The Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley (ASCMV) is proud to offer the Community Cat Program, a humane initiative designed to improve the well-being of free-roaming, feral, or unowned cats in our community.

Community cats are unowned cats that live outdoors. These cats may be feral (wild and unsocialized), semi-feral (less social but potentially approachable), or friendly but unowned.

Stray cats were once domesticated pets but have either been lost or abandoned. In contrast to feral cats, which have limited or no human interaction, stray cats retain some socialization and may be more accustomed to human contact.

Trap-Neuter-Return

At the heart of the ASCMV Community Cat Program is the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method, a humane and effective approach for managing and reducing community cat populations. The TNR process includes:

• Trapping: Cats are humanely trapped in a safe, non-lethal manner.
• Spaying/Neutering: Prevents further reproduction, helps to control the population.
• Vaccination: Protects cats against common diseases.
• Ear Clipping: A small part of the cat’s ear is clipped to indicate that the cat has been through the TNR process. This helps identify cats that have already been managed and prevents unnecessary trapping.