Volunteers found 80 cats and took them to Hanover, Virginia before returning them to the wild

CatPhoto byManja VitoliconUnsplash

According to WTVR 6 News, a team of volunteers from Furbish Thrift and veterinarians at the Kincheloe South at the Jessica Beath vet clinic in Hanover County were hard at work on Thursday afternoon, March 7, 2024 making sure Richmond’s feral cat population stays under control.

CEO of William A. Harrison Jr. Foundation explained:

"Trappers to go out several nights before this event, trapping the feral cats, bringing them to Furbish Thrift. We put them in our thrift store truck and we bring them here to Hanover to the clinic where they receive health care.”

Once at the clinic, the feral cats weren’t just spayed or neutered. Associate Veterinarian Katrina Kollgaard says the cats received dental work and were treated for parasites and diseases before being returned into the wild.

catPhoto byAlex NicolopoulosonUnsplash

Kollgaard explained what feral cats are:

"Most of these cats are truly feral — meaning they haven’t had contact with human beings, and so they are not tame and they’re not able to be domesticated. They breed very rapidly so this can definitely help to control overpopulation in certain areas because that is definitely a big problem with feral cats."

Harrison added:

"The people who trap these feral cats, will retrieve them and take them back to the areas where they were trapped. And that’s the best process to have because these for the most part are cats that are able to be domesticated. They are not people's pets. These are animals that were born in the wild."

Harrison said this is the third time for the "Big Fix." He estimated that nearly 300 cats have been fixed and returned to the wild.