The City of Kyle and Kyle Animal Control shall work with local volunteers, shelters and veterinary practices to enact a Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return (TNVR) program that complies with the provision of this chapter for the purpose of trapping and impounding free-roaming cats, neutering them, vaccinating, microchipping, ear tipping, and returning them back to where they were found. The program shall be volunteer based. The City of Kyle and Kyle Animal Control will coordinate the program, including working with residents, to capture or return animals per the program through a partnership with the City of San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this chapter except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Animal care providers
are licensed shelters or veterinarian practices providing for the temporary shelter, treatment, neutering, or other care of community cats pursuant to the TNVR program.
Community cats
means outdoor, free-roaming cats that are not known to have an owner.
Ear tipping or eartipped
means a technique for removing of a quarter-inch off the top of a cat's left ear by a licensed veterinarian while the cat is anesthetized for spay/neutering for the purpose of permanently identifying a community cat that has been evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized.
Neutered
means any animal, male or female, rendered incapable of breeding or being bred.
Volunteer caregivers
means volunteers that take on the responsibilities required for the proper maintenance of specific community cat colonies such as regular feeding of colonies, human trapping for adoption, neutering, or medical care, monitoring of the colony, and reporting of relevant information and colony data pursuant to TNVR policy guidelines. Volunteer colony caregivers assume all responsibility for the humane trapping, maintenance, and management of approved registered colonies. Caregivers must make every reasonable effort to minimize the impact on local wildlife, feed the proper quantity of food for the number of cats in appropriate food containers, discard food containers daily, and feed only on properties where such activities are authorized by the property owner.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
The TNVR program must provide for the following:
(1) 
Budget proposals and written updates to be brought to the city council when requested, and as directed, by city staff;
(2) 
The recruitment and training of volunteers;
(3) 
The creation and maintenance of a voluntary registry of local community cat colonies including:
a. 
The location of the community cat colony;
b. 
To the extent reasonably possible, population data such as approximate number of cats, likely percentage of population needing the TNVR program, and microchip information for cats returned back into that colony;
(4) 
A process for the humane care and treatment of adult community cats and kitten eight weeks of age or older to be:
a. 
Trapped, impounded, or placed in a carrier or kennel, transported, and temporarily housed and cared for;
b. 
Neutered by licensed professional veterinarians;
c. 
Vaccinated against rabies;
d. 
Eartipped and microchipped; and
e. 
Returned back into their original location, if possible.
(5) 
The maintenance of records related to the TNVR program, community cat colonies, and the cats trapped pursuant to this chapter and rights of access to relevant records held by participating animal care providers and provided to animal control as requested.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
(a) 
The TNVR program is a volunteer based program that authorizes the trapping, neutering, vaccinating and returning of community cats to control local populations and reduce disease. Volunteers must assume liability for all actions taken pursuant to the TNVR program.
(b) 
TNVR program volunteers and participating animal care providers are not considered to have ownership or custody of community cats or to have abandoned community cats, as defined in section 5-37 of the city code.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
All community cat colonies under the TNVR program must be maintained on private property of the volunteer colony caregiver, or the property of another landowner that has given written permission for the cat to be returned.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
All volunteers, including volunteer colony caregivers and animal care providers are responsible for the humane treatment of all community cats in their care and may be subject to citation pursuant to chapter 5 of the city code and V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, chapter 821 for the inhumane, cruel, or negligent treatment of the animals in their care.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)
The city shall retain the following rights:
(a) 
The right to seize or remove cat(s) from a colony that have not been vaccinated against rabies and/or which are demonstrating signs of disease or aggression.
(b) 
The right to seize or remove cat(s) from a colony that are creating a public nuisance. These cat(s) shall be removed from the colony and relocated or relinquished to the shelter.
(c) 
The right to seize and remove a colony of cat(s) when a caregiver is unable to provide care and management of the colony and has not been able to obtain a replacement or substitute.
(d) 
The right to seize or remove cat(s) from a colony if medical care is necessary to prevent pain and suffering has not or cannot be provided by a caregiver, or if the animal control officer has reason to believe that a cat or cats in the colony has been cruelly treated.
(e) 
The right to remove cat(s) from a colony suspected to have bitten a human being for the purpose of rabies quarantine and/or testing.
(f) 
The city has the right to reevaluate the program at any time and make revisions as needed.
(Ordinance 1343 adopted 10/2/2024)