The term TNR comes up frequently in animal rescue circles but not everyone has heard of it. TNR stands for “Trap, Neuter, Return”, or “Trap, Neuter, Release”. It is the practice of trapping feral, or free roaming cats and having them spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and then released back into their colony. Upon return, they have a small ‘tip’ cut out of their ear which identifies them as part of a protected colony. Whether people love or hate cats, this practice WORKS.
Feral, or free roaming cats, when not ‘fixed’ can become nuisances especially when breeding. They mark their territory and become noisy and this is when business owners or individuals start getting upset. It costs our cities a lot of money to impound and euthanize these animals (far more than neutering and returning them).
Taking them away and euthanizing them however, is not the solution as this creates what is known as a ‘vacuum effect’ where other cat’s just move into the area, and the problem starts up again. Relocating also is not an option as the cats will roam miles to return back to their ‘home’, often crossing busy roads which leads to accidents. When cats are trapped and neutered the breeding and nuisance behavior stops, the numbers stop growing and eventually the population declines. It is much more cost effective to trap, neuter, and release a cat, than it is to impound and euthanize it. The bottom line is, animals do not need to die when we have a humane solution called TNR that has been proven to work and save money!