Port St. Lucie - Thursday January 12, 2023: Port St. Lucie’s Animal Control Division is reminding residents about the City's program to humanely control the populations of free- roaming cats.
Free-roaming cat populations, sometimes referred to as “community cats,” generally consist of a mixture of truly feral cats, semi-socialized cats and lost and abandoned pets. Residents who are experiencing an issue with a community cat or have some of these cats living nearby can participate in the City’s Trap, Neuter, Vaccine and Return (TNVR) Program.
“TNVR is the internationally accepted, effective and humane method of controlling free-roaming cat populations,” said Bryan Lloyd, Animal Control Operations Manager. “It is a non-lethal alternative to the trap-and-kill method of attempting to manage cat populations.”
TNVR is a management technique in which community cats are humanely trapped for the purpose of transporting them to a spay/neuter clinic, where they are evaluated and sterilized by a licensed veterinarian, vaccinated against rabies, microchipped, and ear-tipped for identification. Following recovery, the cats are returned to the location where they were humanely trapped so they can live out their lives.
TNVR has been practiced for decades in the U.S. and is successfully practiced in hundreds of communities and in every landscape and setting. There is overwhelming evidence gathered from successful programs throughout our state and country that the most effective way for communities to handle the population of free-roaming cats is to implement TNVR.
Residents who would like to participate should call Animal Control at 772-871-5042 and tell the representative about the situation. You should have the location, number of cats, and any issues you are having available so staff can guide you toward the correct partner. Several rescue and veterinary organizations provide assistance and surgical services to residents needing TNVR.
To learn more about the benefits of TNVR and how to participate, visit: www.cityofpsl.com/animalcontrol and click on the “Community Cat Program” tab.