El Paso nonprofit urges humane solutions as kitten season intensifies, warns against cruelty toward community cats

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- As warmer weather arrives across the Borderland, a local nonprofit is urging residents to take humane steps to address the growing population of community cats while warning that harming animals is a serious crime.

Volunteers with El Paso TNR say the region’s mild climate means “kitten season” can last nearly all year, but activity typically increases during the spring and early summer months.

Rachel Haddad, co-founder and vice president of El Paso TNR, said the organization focuses on trap neuter return, or TNR, a method used to control outdoor cat populations by humanely trapping cats, sterilizing them, and returning them to the areas where they were found.

“The only way to control the problem at its source is trap neuter return,” Haddad said.

Haddad said her involvement with community cats began decades ago after two pregnant cats appeared outside her home and gave birth to kittens in a neighbor’s yard. With help from a veterinarian and neighbors, she worked to trap the cats, have them sterilized, and find homes for the kittens.

The experience eventually led to the formation of El Paso TNR in 2019 alongside co-founders Terry Poulos and Cindy Hernandez.

“There’s plenty of room for multiple TNR groups in our city,” Haddad said. “There are FEMA estimates of a million cats on the streets here in El Paso at any given time.”

The nonprofit now partners with El Paso Animal Services, the Humane Society of El Paso and the Southwest Animal Care Complex to provide spay and neuter surgeries and vaccinations for community cats. Haddad said the group helps facilitate about 1,500 sterilizations each year.

Cats that have been sterilized often remain in stable colonies and can help prevent additional unaltered cats from moving into the same territory, Haddad said.

“When you have an entire colony that is altered or spayed and neutered, they tend to create a barrier and keep unaltered animals out,” Haddad said.

Despite those efforts, Haddad said volunteers continue to encounter cruelty cases, including reports of cats being poisoned or harmed.

“Animal cruelty is a felony,” Haddad said. “Whether that abuse is poisoning, shooting with a BB gun, trapping and dumping somewhere else, it is not okay.”

Under Texas law, animal cruelty can carry fines up to $10,000 and prison time.

Haddad said part of the problem is a lack of public education about community cats and how populations grow.

“One female in the course of five years can have an offspring of upwards of 25,000 cats,” Haddad said.

She also cautioned residents not to immediately remove kittens if they are found outside. In many cases, the mother cat is nearby and caring for them.

“The most important thing is that those kittens stay with mom for a good amount of time,” Haddad said.

Instead, Haddad recommends checking whether the kittens appear healthy and returning later to see if the mother returns before intervening.

El Paso TNR is entirely volunteer-run and relies on donations and community support to continue its work. The organization also provides traps, training and guidance to residents who want to help manage cat colonies in their neighborhoods.

“Our goal is for trap neuter return to become a household term,” Haddad said. “We want people to understand why it matters and how they can help.”