Humane Society Silicon Valley

A community cat is an unowned, outdoor, free-roaming cat. Community cats are also known as stray or feral cats (or kittens), whose temperaments vary from friendly to feral. These cats are not candidates for adoption as they are typically unsocialized and can thrive in the outdoors that they have grown accustomed to.  

Our TNR request form is used to gather information from community members. We have temporarily paused our request form in order to assist community members committed to altering managed colonies in San Jose, Milpitas, and Sunnyvale to at least 80% TNR. We will re-open the form when we have the capacity to take on additional requests.

We are expanding our program’s impact on cat populations by collaborating with more local TNR-focused organizations to strategically target and alter colonies in Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and San Jose.

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is the most humane and effective method for managing the community cat population. Cats that go through HSSV’s TNR program are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, tattooed, and ear-tipped. After surgery, the cats are then returned to the home territories they were trapped from.  

TNR breaks the breeding cycle while allowing cats to live out their lives in their home territory without triggering the vacuum effect. The vacuum effect happens when a cat is trapped but not returned, which leaves an “empty space” in the colony for another breeding cat to enter and occupy. 

HSSV defines a managed colony as a group of 3+ cats that are taken care of by humans, also known as “caretakers” or “feeders.” Responsible caretakers or feeders ensure that their colonies are altered and vaccinated so cats stay healthy and the colony size doesn’t increase. 

TNR improves cats’ lives, stops the breeding cycle, prevents new litters, and reduces nuisance behaviors such as spraying, yowling, and fighting in our neighborhoods.   

Research shows that by focusing on high-impact TNR (altering 80%+ of each colony), population stabilization and even decline can be seen for that colony year-over-year.

No, we are expanding our program to focus on altering entire colonies up to at least 80%. In fact, last year, we trialed a Targeted TNR program with 1 local partner and a handful of dedicated volunteer trappers. In 7 months, we altered 62 colonies, which accounted for more than 500 cats.  That means our team of volunteers, staff and partners helped prevent more than 6,000 cats from unnecessarily entering shelters. 

The first step to TNR is getting your colony on a set feeding schedule. Feed them within the same 30-minute – 1-hour time frame each day. For example, you may choose to feed once daily, every day, or every other day between 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Please do not free feed and do not leave food outside the designated feeding time. This will train the cats to show up at the same time. For additional resources on feeding community cats, please visit City of San Jose and Alley Cats.

If you have access to a trap, you can begin “trap training,” which is the process of familiarizing cats with a humane trap. After a few days, the cats will start to get comfortable and familiar with the trap. Ensuring the colony is on a consistent feeding schedule and trap trained will make them significantly easier to trap when an appointment is secured.

Here are some resources for borrowing a trap in Santa Clara County:

13th Street Cat Rescue: 408-566-3637 • info@13thstcats.org 

Cat Resource Center: (408) 335-4357 • admin@catcenter.org 

Homeless Cat Network: info@homelesscatnetwork.com 

Bay Area Cats: Fill out this form 

Ask on Nextdoor

Humane traps are also available for purchase online (even on Amazon!) by searching “Humane Feral Cat Traps.” We recommend getting one with a gravity door.