WHAT IS TNR?
Trap Neuter Return (TNR) is the only way proven to successfully reduce community cat populations over time. It involves humanely trapping cats, getting them spayed or neutered so they can no longer reproduce, vaccinating them against diseases like rabies, then returning them to the area in which they were found. This allows them to continue to live out their lives as they have been without contributing to the expanding population and provides them some protection from illness and injury.
Of course, when we find a cat that happens to be very social and would do best in an indoor home, we explore that option for them. Young kittens should also not be returned to field if they can be socialized, as most do not survive in the wild.
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For more information on the research behind TNR, and why it is effective, visit San Diego Humane's Resources & Research page:
Why return cats?
In an ideal world we could place every cat in a loving home with couches to scratch and catnip to roll around in. Unfortunately, there are far too many cats, most of whom are not accustomed to humans, for this to be a realistic goal. Instead, our goal is to reduce the population over time.
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So why not euthanize them?
All the data shows that eradicating cats in a given area does not work. Because the food source those cats were using is still there, the removal of cats creates a vacuum effect drawing in cats from other areas to fill the void. It also causes any remaining cats in that area to start having larger litters of kittens to regrow the colony, much like coyotes. TNR keeps population growth down while allowing sterilized cats to continue occupying that space in the ecosystem.
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Why not relocate them?
Dropping a cat into an unknown environment can be detrimental. Cats only do well in an environment when they know the area, where the reliable food source is, and what predators are around. They also exist within very specific social groups. Relocating them no only puts them at risk but can also can introduce new problems for the area in which you released them. Relocating feral cats is very tricky and should only be done in the most extreme circumstances.
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What is an ear tip?
You may have seen cats in your neighborhood with what looks like a bite missing from their ear. This minor procedure is done while the cat is in surgery. It causes no longterm effects and allows colony managers to easily identify cats that have already gone through the TNR process. In other words, if a cat has an ear tip, they have already been fixed and there is no need to trap them.
