One of our goals is to help shelters reduce their intake and euthanasia rate by returning cats to their original outdoor environment to live out their lives.
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Our mission is to motivate and empower compassionate caretakers through education and resources as well as equip them with necessary supplies and support to carry out the process of Trap Neuter Return. Located in Forest, Virginia, our Trap-Neuter-Return program acquires help and support of property owners so we may work together in the most efficient way to ensure your outdoor cats live happier, h
ealthier lives through spay and neuter. Our main objective is to promote TNR awareness and educate the community about this process and its benefits. We want you to feel comfortable with the process and we can teach you what you need to know. We believe anyone can TNR and we are here to help you! If you are graciously feeding a couple of strays and would like to have them spayed/neutered, but are overwhelmed with the process, let us help guide and assist you! Call, text or email so we may discuss your specific circumstances to figure out the best possible way to help you and your feline friends.
A post is made about a lost or abandoned cat/kitten.
A commenter asks the original poster, "How can you do nothing?".
Isn't that what the commenter is doing? 🤔 Don't expect others to do more than you are willing to do yourself.
If you want to see something different happen, ✨ make it happen. ✨
Only 2️⃣ appointments available this week and they were filled by Kristen. She is a self-professed “crazy cat lady”. When people in her neighborhood have or find cats/kittens, they know where to go! Luckily, Kristen understands the importance of spay/neuter and keeps the animals if she can’t find them good homes. But these two aren’t going anywhere. They found their way to Kristen and they will remain with her.
That one time our personal cat got caught red-handed‼️
‼️😭 ‼️😭 ‼️😭
I was going to use this post from a local site to try to make an informative and educational post about the risks involved when giving or receiving free kittens.
But I think it speaks for itself…
At the end of July, "Beethoven" earned an extended stay at the Pendleton Cat Palace. 👑 We attempted to return him after his neuter, but something wasn't quite right. 🤔 While most cats zoom out of the their trap towards freedom, Beethoven just sat there. We decided to take him back home for further assessment, after which, we felt he needed to be seen for a wellness exam. He was eating and had some stanky 💩 poos!
The vet at Blue Ridge Animal League was concerned about his kidneys. He was also FIV positive as many unaltered males can be. 😕 They gave him some antibiotics and fluids and told us to continue his care at home. We saw improvements in Beethoven almost immediately! He was eating great and his p**p became more solid and he finally started hitting the litter box. 🙌🏼 We also discovered he was a very sweet boy!
He was doing well for a few days and it was looking as though he'd be able to return to his caretaker. 🙂 Then, he slowly started declining again. It wasn't terrible, but still concerning to me. So, we reached out to the county shelter where he was found for guidance. They referred us to the city shelter. We checked in with them and are so thankful his intake was approved by our friends at the Lynchburg Humane Society for continuing medical care. 😻
What might have been a kidney infection, could also be a chronic kidney problem as well. We are hoping for a positive report once the medical team has a chance to exam him. For now, he is safe and cared for and we know he is in great hands.
You got this, Tovi! We'll stop by to check on you soon! 🤎
If anyone would like to donate towards Beethoven's ongoing medical care, I'll put a link in the comments. We appreciate you!
These kitties were rescued from outdoor cats who were left to breed. It is imperative to communities that all cats, friendly or feral, have an opportunity to be fixed. Google your city to see if low-cost options are available!
Thankfully, these kitties were rescued by Kristen. They will be getting fixed today and will be returned to her for a healthier life!
3️⃣ months ago we caught the last of Gloria’s mama cats (and all of the kittens, who have since been adopted!). At their spay surgery, it was discovered both mom’s were sick and dehydrated. We kept both with us for an extended recovery period. One became increasingly aggressive towards us with each passing day so we decided it was in her best interest to be returned as soon as she was healthy. She was returned a couple of months ago and has been doing well since. 😻
The second kitty was much more complacent and still recovering so she was transferred to our friends at the Lynchburg Humane Society for more medical care and in hopes she would progress in socialization to become adoptable. 🙏🏼
It was not meant to be for this girl. While her health improved greatly under the medical team at LHS, her behavior did not. It was obvious she was miserable in her cage. It was increasingly difficult for staff to get in to clean her cage without stressing her out everyday. Myself, Gloria and LHS all agreed the best course of action was to return her to Gloria’s. 🏡
We picked her up for her freedom run today. 🎉 We wish her years of happiness, freedom and good health with !
You can see a HUGE difference in the day we trapped her as a mom struggling to provide for her kittens to today. Many, many thanks to the wonderful folks at LHS for spending time to recoup community cats like this one for a happier, healthier life! 🫶🏼
We had to absorb some cancelled appointments last week. It's all part of the coordination effort between the requests we get from different locations, transportation availability and available vet appointments. Scheduling can be a challenging aspect of TNR. Every week cannot be as smooth as the last.
We were, however, able to get these two females in so they could become part of the club. We can never have too many members!
Please do not trap cats/kittens and THEN ask for help. 👎🏻 Make a plan first! 👍🏼
Every cat or kitten cannot be indoors and I’m sorry about that. I wish reality was different. I really do. Through spay and neuter maybe one day it will be!
But…
It is not the trapper’s fault.
It is not the shelter’s fault.
It is not the caretaker’s fault.
It is not the vet’s fault.
It is not my fault.
When I release a kitten or a friendly cat, it is because there are no other options. Don’t be mad at me. Don’t tell me how you wish I wouldn’t do that. Be mad at the person who didn’t take care of the cat in the first place, not those working on cleaning up what they left behind. 😭
Vanessa and Judy rounded up a couple of kitties for their spay today! 😻
Valuable lesson to learn from Judy’s experience:
👉🏼 We connected with her when we saw her free kitten post. Only one kitten remained, so we offered to help her get the kitten fixed. She was grateful for the help! We FIRST asked about the stray mama cat. Her daughter had gotten her fixed as a Mother’s Day present! 🥹💐 What a great gift!
She told me that one of the people who took the free kitten contacted her afterwards complaining it had fleas and was hiding from her. She gave her ideas for how to take care of the fleas and told her the kitten didn’t know her and needed time to warm up to her. She also told her about us in case she needed help getting the kitten spayed. The adopter responded that she didn’t want her spayed; she wanted her to have kittens. 😭 Judy said she never would have given her the kitten if she knew that.
And this is only one example of how free kittens make more free kittens, even if you have the best of intentions. 😕
It’s important to ask the right questions to potential adopters and sterilize the animals before rehoming them, if at all possible.
So, we have this wonderful cat door that my husband had put in, and the cat only sits and stares in bewilderment... 😐
👇🏼 👇🏼 👇🏼 👇🏼 👇🏼
I’m happy to say this picture and caption from above is from years ago and the cats finally figured out the door!
Evington, Virginia.
This handsome fella 😻 was found in a new construction townhome by a Good Samaritan who immediately reached out to CVRR for assistance. We had an extra spot at the vet to share because Connie’s second cat didn’t show up for meal time/trapping. Ironically, this WAS Connie’s second cat! Haha!
When we picked him up from his neuter and tried to release, he just didn’t seem like he was feeling all that great. 😕 Call it cat women’s intuition. So, I took him home for the weekend and back to the vet on Monday for a wellness. At our house he was not eating or drinking well and having diarrhea. 🤒 The vet diagnosed him with a kidney infection. After fluids 💦 and meds, he came back to us. It didn’t take long for him to start feeling better! We started him on a prescription kidney diet and continued the fluids. Even though I never saw his “normal”, I’d say he’s back to normal! We’ve switched him back over to a regular diet and he seems to be handling that just fine. 👍🏼
I sure would like to find “Beethoven” a home, if possible, because he’s sweet and I’d love someone to be able to watch out for further medical issues, should any arise. 🤎
He found his way to a colony he wasn’t originally a part of and had been fighting with another unneutered male. Now that they’re both fixed, hopefully the fighting will decrease. Connie is a great caretaker and he will be returned if there is no one who can take him. But we wanted to reach out to see if there were other options for him first! Please message us with any questions you may have.
😻 FEEDING TIPS FOR COMMUNITY CATS 😻
• Remove any uneaten food within 30 minutes. Leaving food overnight can attract insects and wildlife.
TIP: If the cats usually eat all of the food within 15 minutes, try putting out a bit more. If there is consistently food remaining after 30 minutes, try putting out less.
• Do not feed straight from cat food cans. Edges are sharp and can cause injury to the cats.
• If it is a public location, make sure to get permission from the property owner to feed. Keeps you out of trouble and makes sure the cats aren't being fed by multiple people.
• Provide fresh water.
TIP: In the summer, provide lots of fresh water to prevent dehydration. During the winter, try wider, deeper bowls to prevent water from freezing.
• Choose one place to feed and KEEP IT CLEAN. We recommend creating a ‘feeding station’ for all food dishes. Learn more about feeding stations at alleycat.org/ColonyCare-Feeding.
TIP: You can feed on disposable plates or bowls, but be sure to throw them away or recycle immediately after use.
• Deter insects
Build a “moat” around food bowls. Place the bowls in a tray filled with about an inch of water.
Use ant-proof bowls. See examples at alleycat.org/AntProof.
Wet food in the summer draws lots of insects. Try dry food for the warmer months.
*Adjusted text from Alley Cat Allies
📣 Dear Facebook User who messaged me:
Kittens under an abandoned house can go to the Lynchburg Humane Society. If the mom is friendly stray, she should go with them. If she is feral, she should be TNR’d if the kittens are old enough.
FYI: Requests for help to this page do no good if you have blocked my personal page. Facebook does not allow me to respond to you.
Kelly has caught her last mama cat for a total of ELEVEN! Wahoo! She has 2 young males left and 2 kittens. Just the best darn neighbor there ever was...
Tabitha secured "Lady Levi" for her neighbor as well. Poor girl was on her fourth litter and had two non-viable fetuses in her along with an empty placental pod. for this lady. She's spayed and recovered and back "home" for retirement!
And finally, Kristi secured her wants-to-be-friendly (but she's not 😆) kitty for her all important spay. She messaged today to say she has kittens waiting for her when she gets back. No worries, Kristi is on it!
Thanks for a great week, ladies!
No such thing as a free cat/kitten‼️ If you don't pay, the cat/kitten will "pay" later enduring the endless reproduction cycle.
Rescued, spayed, vaccinated, recovered and released back to the farm life she’s always known. 👏🏻😻☀️
We know it’s still summer, but it’s time to start thinking about cooler weather soon. 🍂
Don’t wait until it’s freezing outside to come up with a shelter idea. Do it now when it’s much easier to get outside and work on it! 💡We also want to remind you if you currently have shelters, you need to replace last years straw.
Here’s an inexpensive way to provide additional coverage for an outdoor shelter with supplies you may already have around your home.
It's never too early to prepare for winter weather for your stray and feral friends. 🐾
💖💖💖💖 Kristi - She owns a bomb diggity horse farm. She has worked with us for years, because while she doesn’t mind caring for the cats who show up, she is committed to making sure they are spayed and neutered! 👏🏻 I never worry about a kitty who is returned to this location - plenty of food and water, many barns and other structures for excellent shelter and nice, good people to look out after them. 😻
❣️❣️❣️❣️Tabitha - She is one of THOSE neighbors. One of those neighbors who looks out after cats who really “belong” to the the people a few houses down. She’s one of those neighbors who takes responsibility when the responsibility really isn’t even hers to begin with. She’s one of those neighbors who is so busy herself, but still makes time to help an animal in need. 🤗 She’s one of those neighbors you would be lucky to have. She nabbed a female kitty who will be spayed today so she will NOT be delivering her fourth litter! 🙌🏼
While the traditional approach has been to wait until a cat is at least six months old before neutering, the ASV (Association of Shelter Veterinarians’) guidelines recommend neutering before the cat reaches sexual maturity to prevent unwanted litters. ✅
Pediatric spay and neuter eliminates any chance of an “oops litter,” since female cats can become pregnant as young as 4️⃣ months.
In addition to the commonly accepted health benefits associated with ovariohysterectomy and orchiectomy, such as reducing the incidence of mammary neoplasia and behavioral problems, pediatric (between 8 and 16 weeks of age) spay and neuter offer additional advantages. They are effective tools for dealing with the overpopulation of unwanted cats. The surgical procedures are easier, faster, and less expensive than they are in adult animals. With shorter surgery times and shorter anesthetic episodes, the incidence of perioperative complications is low. Anesthetic recovery and healing are shorter than in adults as well.
💡Donate a gas gift card to your local TNR/rescue group! They would never ask for it, but 90% of the work they do is driving.
Send a message to learn more
Here's the deal - I get shot down pretty often when I offer people free spay/neuter. 🤷♀️ I usually don't get to know the reason. I usually don't get to find out the person's circumstances or about other animals in the home. And I don't know the fate of the animal I'm trying to help. And somehow, I just have to move on to the next animal in need 😞, because there are more than enough people that DO want assistance.
I want to encourage everyone to always comment 📣 if you are able to help or know of resources that they can check into. Not, "Please get your cat fixed!". That's not really helpful and not going to make a bit of difference for them. And don't get discouraged by the "no's". Every once in a while a "yes" will come along. 😺
We all need to spread educational and helpful information instead of just being angry at people. Remember you are advocating for that voiceless animal, but you have to get through to their human first!
And people wonder why animal welfare workers are so easily frustrated at times. They deal with this type of craziness nonstop. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
This guy was supposed to be a TNR kitty, but he wasn't eating very well during recovery and overall just didn't seem to be feeling all that great. 👎 So, he's earned an extended stay at the Pendleton Cat Palace 🏰 until he can get checked out by a vet tomorrow. 🤒
Would love to find this sweet boy a home after he starts feeling better. But if not, he will be returned back to his caretaker after he is medically cleared.
PLEASE do not refer to a friendly cat as "feral" simply because he lives outside. The word feral means the exact opposite 🔁 of friendly and describes temperament ONLY.
Feral DOES NOT refer to a cat who is:
❌ Dirty
❌ Ear-tipped
❌ Homeless
❌ Unaltered
❌ Injured
🤔 A feral cat can be all those things, but those things don't make him feral.
❗️ The words feral and friendly describe temperament ONLY ❗️
Feral DOES refer to a cat who is:
🐈⬛ Unhandleable
🐈⬛ Unsocialized to humans
🐈⬛ Fearful of people
🐈⬛ More comfortable visiting at night
You may be asking yourself, "What difference does it make?".
Since adult "feral" cats are not socialized to people, they are likely to be euthanized if brought to shelters, so it is in their best interest to continue living outdoors. TRAP NEUTER RETURN is their best option for a better life. "Friendly" outdoor cats who are thriving and don’t have identification indicating they are lost can be fixed and returned to their outdoor home or fostered and adopted after a stray hold period.
A whole bunch of collaboration this week with a whole bunch of awesome people!
We used a CVRR appointment after we caught a kitty they had been informed about at a local shopping center location. We returned the favor when they accidentally caught one of the cats our trapper was trying to get. Win and win - two kitties done!
Samantha also got lucky this week. After trying to secure her feral visitor for weeks, she was finally able to trap him so we could have him neutered and returned. No more fighting for you, sir!
Andrew helped his neighbor out by coordinating with us to get her two kitties fixed. The young male will have a much better life now and the female had already had two litters, so I’m super happy Andrew stepped in when he did!
Connie caught her last male and Stella stepped in to help with transportation!
And Kelly, what can we say about Kelly?? She caught #9 and #10 from her location. Just a few more to go! Amazing.
If you have found and rescued kittens, you may be wondering how to catch the mom cat. 🤔
It is super important to make that effort! Do not just scoop up kittens and move on! 🚫 Leaving the mother cat behind leads her to the exact same fate in just a couple of months.
If kittens are around, it’s very likely the mama is around, even if you haven’t physically seen her. It is not typical for a whole litter of kittens to be abandoned.
So how do you go about finding her❓Place the kittens in a trap or carrier at the location you found them. Place a set trap in front of the carrier or trap the kittens are in and bait it with food as normal. Placing a sheet over the traps/carrier creates a little “tunnel” straight to her babies!
And here’s the important part - go away. 😂 Mama cat is not coming back with a scary human lurking around. Let the kittens and the trap do the work for you. If you are able to go inside and monitor from a window or get in your car, that would be best.
Good luck and happy trapping!
Edit for clarification: Going away doesn’t mean leaving the area and the trap unattended. NEVER leave a trap unattended. It means don’t stand there expecting mom to walk in the trap with you watching. Go inside. Monitor from a window. If you are at a public location, park somewhere you can still see the trap and wait in your car.
If you follow this page, yet breed cats at home for money, I don’t understand where the disconnect is. YOU are working against us. YOU are working against shelters and all rescues. YOU are working against the health and well-being of the cat population as a whole.
You can’t pretend to care about cats and then add to the population. Don’t trust me. Do a little research of your own. If you understand the problem, you are more likely to not add to it! 🤓
I found this story quite ironic!!
We had 2️⃣ scheduled appointments for today. Those appointments went to Connie who had been patiently waiting for her turn to nab two new faces at her managed colony.
She trapped her first kitty on Tuesday 👏🏻 and we held him while he waited for his appointment.
On Wednesday Connie was going try again for the second cat. By 11:30am, we were informed that her consistent visitor did not show up all day Tuesday or Wednesday for breakfast. 🤷🏻♀️
We contacted CVRR to see if they could use our unfilled spot. They let us know someone had contacted them about needing an appointment for a cat they had JUST caught. That worked out so well, I thought! 🫱🏻🫲🏼
Then I saw the cat posted on lost and found. Then I noticed the location was right behind Connie’s. 🤔 Connie sent me a picture of the second cat she was trying to catch, and sure enough, it was the same cat CVRR was taking in to fill our second appointment. 😂 🎉
No wonder he didn’t show up for Connie; CVRR’s Good Samaritan had just caught him! Go team!
Of course we don’t care who caught him, who got him there 🚗 or who picked him up. We are just so happy the final kitty was caught and got his neuter today! It’s took 5 of us total, but we made it happen. Thanks to Blue Ridge for being flexible and working with both organizations. 🫶🏼
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That one time our personal cat got caught red-handed‼️
Martha has been in foster care with us for about a year and a half. That included much time trying to socialize and understand her. It also included a little mini-attack that landed Martha in quarantine for 10 days. Luckily, we had the perfect set up for a cat like Martha - a bathroom with a large walk-in shower with glass doors. I would visit with her daily. Feed her, talk to her, play with her and give her catnip. It took 8 long months before I could touch her. The day it finally happened, I cried. I have since learned she does not enjoy it at all, 😂 unless she initiates it, which is rare. We have an understanding and Martha has now been able to integrate with the rest of the household and other kitties. She’s as happy as I think she can be! She even sleeps beside us in bed some nights. 🥰 Now Martha thinks she owns the place and can do whatever she wants. While cutting down sheets to use for trap covers, Martha assumed this rare occurrence was purely for her enjoyment. 🤷🏻♀️
We trapped this gal about 3️⃣ weeks ago and have been holding her for recovery. We were holding two more from this location as well, but they have since been returned as they were growing increasingly aggressive in confinement. This little one had a plethora of medical struggles and is not showing any signs of aggression, so we will be transferring her to LHS this afternoon. 💖 Not only did she have kittens who were about 4-5 weeks old (rescued and treated for dehydration), she was also in heat again. 😢 She had terrible diarrhea, was malnourished and dehydrated, among other medical concerns. But she was still trying to be a good mama. This is why spay/neuter is so important and how it prevents suffering. She is now doing well. She has been spayed, has a great appetite and her poop is as good as poop can be! 💩
Almost a month ago this kitty was trapped, spayed and returned after all her kittens were rescued. She was on her upteenth litter so we’re super happy we were able to assist in getting her spayed! And this is how easy it is to trap a kitty: 1. Have an appointment or plan in place for holding. 2. Bait your trap. 3. Set your trap. 4. Monitor your trap. 5. Once the kitty is in, cover your trap.
This injured kitty was limping around his neighborhood with a bite wound abscess right in his joint. Ouch! Dominique, his feeder, had never been able to touch him so we were unsure of his temperament. He was so angry and fractious in his trap that he busted his nose while at the clinic waiting on his neuter. 🤦🏻♀️😲🤕 I picked him up on Thursday and wanted to assess his temperament because being friendly opens up different treatment options for him, of course. I took my cues from him and watched his body language. I tried to pet him yesterday and was unsuccessful as he quickly pulled away. Today, I went in for the pet, and it was a totally different story! 🧡🧡🧡
When this cat showed up at Dominique’s place… he was just a standoffish stray. As many folks do, Dominique began referring to him as “Orange Kitty”. So, that name stuck and that’s what she has called him since. A few days ago he showed up injured and limping. Dominique immediately reached out to get him help. He had a bite wound abscess in the joint where his paw meets his leg. 😕 Dominique got him to the clinic where they cleaned him up and he is now recovering here with us. Since he might be hanging out with us for a while, we thought he may need a more permanent name and we thought you guys might be able to help us out! So hit me with it! 💥 What cool names do you have for this wanderer who is now neutered and on his way to a better life?!
It’s possible Dominique started feeding this kitty. 👅 It’s possible she reached out online 💻 for help when he showed up injured 🤕 - we answered. It’s possible she came 🚗 to pick up a trap from me. It’s possible she trapped him that very evening. 🫰🏼 It’s possible she overnighted him AND got him to the Clinic early this morning. 🌅 It’s all possible because ANYONE can TNR if they have the desire to help stray and feral cats in their neighborhood… just like Dominique. The next tenant with a booking at the Pendleton Cat Palace for recovery:
Nothing to see here… just Watson and Sherlock being normal kitties for the first time ever! 😻😻
We had Lee’s mama cat, Veronica, spayed last week, but she needed to get back to her outdoor life ASAP. 🌳 Not in the original plan, but looks like we are fostering Veronica’s kittens that we rescued along with Lee and her husband. Lee’s location is now complete so we just have to socialize these little ones and they’ll be set and ready for adoption. ✅ They are all sour and sweet! 🍭 They are very handleable, but very unhappy about it. 😅 They are about 5 1/2 weeks old, so I hope they will be coming around to the sweet side soon!
I found Sherlock and Watson’s bathroom in disarray this morning! I spent all day cleaning up and disinfecting the foster room the Hat Kittens literally destroyed while they were here. 😂 I felt like it was time for Sherlock and Watson to move on up! Perhaps I was wrong. 🤷🏻♀️ It was an hour long struggle to transfer them to their big new room. They were scared and stressed wondering why all their stuff was moving around. They don’t have the “safety” of their boxes to hide in, but I truly didn’t think they needed them anymore. Beside one box fell apart and one I do believe they sprayed or peed all over the other one. 🤢 I guess they don’t value a clean room as much as I do! Lol For better or worse, they got a bigger, better, less stinky but still quiet room. They are hiding under the futon. I guess I’ll have to start all over getting them to trust me again. Sigh.
Watson = Success 😻
What did I tell ya?! Watson has made an appearance fully outside his fallen apart box! It wasn’t long, but I’ll take it. He’s moving right along. And Sherlock took a very short excursion outside the bathroom! They may turn into regular cats after all. 😉
All of my adult cats are scared of this. 😂 A couple will lay on it, but none would dare move on it. I see the key is KITTENS! 🎉 They ain’t skerred! 👻
While Sherlock has made great strides roaming around while I’m in the room (still not a huge fan of hands), Watson refuses. He’s friendly. He likes pets. He’s gentle. But he won’t come out or that box for anything. 😹
I turned off the lights 💡 and something amazing happened. Sherlock appeared! I’ve been working with Watson, because I felt he was giving more signs of friendliness. And out waltzes Sherlock, who has never allowed me to sneak in a pet and does this. 🤯 Oh hey, I’m just a regular kitty now. 😏
How can a cat, who is seemingly sooo relaxed and comfortable (and purring), NOT come out of this hidey house for me???!!! 😡 C’mon Watson!!! 📣 Mama wants to give you some lovin! And you’re driving me crazy. 🤪
Perhaps he got up the courage to step outside the hidey house because he saw his buddy, Watson, do the same thing! 🎉 I have yet to be able to pet Sherlock, but at least we are moving forward and I’m seeing positive steps in the socialization process.
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