

Step-by-Step DIY TNR

Step 1: Gather your supplies:

• Cat food
• Smelly, fishy canned food like tuna or sardines
• A blanket or towel
• A plate or bowl for the food

Step 2: Buy or rent a humane trap from a shelter or a hardware store. 

Step 3: Get the cat into a feeding routine where they can trust that you’ll offer food outside at the same time every day. 

Step 4: Consider trap-training the cat by gradually moving the food closer to the open (NOT SET) trap each day until the cat will eat comfortably while inside the trap. 

Step 5: Connect with a local clinic or vet to schedule a sterilization surgery. Make sure you’re prepared to trap the cat either the night before or the day of their appointment. Do not trap a cat before you’ve contacted a clinic!

Step 6: When you’ve set the appointment, it’s time to get ready to trap the cat. You can choose to skip feeding the day before surgery so the cat is really hungry on the day that the trap is set.

Step 7: It’s trapping day! Place the food all the way in the back of the trap, set the trap, and wait. Be sure to wait away from the trap while keeping eyes on it. 

Step 8: Once the cat is trapped, immediately cover the trap with a towel or blanket. This will calm them down and keep them from hurting themselves. 

Step 9: You can either leave the cat in the trap overnight in a secure, private room, or you can take them straight to their appointment if the timing works out. 

Step 10: Once the cat arrives at the clinic, the cat can be scanned for a microchip just in case. Once the cat has been surgically sterilized, ear-tipped, and vaccinated, you can pick them up from the clinic and return them back exactly where you found them. 

Bonus step: If you found one cat, it’s very likely there are more in the area. Maybe you’ve even seen them already. Continue trapping each cat until they’ve all been properly addressed. 

Thank you for considering helping the cats in your community, and for understanding that not every cat wants to live indoors. At the time of this post, there are no community cats in my area. However, I might go on my first trapping adventure soon, so I hope to be back with an update!

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References: Kitten Lady, FixFinder, and Roice-Hurst Humane Society

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