The Mesquite Cat Project

TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Return. TNR is a humane form of helping improve the quality of life of stray and ferral cats as well has helping stabalize the outdoor population of outdoor cat communities by allowing the cats to be taken to a vet to be spayed or neutered, and often given vaccinations. Many times in neighborhoods, cat colonies are present and are often unstable and unhealthy.

Some of the benefits of spay and neuter for cats include:

• Improves quality of life for female cats.
• Decreases the size of colonies over time.
• Improves how stray and feral cats get along with each other due to a dicrease in competition for mating.
• Helps save cats lives and decreases the amount of unadoptable cats in animal shelters.

Did you know that female cats can go in heat as early as six months? Each heat can last from 1-21 days and female cats can be heard doing a mating call which causes male cats to fight and show aggression in order to get to her. The sad reality is that unspayed cats can reprodcue 2-3 times a year, adding on to the feral population if the kittens aren't around humans.

TNR Programs also help increase cat's health. Cats who go through the TNR process will be vaccinated against rabies which helps fight against infectious diseases. There's a less likely chance that neutered and spayed cats will develop mammary or testicular tumors, and neutering helps cats gain weight.

For more information, visit https://www.alleycat.org/resources/why-trap-neuter-return-feral-cats-the-case-for-tnr/

A universal sign that a cat has been spayed or neutered through a TNR program is if a cat has a small part of it's ear missing (usually the top left ear). The ear tip helps others determine that the cat has gone through a TNR program and is important because it's noticable from a distance. The tip is done while the cats are having surgery and are under anesthesia, so it doesn't hurt them.