What are Feral Cats? Feral cats are the offspring of stray or abandoned household pets. Raised without human contact, they quickly revert to a wild nature and form colonies where food and shelter are available. Feral cats make up a large portion of the cats killed at animal shelters.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). The plight of stray and feral cats has captured the hearts of animal lovers for many years, but only within the last two decades has a non-lethal option for their control become available. Called “trap-neuter-return” or TNR, this humane alternative involves trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating and returning the cats to their colonies where they are looked after by their caretakers. This solution is believed to successfully reduce birth rates and improve the overall health of the colony.
Photo Credit: Carmen Moise
About Operation Catnip. Operation Catnip is a nonprofit organization that operates a high-volume, no-charge clinic at which feral and stray cats are spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Founded in 1994 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Operation Catnip has subsequently expanded to Gainesville, Florida in 1998 and Richmond, Virginia in 2001. Our Raleigh and Gainesville chapters also operate voucher programs where feral and stray cats are sterilized at local veterinary clinics with a small co-pay from the caretaker. Our clinics are run entirely by volunteers (veterinarians, vet technicians and trained lay people) and are capable of sterilizing over 100 cats in a matter of hours. All cats have the tip of their left ear cropped which identifies the cat as sterilized.