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Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
Press Release: 1000thFeralCat/MLH
December 10, 2010

Animal Shelter Provides TNR for 1000^th Feral Cat

Fairfax County Trap, Neuter and Return Program Prevents Unwanted Litter

            The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has altered its 1000^th feral cat marking the success of its two-year-old trap, neuter and return (TNR) program, which includes humanely trapping, spaying, neutering and vaccinating feral cats and then returning them to their outdoor homes. The goals of the program are to decrease the number of unwanted kittens born each year to outdoor cats; to decrease the intake of cats and kittens at the shelter; and to decrease the euthanasia of cats in Fairfax County.

            As part of the TNR program, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter provides free spay/neuter and vaccinations for feral cats who reside in Fairfax County. The program is funded by private donations from the sale of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Animal Friendly License Plates. For each plate purchased by a Fairfax County resident, $15 is donated back to the shelter, which is using the money, in part, for TNR.

            More than 230 citizens have attended the shelter’s Helping Community Cats classes to become eligible to use the resources offered by the shelter’s program for outdoor cats. Citizens who attend the classes are trained how to perform TNR and become part of a “citizen army” of trappers, transporters and caregivers who provide ongoing management for feral cat colonies.

            “We estimate that the TNR program has prevented somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 litters of kittens from being born,” says Karen Diviney, director of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. “Our hope is that in time, we will start to see this program translate into fewer cats coming into our shelter and fewer homeless cats being euthanized in our community.”

             To be eligible for the shelter’s TRN program, citizens must first attend the Helping Community Cats Workshops held twice monthly in Fairfax County. For more information about attending an upcoming class or about TNR, please contact the shelter at 703-830-1100.