“If we support the cats in the homes they already have, there will be enough homes for them all.”

–­DR.­ KATE ­HURLEY

Community cats live among us occupying our porches, backyards, alleys, barns, and neighborhoods.  They live solo and in various sized groups with varied levels of human interaction and sociability. Without a human address to call home, these “neighborhood cats” live comfortably where food and shelter are available.

Truly feral cats are raised without human contact and they avoid people. Because feral cats rarely learn to trust people, they do not make good pets. Even young feral kittens can be difficult to socialize for adoption, and are often euthanized at animal service facilities.                  

The plight of community cats has captured the hearts of animal lovers for many years, but only recently has a non-lethal option for their management become available. Called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), this humane and effective alternative involves spaying or neutering community cats, then returning them to their “homes” where they are looked after and fed by a caretaker. This solution successfully stabilizes the population, reduces birth rates and improves the overall health of the cats. Performed on a large scale, the success of such programs is felt at animal shelters where fewer cats are admitted for euthanasia and fewer nuisance calls are received, both indicators that TNR supports neighborhoods where cats live healthy lives successfully cohabitating with people.