Community Cat Program
Community, or feral, cats are domestic cats, like pets and strays. The difference is that community cats are not socialized, which makes them wary of people and not adoptable. They have a home: the outdoors. Cats have lived outdoors and coexisted with humans for over 10,000 years, from farms to cities and places in between.
How Does Trap-Neuter-Return Work?
- Trap: Humanely trap all cats living together in an outdoor colony.
- Neuter: Take the cats, in humane traps, to a veterinarian or clinic to be neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and ear-tipped (universal symbol indicating cats have been neutered).
- Return: Return the cats to their original outdoor home or colony.
If you need help with Community Cats please fill out our TNR Request Form . One of our volunteers will then contact you, asking a series of questions to gather as much information as possible, before scheduling a visit to assess the site and develop a plan for trapping.
We can work with the homeowner or caretaker to train you to do the trapping yourself or one of our volunteers can trap if you are unwilling or unable to assist. We also rent traps for a small, refundable fee. Anyone who agrees to do their own trapping must sign an agreement, stating they understand and will follow our policies and procedures for humane trapping.
After the cats are Trapped, Vaccinated and Neutered , they will be returned to their original site/colony.
The Humane Society of Loudoun County will pay for the costs of the vaccinations and surgery, but our funds are limited, so we ask that TNR Requesters make a tax deductible donation commensurate with their ability to pay in order to help us defray costs so that we can continue to provide help for everyone requesting assistance.