Special Guest Blog – What is TNR and the benefits?

As cat lovers, Black Frog Farm is an advocate of TNR – Trap Neuter Return. We also put our money and time where our mouths are and have TNR’d all the cats that are on our farm. I sometimes get questions about what TNR is and why would I bother with it? For the answer to that, I contacted my friend and fellow cat lover Terri Ebersole – cat TNR expert. She singlehandedly ran the Wisconsin TNR program “My Feral Fix” for many years. Here is Terri’s take on TNR in her own words:

TNR – THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE YOUR OUTDOOR CAT

What is TNR? –
TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, Return. It is the most humane method of managing the population of outdoor cats (stray, abandoned, or feral).
TNR involves humanely trapping all the cats in the colony, transporting them to a licensed vet for spay/neuter, vaccinating for rabies and distemper, deworming and a left ear tip (a universal symbol indicating they have been neutered). After a night of recuperation, the cats are then returned to their outdoor home to live out a longer, healthier life.

When Kerry asked me to do a guest blog on the benefits of TNR, it took me awhile to respond. I didn’t understand why anyone would need to be convinced of the benefits of TNR. Most things have pros and cons, but there are no cons to TNR…..just pros.
Since TNR has been my life for 10 years, I knew and have observed first hand all the benefits. I thought, “Why wouldn’t you TNR your cats?” I then remembered that not everyone knew what TNR was, how it worked, and the life changing benefits for the cats’ and their caregivers.
The concept of TNR is actually quite unbelievable. Thirty years ago we were trying to convince cat owners to spay and neuter their house cats. Now we have programs to spay and neuter the outdoor cats. That IS unbelievable! Today there are TNR programs nationwide. These programs offer assistance to the caregiver ranging from trapping the cats, to transport to surgery, to low cost assistance to cover the cost of the procedure. Larger organizations offer the program for free.

The first benefit of TNR, of course, is population control.
Cats are prolific breeders. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I received with the caregiver telling me “I only had 2 cats a year or two ago. Now I have 20. How did this happen?” I will not reference all the statistics found online about how 2 cats can become 37,000 (or whatever number they use) in just 7 years. I will just show you 1 cats’ reproduction in 1 year.
Each female cat will have at least 2 litters per year. Generally 1 litter in the spring and 1 litter in the fall. With an average of 4 kittens per litter, the one cat becomes 9. Since female kittens can go into heat as early as 4 months of age but always by 6 months and 2 of the kittens from her first litter are females, they can each have a litter (of 4 kittens each) by the end of the year. IN ONE YEAR, THE ONE CAT BECOMES 17!!
Prior to TNR programs becoming available the options were limited as to control of your growing colony (a group of cats living outdoors together). Many people would relocate the cats and/or kittens to farms. If relocation is not done properly, the cats will not stay on the farm…..they will try to find their way back to their previous outdoor home….and in doing so they are hit on the road or starve to death.
When kittens are dropped off at a farm, they usually starve to death. You see, cats lives are all about survival….just like humans. Food is at the top of the list for survival. The existing cats are not going to allow the kittens in to eat their food, it threatens their survival. Also, the kittens do not have their mothers to teach them the dangers (cows, machinery) of life on the farm. The mortality rate is high.
Many caregivers I worked with had been able to adopt out their kittens to friends and relatives, so they thought leaving their cats intact was not a problem. They always found homes for the kittens. Until….all their friends and relatives had kittens/cats. Now what?
Taking kittens to the local shelter is sometimes used for birth control. In 2015, the director of the local shelter asked me to help 2 caregivers TNR their cats. In just 1 week, these 2 caregivers had brought 22 kittens to the shelter. You can imagine how quickly the shelter can be overwhelmed with kittens! Kittens often do not do well in the shelter environment. Their immune systems are not strong enough to fight off all the germs found in a small area occupied by many animals. The shelter uses up their limited funds caring for them and they use up space and resources needed by others already in the shelter system. TNR stops the influx of cats and kittens into local rescues and shelters, thereby lowering kill rates and increasing the chance of adoption for those already in the shelter.

The other major benefit of TNR is improved health of the cats.
In 2012, I TNR’d my first large colony (20+). When I arrived at the caregiver’s home, I had a hard time holding back my tears. All of the cats were what I could only describe as “walking spines.” Many of them had upper respiratory infections and some had missing eyes as a result of that. Upper respiratory infections are much more prevalent in large colonies. Many kittens die from it and if they do survive, it becomes chronic and they are unhealthy their whole, shorter life.
All the cats were spayed, neutered, vaccinated for rabies and distemper, dewormed and ear tipped. After a night of recovery, they were released back to their outdoor home.
Two months later I returned to pick up the kittens for their surgery. I could not believe my eyes!! The cats looked so healthy, their coats looked thicker and they had put on substantial weight. Besides the benefits of the spaying, neutering, and vaccinations, they also benefit greatly from being worm free for the first time in their lives. They were now getting the nutrition from their food…not the worms.
Many caregivers have friendly outdoor cats that their children enjoy interacting with. When getting a cat TNR’d through a TNR program, the cats always get vaccinated for rabies. The caregivers are always grateful for the peace of mind of the added benefit to their children’s safety.
I had a female who went in to be TNR’d in December 2019. She had given birth to three litters already that year and was pregnant with her 4th litter. Her poor body was so worn out from growing kittens, then feeding and watching over the kittens, only to become pregnant again. Her body had no time to recuperate between litters. The stress of this constant cycle makes for a very short lifespan for female cats.
Kittens can and will get pregnant when they are only six months old. At this point they stop growing since all nutrition is given to growing her babies. Most of the time these babies do not survive. Mama cat is too young and the maternal instinct does not kick in. I have seen young females running around as the kittens drop out of them. The babies are born only to suffer and die.
All cats in the colony should be TNR’d. I learned this lesson when assisting a caregiver in my early years of doing TNR. He had an older female cat who he called “The great grandma of them all.” He thought she was too old to get pregnant and I allowed her not to be spayed. The following spring he found her deceased….she had died giving birth to kittens.
Unneutered male cats will spray to mark their territory. They will fight with other male cats over females in heat. This results in wounds that often become infected and causes their death. I have encountered male cats with broken front legs caused by fighting.
Male cats can smell a female in heat 2 miles away. When it is mating season they only have one thing on their minds. They are driven by instinct and will not pay attention to the dangers they normally avoid. Most of the cats you see dead on the roadways are male cats that are following the scent of a female in heat. Neutering stops the spraying, stops the fighting and stops the roaming.

Other benefits of TNR.
The majority of the caregivers I worked with told me that, after being TNR’d, their cats became friendlier, especially the females. This makes sense. You removed the constant stressful cycle of raising kittens, going into heat, fighting off males wanting to mate, mating and then giving birth again. They can now just enjoy being cats.
The caregivers also witnessed the fact that the cats in their colony interacted with each other in a more peaceful manner. You stop the mating behaviors and there is harmony in the colony. Quote from a caregiver “After being TNR’d, we have noticed the cats are calmer and happier. They seem to have a greater affection for each other and for us and they no longer have the urge to roam and leave our farm. It is wonderful to see our matriarch healthier than she has ever been, enjoying life without being bothered by male cats and enduring pregnancy after pregnancy. There is no longer a line of male cats following a female around the yard, no male cats fighting and no more wondering where our male cats have wandered off to in search of a female. It is simply a joy to watch the cats play in the yard and bask in the sun worry free.”

You feed your cats. You care about your cats. There’s a saying, “If you feed them, fix them.” Keep the population under control. Keep them healthy. You will NEVER, EVER regret getting them TNR’d!!!

GIVE THEM THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE THEM