Animal Control is passionate about cats – feral and domestic. Here's how you can help control the feral cat population:
Register a Cat Colony
Registration includes providing documentation of support by surrounding neighbors and assures responsibility for feeding and providing emergency veterinarian care to colony members. Please note that regular trapping must be done by the registrant or others to sterilize all cats in the colony. A licensed veterinarian should tip, or notch, the cat's ears for identification purposes, and vaccinate for rabies. Colony registrations must be updated annually.
If you don't want to create a feral cat colony, you can get a trap from Animal Control, trap the cats, and Animal Control will collect them from you. To get a trap please come to our offices at 419 North Armistead Avenue, or call 757-727-6111, option 4. An officer will be dispatched to your location. You will be expected to fill out a cat trapping application, so please have a driver's license or state I.D. available. Go online to get a cat trapping application (PDF).
Cat Facts
Did you know that neutering male cats?
Eliminates strong tomcat odors
Reduces the tendency of fighting among male cats
Eliminates a cat's natural inclination to wander searching for a female, reducing the likelihood of auto accidents or other fatalities.
Spaying female cats:
Eliminates unwanted kittens
Keeps a cat from going into heat
Helps reduce the cat population. An unspayed female, her mate and their offspring can produce two litters per year, with an average of 2.8 surviving kittens per litter, or 11,000,000 cats in nine years. Kittens from a litter can reproduce as early as four months of age.
Remember: spaying and neutering can also reduce the chance of other medical problems in both young and old cats.