What
Is TNR?
Trap/neuter/return,
commonly referred to as "TNR," is the only method proven to be humane
and effective at controlling feral cat population growth. Using this
technique, all the feral cats in a colony are trapped, neutered and
then returned to their territory where caretakers provide them with
regular food and shelter. Young kittens who can still be socialized, as
well as friendly adults, are placed in foster care and eventually
adopted out to good homes.
TNR has
many advantages. It immediately stabilizes the size of the colony by
eliminating new litters. The nuisance behavior often associated with
feral cats is dramatically reduced, including the yowling and fighting
that come with mating activity and the odor of unneutered males
spraying to mark their territory. The returned colony also guards its
territory, preventing unneutered cats from moving in and beginning the
cycle of overpopulation and problem behavior anew. Particularly in
urban areas, the cats continue to provide natural rodent control.
Another
significant advantage to TNR is that, when practiced on a large scale,
it lessens the number of kittens and cats flowing into local shelters.
This results in lower euthanasia rates and the increased adoption of
cats already in the shelters. For example, in San Francisco, after TNR
had been widely implemented for six years, euthanasia rates for all
cats, feral and domestic, declined by 71 percent. San Diego, after
several years of TNR, also experienced substantially lower euthanasia
rates.
TNR
is not just the best alternative to controlling feral cat populations -
it is the only one that works. Doing nothing has resulted in the
current crisis where, in New York City alone, feral cats number at
least in the tens, and possibly the hundreds, of thousands. Trying to
"rescue" the cats and find them all homes is utopian and unattainable
given their numbers and the futility of trying to socialize most of
them. Trap and kill, the traditional technique exercised by animal
control, is simply ineffective. If all the cats are not caught, then
the ones left behind over breed until the former population level is
reached. Even if all the cats are removed, new unneutered cats tend to
move in to take advantage of whatever food source there was, and the
cycle starts again. This explains why more and more animal control
agencies are willing to try TNR.
Finally,
TNR is an idea whose time has come. It recognizes there is a new
balance in our urban and rural landscape, one that includes feral cats.
It seeks to manage this new population with enlightened techniques that
allow the cats to live out their lives and fulfill their natures, while
minimizing any possible negative impact. TNR is a movement that will
continue to grow as more and more caring people see its potential and,
in time, it will become the predominant method of feral cat population
control.
