What is TNR? How Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) benefits cats and communities

Humanely controlling the free-roaming cat population is a pressing issue in many communities. Unchecked numbers may lead to crowded shelters, high euthanasia rates, and numerous free-roaming cats who are susceptible to disease. The most humane and effective way to manage cat populations is “TNR,” or Trap Neuter Return. Learn more about what TNR is, how it works, and why it is a vital strategy for managing cat populations.

• Trap: Humane traps are used to safely capture free-roaming cats.Volunteers or animal control officers use humane traps to capture a free-roaming cat. These traps are designed to cause minimal stress and injury to the cats. The captured cats are then transported to a veterinary facility.


• Neuter: The trapped cats are taken to a veterinary clinic where they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and given a health check. In many TNR programs, cats are also ear-tipped—a small portion of the left ear is surgically removed—to indicate that they have been sterilized and treated.


• Return: After recovery, the cats are returned to their original location. Returning the cats to their original location is crucial, as it avoids displacing them into unfamiliar territory where they might not survive. Plus, this helps reduce the population size over time by eliminating breeding and preventing new intact cats from joining the colony.