Community Cats & TNVR

Helping community cats saves lives throughout our entire community.

Through humane care and population management, we can prevent unwanted litters, improve the lives of outdoor cats, and reduce the number of cats entering crowded animal shelters.

Community cats are outdoor, free-roaming cats who do not have a traditional owner. You may hear them called feral cats, stray cats, neighborhood cats, or outdoor cats. They may live alone or in groups called cat colonies. Some are friendly strays who have lived with people before, while others are unsocialized feral cats who are not accustomed to living indoors.

TNVR stands for Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, a humane approach to managing community cat populations. Also called TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), it involves safely trapping outdoor cats, having them spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and returning them to the familiar location where they were found.

TNVR addresses one of the root causes of feline overpopulation by preventing new litters, reducing pressure on shelter resources and giving more animals a chance for a positive outcome.

TNVR Wake is a coalition of dedicated animal rescue groups and shelters that have been working since 2009 to improve the lives of community and feral cats throughout the Triangle region of North Carolina. Wake County adopted a feral-friendly Animal Control ordinance in 2012. This life-saving ordinance allows cat colony caretakers, rescue groups, and the Wake County Animal Center to work together to protect and improve conditions for feral cats.