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, to bring TVAR to Florence County. Florence County Council took an important step in passing an ordinance allowing TVAR as of February 2023
Charleston Animal Society veterinarians will spay & neuter 1,000 community cats in 2023. For more information, contact the Florence Area Community Cat Program Coordinator at 843-996-8879 or FlorenceCats@NoKillSouthCarolina.org.
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/.
