Please reach us at thetnrcollective@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is a humane, community-based approach to managing free-roaming and community cat populations. Cats are safely trapped, taken to a veterinary provider to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and then returned to their outdoor home.
TNR helps reduce the number of unwanted kittens born outdoors, improves the health of community cats, and can reduce behaviors associated with mating, such as fighting, roaming, and excessive yowling.
A trained volunteer or caregiver safely traps a community cat. The cat receives veterinary care, including spay/neuter surgery and vaccinations. After recovery, the cat is returned to the same location where it was found
Yes. TNR is performed using humane trapping methods and veterinary care. Cats are monitored after surgery and returned only when they have sufficiently recovered.
Community cats may live outdoors but can have different levels of socialization. Some are friendly, while others may be fearful or avoid contact with people. A cat that appears healthy outdoors may have a caregiver who provides food and monitoring.
A friendly outdoor cat may be lost, abandoned, or someone's pet. Before trapping or relocating a friendly cat, we recommend checking for identification, scanning for a microchip when possible, posting found-cat notices, and contacting local shelters or rescue organizations.
Generally, no. Cats form strong attachments to their territories. Removing them can create serious challenges for the cats and may allow other unsterilized cats to move into the area. TNR focuses on sterilizing cats and returning them to their established territory.
An ear tip is the removal of the tip of one ear while the cat is under anesthesia for spay/neuter surgery. It provides an easily visible indication that the cat has already been sterilized and vaccinated through a TNR program.
Yes. Spaying and neutering community cats prevents future litters and, when consistently implemented, can significantly reduce the number of kittens entering shelters and being born outdoors.
Do not automatically remove kittens from their location. Their mother may be nearby looking for food. Observe from a safe distance and contact a TNR or rescue organization for guidance. If kittens are sick, injured, or in immediate danger, seek veterinary or animal-welfare assistance promptly.
Responsible feeding can help community cats, especially when combined with TNR. Food should be provided on a consistent schedule, and the feeding area should be kept clean. Most importantly, cats being fed should be spayed or neutered whenever possible.
Contact a veterinarian, animal-welfare organization, or your local TNR program for guidance. Injured or seriously ill cats may require immediate veterinary attention.
Depending on available volunteers, funding, and service area, the organization may provide traps, trapping assistance, TNR appointments, or educational resources.
The surgery is free when vouchers are available. We may ask for donations for our services that will be used for other medical or operating expenses.
For now our organization is focused on specific cities or neighborhoods (eg. Koreatown, Culver City, Mar Vista, Inglewood, Pico-Robertson, Beverlywood, etc.) and may prioritize cats in areas with large unsterilized populations.
The cat should be returned to the same territory where it was trapped whenever it is safe to do so. A caregiver can continue providing food, water, shelter, and monitoring while keeping track of additional cats that may need to be sterilized.
No. Community cats are returned to their established outdoor territories after veterinary care. Responsible caregivers can continue monitoring and caring for them.
Volunteers may help with trapping, transportation, fundraising, outreach, feeding, administrative tasks, fostering, or community education. If you are interested in volunteering, you may sign up here.
Yes! Donations help cover spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, medical care, traps, food, transportation, and other program expenses. You can find many ways to support us here.
At this time, we are streamlining our process and ensuring that we have the necessary resources in place to begin accepting TNR requests from the public.
Spay and neuter cats, support responsible community-cat caregivers, and address new cats as they appear. TNR works best when community members, volunteers, veterinarians, and animal-welfare organizations work together. When you see a stray cat, do not look the other way. Speak up. Reach out. Get involved. One cat fixed today can mean dozen of kittens never born tomorrow.