If you’ve not spent much time around cat rescue organizations, as I’m sure many of you have not, you may have never heard the phrase “Trap-Neuter-Return,” or TNR for short. Put simply, TNR is the trapping of a feral cat, having it spayed or neutered, and then returning it back to its outdoor home, where it can then live freely without the stress associated with mating and having litters of unwanted kittens. Simple, right?
The purpose of TNR is to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the overpopulation of feral cat communities and to give those feral cats an easier and healthier life. But TNR can be time-consuming and costly, and like everything else, is controversial.
How I TNR
I’d like to say that I started practicing TNR because I’m an animal welfare advocate, or because I saw a need and decided to do something about it, or even just because I needed a hobby. And while all of those things are true, that’s not why I actually started trapping cats. The truth is that I started practicing TNR out of necessity. Remember when I started feeding a few feral cats in my neighborhood? Well, it wasn’t long before one had kittens. Two kittens to be exact…and the writing was on the wall for many more. So I started reading up on how to fix the problem. The majority of the cats we were feeding at the time wouldn’t let us get close to them, and though they slowly started to warm up to us and became less afraid, there was no way we’d ever actually touch them, much less pick them up and put them in a carrier. The only way was to trap them. So I bought a trap and started reading up on how to use it.
The basics go something like this. Start feeding the targeted cat near, and eventually inside, the trap while it is not set. This familiarizes the cat with the trap and makes it seem less scary. This may take some time, so patience is key. Eventually, when the cat is used to going all the way into the trap to eat, you set the trap, place some yummy food in the back of trap (I’ve found that canned tuna or sardines work well), and BAM….the cat is trapped and ready to be transported to a veterinary clinic for sterilization. After the sterilization, you keep the cat in the trap and place it in a warm, safe place for 1-3 days, depending on the cat, for the cat to heal. Then, you release it where you caught it, and the cat lives a long, happy, and carefree life outdoors!
Once again, sounds simple, right? Well, for some cats, yes, it can be simple. Some overly oblivious cats just waltz right into the trap on the first try. I’ve had a few that did this. But most feral cats are not that clueless. Most are timid, weary, and scared and can take quite a bit of time to get used to the trap. That’s why it’s so important to be patient.
The Benefits of TNR
The benefits of TNR are obvious. For one, it reduces the number of unwanted kittens living outdoors. It also stops unwanted behavior from male cats, such spraying and fighting. Cats are territorial, so it may not eliminate fighting completely, but it severely limits it. In my experience, the neutered males that I care for do not fight at all. They’ll even eat together from the same bowl of food, something they would not do before being neutered. TNR also prevents injuries to female cats who may be injured during mating, and it eliminates the stress of going into heat, roaming, and mating altogether, not to mention the stress of being pregnant and giving birth. The female cats we care for tend to gain quite a bit of weight after being spayed, which is good for staying warm during the winter.
TNR also eliminates the needless suffering of kittens born in the wild. It is estimated that about 75% of all kittens born to feral mothers in the wild will die before reaching six months of age, either from predators or diseases. This is all very preventable.
TNR also provides an opportunity to vaccinate feral cats. In Arkansas, a rabies vaccine is required for all feral cats being sterilized, and other typical cat vaccines are available as well.
Finally, TNR reduces the number of unwanted cats and kittens that wind up in shelters. Feral cats are not adoptable (though they do make great barn cats, but that’s another post) so if they are caught or trapped by animal control agencies, they are euthanized. Sometimes feral kittens can be socialized and adopted, but due to the general overpopulation in shelters and a lack of resources or fosters who have time to work with these kittens, this isn’t always possible. The best way to prevent euthanizing feral cats is to reduce the number of cats born in the wild.
Why is TNR Controversial?
Despite its apparent benefits, TNR is not universally accepted. Some animal welfare organizations do not support the use of TNR as a method to control the feral cat population. Here are a few of their reasons:
The welfare of the cats.
Once the cats are spayed or neutered, they are returned to their outside home where some will face starvation, disease, injuries, or animal predation. While it’s true that some may die a harsh death, that’s something the cat would have faced anyway, and at least in the meantime it’s not reproducing other cats to face that same fate. This argument also overlooks the fact that some of us proponents of TNR (and maybe even most) continue to care for our colonies after sterilization. I provide shelter, daily food and water, and I monitor the cats for illness or injury. I don’t see every cat every day, though there are a few that do come to eat every day. Some I only see occasionally, but when they’re hungry or need shelter, they know where to come. Will some of the cats I’ve trapped suffer an untimely death? Probably, but I’ve made their lives as comfortable as I can in the meantime.
Is euthanizing feral cats more humane than TNR? In one circumstances, maybe, but in my opinion, not for the colony I care for. For feral cats, TNR or euthanasia are the only two options to stop them from reproducing. Neither is perfect, but sometimes we have to make the best choice we can in light of a bad situation.
The welfare of local wildlife.
So this is a big one, and it’s an issue I do care about. Cats are natural predators. They kill birds, reptiles, rodents, and other small animals, and in large numbers can wreak havoc on an ecosystem. Cats hunt and kill even when well-fed. It’s just part of their instincts. Personally, I welcome the free rodent control in our neighborhood, but I understand the concerns.
The fact is that the cats were here, outdoors, feral, and on their own before I ever even saw them. Now, at least they no longer reproduce. I didn’t cause the problem, and neither did any other proponents of TNR. People who allow their indoor cats to roam freely outside do contribute to the problem, but that wasn’t the case here with my neighborhood. Would it be better for the wildlife in my neighborhood to euthanize the cats as opposed to sterilize them? Probably, but that wasn’t an option for me, and it’s not an option for most. You won’t find many volunteers willing to trap cats in their spare time for the sole purpose of euthanasia. But you will find volunteers to trap and sterilize, and fewer kittens is always better than more.
There’s no good answer to this issue. But there are too many feral cats in the world for them all to be rounded up and euthanized, so this is not a problem that can be easily fixed. TNR, at least on a small scale, prevents the problem from getting worse.
Neighborhood complaints.
In rural areas, this may be less of a concern, but in more urban neighborhoods, there is bound to be at least one neighbor that doesn’t want free-roaming cats in their yard. This is understandable, as cats can dig in gardens, poop on lawns, walk on cars, and stalk bird feeders. Sterilizing the cats can stop many of the behaviors that most people complain about, such as vocalizations during mating and the foul-smelling spraying that intact males do to mark their territory. Also, most of a cat’s roaming has to do with finding a mate, and once the roaming stops, cats are less likely to be seen during daytime hours. But sterile cats still dig, poop, and stalk birds, so there’s no easy fix here.
I’ve found that explaining to neighbors what you are doing can go a long way. We feed the cats because you have to feed them in order to trap them. We spay and neuter them so that we don’t have a bigger cat problem than we already have. I provide ample places to poop in my yard so they are less likely to poop in the neighbor’s yard. Sometimes a simply conversation can smooth things over.
But again, I didn’t cause this problem. The cats were already here. If I feed the cats and provide shelter on my property, they are less likely to look for those things elsewhere. Again, at least now they are not reproducing. And native wild animals, like raccoons and armadillos, have done far more damage to my lawn and garden than a cat ever did.
Ineffectiveness.
Critics of TNR argue that it is simply ineffective in reducing the feral cat population, as despite a growing TNR effort across the country, the feral cat population has not declined. This is because, in large numbers, the cats can reproduce at a higher rate than they can be trapped.
It’s true that there are limited statistics, if any, showing that TNR alone is an effective method of reducing the number of community cats on a large scale. But on a small scale, such as in your own neighborhood, TNR is incredibly effective. Female cats can have three litters per year. Right now, I feed three females and two males consistently. If these cats were not spayed and neutered, they could be producing up to 9 litters per year. If two kittens from each litter survived, that’d be an additional 18 cats in one year. But instead of feeding 30 or more cats in two years’ time, I’ll only be feeding five (unless another one wanders up, and then it will be promptly spayed or neutered as well).
I don’t advocate for the use of TNR as the only method of reducing the feral cat population. Adoption is always best for socialized cats and kittens, and there are some instances in which euthanasia may be the more humane option. But we can all just do what we can do, and right now, I can spay or neuter the feral cats in my neighborhood, provide them with food and shelter, and get them vet care when they need it, so that’s what I’m going to do.
And I’ll continue to advocate for all pets to be spayed or neutered and for all inside cats to be kept inside and not allowed to roam freely outdoors, because that’s the only way we’ll drastically decrease the feral cat population in the future.
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