08/09/2026
🐾 TNR TAKES A COMMUNITY — NOT JUST A RESCUE
One of the biggest misconceptions about TNR is that when someone says, “There are cats here that need to be fixed,” an organization simply sends people out, traps them, transports them, pays for everything, recovers them and brings them back.
We wish it worked that way.
The reality is that most rescues and community cat programs simply do not have the staff, volunteers, funding or surgery access to provide that kind of full-service TNR.
And there really is no such thing as “free” TNR.
If the person caring for the cats isn’t paying for it, someone else is.
A donor.
A rescue.
A grant.
A volunteer.
A clinic.
Or, most often, a combination of all of them.
There are surgery costs, vaccines, traps, food, trap liners, cleaning supplies, gas, transportation and sometimes additional medical treatment.
Then there is something even harder to find:
PEOPLE.
People willing to trap.
People willing to get up early and transport cats to surgery.
People willing to pick them up.
People willing to provide a safe place for recovery.
People willing to clean traps.
People willing to return the cats.
People willing to coordinate appointments, paperwork and funding.
At FCN, we want to help more community cats throughout Northwest Indiana. We can help provide resources, education, access to lower-cost surgery opportunities when available, equipment and funding assistance when we have it.
But we cannot be the boots on the ground for every colony.
If cats are showing up on your property and you are feeding them, please don’t wait until two cats become 10, 20 or 50 before asking for help.
Reach out early.
Be willing to participate.
Learn to trap.
Ask your neighbors to help.
Help transport.
Contribute toward surgery if you’re able.
TNR works best when the community and organizations work together.
And right now, FCN could desperately use more volunteers who want to become part of the solution.
We need people interested in learning about community cats and TNR. We need trappers. We need transporters. We need people who can help with recovery days. We need organized people who can help coordinate projects and resources.
You don’t have to do everything.
You just have to be willing to do something.
Because when everyone says, “They’re not my cats,” the cats are the ones who suffer and the population continues to grow.
Feeding keeps a cat alive today.
Spaying and neutering helps stop the cycle tomorrow.
🐾 Want to volunteer with FCN’s community cat efforts? Reach out to us.
https://felinecommunitynetworkgiftshop.com/pages/volunteer-1
🐾 Can’t volunteer? Sponsor a surgery.
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-change-lives-13480
🐾 Can’t donate? Help educate your neighborhood.
https://gethelp.alleycat.org/?_gl=1*6tvqds*_gcl_au*ODkyOTAxNDE5LjE3ODYyMjI2ODQ.
🐾 Have cats you’re feeding? Start making a plan to get them fixed now, before the colony grows.
https://felinecommunitynetworkgiftshop.com/pages/resources-1
Community cats are a community problem that requires a community solution.
We want to be part of that solution.
But we cannot be the entire solution. 🐈❤️
