The Community Cat Program, also known as TNR, helps keep community cats healthy and reduces the cat population in our area. The TNR team traps community cats then spays/neuters them and returns them to where they were found and consider to be home. This preventive program aims to target the problem at its source with spay/neuter and has already saved thousands of cats' lives in Bowling Green and surrounding areas. 

What is TNR?

Trap-Neuter-Release is an innovative way to reduce the amount of feral, outdoor, and community cats. Our team seeks out these cats to alter, vaccinate, ear-tip (for recognition), and return them to the areas where they've already been living and thriving, preventing generations of cats from being born into the community.

How is this different from past strategies? 

In the past, euthanasia was the go-to method for reducing cat populations. The issue with this solution is that it didn't go to the source of the problem; cats reproduce really quickly. TNR addresses the issue at the source to reduce cat colonies by spaying and neutering. Returning cats to the area from which they were trapped also makes sure that new cats don't move into that territory to take advantage of the resources found there. 

Who manages this program? 

The Community Cat Program and TNR effort started at BGWCHS in 2019. It has evolved from solely providing traps to community members to TNR their own neighborhood cats to a program guided by BGWCHS staff that work in coordination with animal control and the Warren County and Bowling Green City governments. 

How can I help? 

  1. Call the Community Cat Hotline at 270-715-0937! If you know of or are a caretaker for community cats that are not ear-tipped, give us a call and help keep the community cat population at bay. 
  2. Donate! You can donate to support the program here, or you can bring donations of canned pate cat food or canned tuna in oil to the shelter to support the CCP. Our team members use these smelly treats to bait the cat traps, so they can trap, neuter, treat, and return community cats happily to their territory.