Massive TNR Operation Helps Over 50 Cats
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
~Margaret Mead
It takes a dedicated team of volunteers to make our Community Cats program a success. Over the past week, our amazing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) volunteers have been working to help a gentleman who had become overwhelmed with what we all thought were about 40 unfixed cats on his property. He didn’t know where to turn for help until someone referred him to the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC).
Our goal was to humanely trap the community cats and have them microchipped, vaccinated and neutered to stabilize the population and stop the proliferation of feral kittens. Unchecked, the population of this colony would have expanded exponentially very, very quickly.
Timeline to Date
Sunday, April 7 – Over a dozen intrepid volunteers spent about 10 long hours trapping 35 community cats. Our team worked together to set and place the traps, organize the cats, label the traps and get the paperwork ready for their surgery (spay or neuter) the next day.
Tuesday, April 9 – We returned most of the cats to the site and our volunteers trapped more cats while they were there.
Friday, April 12 – We returned the second group of cats and trapped additional cats as well.
To date, we have trapped 51 community cats at this site, with several more left to get. We also think there are at least three litters of kittens born within the past week that we will try to find and trap when they are about five weeks or so old, along with the moms.
By the time we are finished, we will have helped 60-70 cats and kittens at this one site. This is the biggest site at which HSLC has ever performed a TNR operation. We are so grateful to our great team of volunteers without whom we never would have been able to get so many cats so quickly. Thanks to them, the kittens from this colony will find safe, loving forever homes and the community cats returned to the site will live longer and healthier lives.
Please check out our photo galleries below compliments of Marty McKee and Julia Grosz (aka the Cat Hustler). Click on the photos to enlarge them. And, be sure to scroll to the end to learn how you can help control the pet population in Loudoun County.
TNR Operation
Community Cats
How You Can Help
- Donate: The price-tag for neutering, vaccinating and microchipping dozens of community cats is literally in the thousands. Each donation adds up and is greatly appreciated.
- Kitten Care: Just like human babies, kittens require a lot of food and supplies. Visit our amazon.com wish list for a current list of needed items.
- Spay/Neuter: Encourage friends, family and neighbors to spay/neuter their pets. There are many low-cost Spay/Neuter options available in Loudoun County and in communities all across the country.
- Foster: Since HSLC has no physical shelter, we rely on individuals to open their hearts and homes to at-risk animals. Our foster program has the most direct impact of saving lives of any of our programs.