The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has altered its 1,000th feral cat, marking the success of its two-year-old trap, neuter and return program, which includes humanely trapping, spaying, neutering and vaccinating feral cats and then returning them to their outdoor homes.

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has altered its 1,000th feral cat, marking the success of its two-year-old trap, neuter and return 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.

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.