Adoptable cats are at The Cat Box Adoption Center, 3015 46th Ave. N., St. Petersburg FL 33714. Adoptable dogs, donation drop off, and intake, foster, medical and TNVR programs are located at 2911 47th Ave. N., St. Petersburg FL 33714.

Why Friends of Strays Advocates for Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return

Friday, February 21, 2025

Have you ever seen a cat outside missing the tip of one ear? It’s not an injury: it’s a sign the cat has been through TNVR, a program that helps them live a better outdoor life.  

Cats with a tipped ear have been through a TNVR program – standing for trap-neuter-vaccinate-return. This practice is a humane alternative to reducing the free-roaming population, rather than just catching and killing outdoor cats simply for existing. Florida is in the bottom 5 states for euthanasia rates, but we are fortunate in Pinellas County to be allowed to practice TNVR by county code. Cats end up outside for many reasons: they escaped their homes, they were born outside, their owners allow them to go outside, or they were abandoned. Many are fed and watched over by their neighbors. By using TNVR, we can provide a humane way for them to continue living in their outdoor communities, while also preventing reproduction and providing vaccinations to help them live a healthier life outside.  

Besides addressing population and health, TNVR provides other benefits: 

  • Reduced problematic behaviors like fighting over mates, roaming large distances, or yowling to attract mates
  • Keeps female cats from suffering life-threatening medical complications related to being unspayed and having many litters, such as pyometra and mammary cancer.
  • Reduces shelters’ admissions and operating costs (which, in the case of municipal shelters, comes from taxpayer funding)
  • Reduces compassion fatigue in animal welfare workers by not killing healthy animals for convenience

Friends of Strays is a champion of TNVR. Community cats come to us through our MEOW Now program, either being trapped by caring members of the public or by working directly with caregivers to target an entire cat colony for assisted trapping. Last year, more than 2,660 cats were helped through our program! 

We’re often asked why community cats aren’t offered up for adoption. Sometimes, these community cats are more friendly and social to people, and other times they are unsocialized and will avoid human interaction. Not all outdoor cats want or will adapt to staying indoors and using a litterbox. In addition, many community cats are loved and cared for by caregivers. With thousands of healthy, socialized, adoptable cats being euthanized in our state and across the country due to shelter overcapacity, TNVR can give community cats who have a place they already call home a positive, live outcome while allowing other cats the space at the shelter to get adopted. It also helps prevent kittens from entering the shelter system. A critical reason animals end up in shelters can be traced back to unintended litters from unsterilized animals.  
 
We wish there was a home for every homeless pet. But while animals remain unsterilized, more and more will be left behind. TNVR helps reduce the overall population in a humane way while providing health measures for community cats and benefits to their human community members, too. 

By supporting TNVR, we can create a future where fewer cats suffer, shelters can focus on finding homes for adoptable pets, and communities can coexist more peacefully with their feline neighbors. Together, we can make a difference—one ear tip at a time. 
  
P.S. Want to get involved with TNVR? If you live in Pinellas County, learn more about our program, MEOW Now. If you live outside of Pinellas County, research local TNVR programs in your community! 

– Corinna, MEOW Now Program Manager

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