The Florence Area Community Cat Project is a collaborative program to humanely and effectively reduce Florence County’s community cat population.
Thanks to funding from Best Friends Animal Society’s Shelter Collaborative Program, TNVR was brought to Florence County, and in February 2023 Florence County Council took an important step by passing an ordinance allowing TNVR.
Charleston Animal Society veterinarians spayed and neutered 1,000 community cats in 2023. Thank you to Best Friends for helping launch this program — and as of April 2025, the program is completely funded by Florence County, continuing the amazing success started through that partnership. To date, the program has provided services for more than 3,000 cats.
Florence County and Florence City residents can request TNR services by texting 855-770-4689 with your name, phone number, address, and the number of cats. You will be contacted with a date for services.
TVAR FAQs
What is a community cat?
A community cat, also called a free-roaming cat, is any cat that lives or spends time outdoors. Most community cats live in a small group of about 3-5 individuals called a colony.
What is TVAR? How does it reduce the cat population?
TVAR is a population reduction strategy that stands for Trap-Vaccinate-Alter-Return, sometimes called TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) or SNR (Stray-Neuter-Return). Community cats are not held in the shelter, instead, they are spayed or neutered (“altered”) and returned to their outdoor home where they were picked up. The key is to sterilize cats at a high volume before they have the opportunity to reproduce.
Is TVAR a common and/or accepted practice?
South Carolina Animal Care and Control Association (SCACCA) fully supports the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) position on community cats,https://nokillsouthcarolina.org/faccp/.
