<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.fark.com/goto/11277841/wjla.com/news/local/community-cats-are-an-underdog-the-secret-world-of-cat-colonies-revealed%3Futm_s" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">"Community cats are an underdog and yet they still need care. They are out here because people failed them and forgot them." 4Paws, a home-based group that in its 20 years has rescued more than 10,000 cats hasn't forgotten them. Welcome to Caturday</span></a><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: medium; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></font><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: medium; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"></span><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr">Courtesy of <div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">————————————————-</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><h1 class="index-module_storyHeadlineText__3tyA" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; font-size: 22px; line-height: 28px; font-family: "Open Sans"; letter-spacing: -0.5px; color: rgb(18, 18, 18); caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'Community cats are an underdog': Inside the secret world of northern Va. cat colonies</h1></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">Reporter’s Notebook: Thousands of feral felines live in concealed cat communities throughout our region. One reason their numbers aren’t exploding is thanks to a handful of volunteers with a group that traps, spays, neuters and releases these creatures.</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Near a nondescript apartment complex in Fairfax County, Marsha Herndon, a volunteer for 4Paws Rescue Team, heads into a fascinating world hidden in plain sight, a world teeming with life in this bamboo forest.</span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">Shrouded in thickets of brush or nestled in cozy parking lot corners throughout the region are colonies of cats living under the radar and surviving thanks to Herndon and other 4Paws volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“It’s a pretty safe spot for the kitties," Herndon says. "They certainly could be a lot worse off than they are here. We have some shelters over here for them. I know they use them. I just saw one kitty run over there.”</span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">And on this day, a rare daytime sighting of a cat. Feral cats are generally not fond of human interaction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“I used to see feral cats and it used to bother me because I thought about what life they had," she said. "I just felt compelled to get involved.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">Herndon is one of a handful of volunteers with 4Paws who feeds these outdoor creatures in a program saving countless cats.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“I have a humane trap here," she told us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">Lisa Willey, dubbed the cat wrangler, heads up a practice called TNR, which stands for Trap, Neuter and Return. This county-approved practice puts a huge dent in the cat overpopulation crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“What we try to do is get them trapped so that we can get them spayed and neutered,” says Willey.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">After being spayed or neutered and receiving vaccinations, the cats are returned to their respective communities, where volunteers feed them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“Well, we just left fresh food and we are hoping that the kitties will be coming soon after dark and eating it up before any of the raccoons get it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">Willey knows that raccoons and other furry animals join the cats at night because for quite some time she’s been capturing their movements with a motion sensor camera.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“By day we see birds and by night we see cats,” says Willey.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Whether abandoned, dumped, or born in the wild, these felines have a friend in 4Paws, a home-based group that in its 20 years has rescued more than 10,000 cats. Lisa Willey estimates she’s trapped more than 1,000 cats in a TNR program helping these elusive and intriguing creatures live better, more responsible lives.</span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">“Community cats are an underdog and yet they still need care. They are out here because people failed them and forgot them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 19.5pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(18, 18, 18);">To learn more about 4Paws and opportunities to volunteer<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://fourpaws.org/" target="_blank" title="https://fourpaws.org/" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);"><span style="text-decoration: none;">click here</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">—————————</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Photos . . .</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_01.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_01.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_02.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_02.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_03.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_03.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_04.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_04.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_05.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_05.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_06.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_06.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_07.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_07.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_08.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_08.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_09.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_09.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_10.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_032721_10.jpg</a></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">————————————————-</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><b>“Caturday”</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> by Linus Petit</span></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3</a></div></div><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/">http://www.moscowcares.com/</a></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div>“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”</div><div>- Roy E. Stolworthy</div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>