Virginia Beach faces a growing population of feral and community cats (also called free-roaming or stray cats), leading to high numbers of kittens born each year, increased strain on the city's shelters and private rescues, and ongoing nuisance complaints from residents. Current city ordinances (e.g., rules on animals running at large in Chapter 5 of the City Code) do not explicitly support or protect Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, the proven humane and effective method to manage these populations by humanely trapping cats, spaying/neutering them, vaccinating them, and returning them to their outdoor homes. This limits city-supported TNR efforts, unlike nearby areas such as Norfolk (which adopted a TNR ordinance in 2023) and other Virginia localities.

I support the City of Virginia Beach adopting a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) ordinance for feral and community cats. This humane approach will humanely manage cat populations by spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and returning cats to their colonies, reducing kitten births, easing shelter overcrowding, lowering euthanasia rates, addressing nuisances, and saving city resources. Virginia Beach should follow the lead of Norfolk and other Virginia communities by updating its ordinances to formally allow and encourage TNR programs, protecting caregivers and promoting better animal welfare for residents and cats alike.