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Frequent Asked Questions
General
Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) is a humane, non-lethal alternative to the trap-and-kill method of attempting to manage community cat populations. TNVR is a management technique in which community cats (aka ownerless, free-roaming outdoor cats) are humanely trapped and transported to a spay/neuter clinic, where they are evaluated and sterilized by a licensed veterinarian and vaccinated against rabies.The cats are also ear-tipped for identification. Cat ear-tipping involves the removal of the tip of one ear while the cat is under anesthesia for spay/neuter surgery. It is the universal sign that a cat is sterilized.Following recovery, the cats are returned to the location where they were humanely trapped to live out their lives.TNVR is a key component of a comprehensive community cat program, along with community outreach and nuisance mitigation techniques. Community cat programs are the most humane and effective way to manage outdoor cat populations while also reducing their potential impacts on wildlife populations and public health.
In the long term, targeted TNVR can lower the number of cats in the community more effectively than trap-and-kill. TNVR provides a non-lethal, humane way to effectively manage community cat populations while also addressing common nuisance behaviors. Several studies have shown that TNVR programs can decrease and sometimes eliminate outdoor cat populations over time by reducing the breeding population.
The benefits of trap-neuter-vaccinate-return to both cats and communities are numerous:These programs create safer communities and promote public health by reducing the number of unvaccinated cats.Sterilizing community cats reduces or even eliminates the behaviors that can lead to nuisance complaints.TNVR programs improve the lives of community cats. When males are neutered, they are no longer compelled to maintain a large territory or fight over mates, and females are no longer forced to endure the physical and mental demands of giving birth and caring for their young.In neighborhoods across the country, good Samaritans serve as caregivers, providing food, water, and shelter for cats who’ve been through TNVR, and that attention improves the cats’ overall health.TNVR reduces shelter admissions and operating costs. (Studies have shown that generally less than 1% of community cats in TNVR programs are too sick or injured to be returned to their neighborhoods.)Fewer community cats in shelters increases adoption rates because more space opens up in shelters for adoptable cats.Another benefit of TNVR is the positive impact that these programs have on animal services officers and shelter workers. Job satisfaction among these employees increases tremendously when their work does not involve killing healthy animals for the purpose of convenience. This increased job satisfaction results in less employee turnover and an overall improved public image of the shelter. The reduction in killing and animal admissions also provides more time for staff and volunteers to care for the animals in the shelter and give personal attention to potential adopters.Equally important, TNVR programs allow animal services departments to take advantage of numerous resources (e.g., volunteers, grant funding) typically unavailable to shelters that use the traditional trap-and-kill method. Understandably, people are rarely inclined to volunteer for programs that fail to make them feel good about themselves. Through the implementation of TNVR, volunteers know they are making a positive difference in the lives of animals, and the community is benefiting from their charitable efforts.Volunteers help trap cats and assist animal services in locating other cats in need of TNVR services. Community cat caregivers identify new cats coming into the area so that they can be sterilized, vaccinated, and returned. In a well-managed TNVR program, critical data is collected that can be used when seeking grant funding to expand the program.
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