Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) Programs

One of our local cities forfeited a million-dollar grant to reduce the city’s feral cat program through a program of trapping, neutering, and releasing (TNR) the sterile cats back into the community. There are two sides to this issue and from my perspective, I’ve never seen a positive long-term outcome with TNR programs. Unless feeling good is your desired outcome. Sure, a number of years ago, organizations touted success stories, but many of those proved unfounded over time.

Communities began seeing surplus cats in communities because many people saw cats as too independent to be considered pets; so they didn’t invest in spaying or neutering their cats that seem to come and go from their households. When things are going well for cats, they like to breed. Most species are the same way. The offspring of these “domestic” cats started becoming feral. A feral population is dependent on the carrying capacity of the community. As food became scarce, the cats would stop breeding.

“Little Old Ladies” upset the carrying capacity of the community by setting out food for the cats to eat. The cats would start to breed again until they exceeded the carrying capacity again. Like raccoon populations, disease would wipe out the population when the population is stressed with too many animals. Raccoons are usually on a seven-year cycle.

The problem with TNR programs is that in addition to spaying and neutering the cats, the cats are offered vaccinations, thus reducing the possibility of death through disease. Another problem with managing feral cat problems is that an excess removal of cats allows vermin to increase. I recall that in one neighborhood that was aggressively against cats discovered that rats grew in population corresponding to the removal of the cats. Anytime you are messing with animal populations, you are messing with Mother Nature.

Cats became a growing concern in animal shelters wanting to become no-kill. It seemed at the rate that cat’s breed, that having a 90% release rate was looking like a passing dream. Some shelters, to meet their no-kill goal, started taking the cats surrendered at the shelter and treating them as part of a TNR solution. They were taking the cats surrendered by their owners and sterilizing them and then releasing them back into the community. The trick was to release them into an area where the owners would not know what they had done. Some believed that throwing a domestic cat in the wild to starve to death was inhumane. No one reported on the impact of these starving cats. So they may or may not have survived. The point was that by doing this, the shelter could boast that they have reached no-kill. Many began to say that TNR stood for Trap, Neuter, and Re-abandon.

The notion, if people continued to feed feral cats, it was better to feed a sterile cat than a fertile cat. Or so we thought. It seems that over time, populations adjust. Even in a population of sterile cats, if the carry capacity increases, the population will adjust for that increase. Cats from other areas will move in. Thus the reason that TNR programs fail. They are good for a while, but if left unattended the fertile cats take over again and they do so quickly.

No-kill is a constant goal for animal shelters and even a short time win looks good for statistics and that is what no-kill is all about is finding other solutions for the animals in our shelters because killing an animal just doesn’t seem like a good solution. I have always advocated that the best solution to killing animals is to prevent their births. Not enough is being done to sterilize every pet. Shelters continue to adopt intact animals…. stupid….. very stupid. Pet owners cannot be trusted to take care of sterilizing their newly adopted pet. Trust me, I have years and years of experience in this area.  It is shocking the number of men who tie their testicles to that of their dog’s.

So? Is TNR worthwhile? It is a short-term solution to a bigger program. It makes us feel good by helping with our statistics and staff doesn’t have to perform euthanasia. It provides additional business for our local veterinarians. While you are doing it, it’ll feel good. A few years down the road, you’ll look back and wonder if you had made any impact at all.

Mother Nature maintains everything in a balance. The best way to upset that balance is to introduce humans into the equation (something that I picked up in college and later realized in life). For TNR to be successful over a long period of time, you’ll have to continue your efforts. As we have discovered that TNR usually has an immediate impact that you can feel good about; but, when you stop TNR, the feral population will rebound.