Welcome Feral Cat Friends!

Operation Cat Snip is a small group of volunteers on the Greater Virginia Peninsula that is dedicated to feral cats. It's our mission to promote Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the humane method to reduce over-population of feral cats in our area and to educate municipalities, citizens and veterinarians about the benefits of TNR and working to implement effective solutions to control our feral cat population.

A feral cat is an ex-domestic cat that has regressed to being wild or wild-born offspring of a stray cat. In other words, they are born wild and live their lives without human contact. Feral cats do not trust humans and usually do not allow humans to touch or handle them. Because of their elusive nature, feral cats do not function well when removed from their natural outdoor environment and they are rarely able to domesticate.

A feral cat is not to be confused with stray cats or alley cats. Unlike feral cats, stray cats are homeless and/or abandoned domestic cats and have had contact with humans. A way to identify a feral cat is that their left ear is tipped. This also indicates that the cat is spayed or neutered and is being cared for by a Feral Cat Caregiver.

If a feral cat is trapped by local animal control and taken to a local shelter, it will be held for 5 days as required by state law and then euthanized. This is also known as the vacuum effect or catch and kill. Animal control agencies have been catching and euthanizing cats for decades, especially in our local area. In the U.S. the most comprehensive study to date indicates that 72% of all cats entering these facilities are killed (Stats National Council on Pet Population and Policy Shelter Statistics Survey, 1994-97).

Visit the following links to learn more about being a Feral Cat Caregiver and how to manage your feral cat colony on the Peninsula.

Meet Dakota! She is such a pretty cat. Dakota is 7yrs old and part of the 2nd Chance Feral Cat Colony.

Do you have feral cats in your area? Please email us and we can help!

Watch our videos to learn more about feral cats and TNR efforts.

Federal Tax ID #: 27-5023692

Help us prevent and save more lives!