It's 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Metal mesh traps are set out with food trays filled with cut mackerel, canned tuna and chicken. The towel-draped "dining rooms" baited with pungent chow are strategically placed around a well-lit parking lot in hopes of snaring the feral felines occupying the woods near WRLH-TV in Henrico County.
As night falls on the satellite dishes behind the studios, the cats begin to stir and slink out of their fortress of bush and shrub.
Eight whispering volunteers from Save Our Shelters (S.O.S.), Companion Animal Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.), Somebuddies Inc. and other independent services quietly wait for the sound of the first trap door to smack shut.
All the suspense is to follow through with the "trap, neuter and return" method found suitable to maintain the feral cat colony living behind Fox 35's studios. S.O.S. has stepped up and decided to take action in saving the cats and keeping them from being further bulldozed and uprooted from their current residence.
Leading the cat collection is Peggy Lynch, director of S.O.S. While waiting for the first capture of the night, she explains the procedures and reasons for helping these untamed animals have a healthier and safer life, as well as the importance of returning them to their original dwelling.
"This is the only home they know," Lynch said. "They are not homeless. This is their home. This is their natural habitat. Taking them to another location like the woods will put them in fear, around new predators, and likely under more stress. They would likely die."
She is interrupted by a loud "Clank!" They got one.
Volunteers quietly extract the cage with the "prize" inside and fully cover the cage with a towel in order to suppress as much alarm as possible in the captured cat. Then the animal is quickly viewed to see if its left ear is clipped, which is a mark that it has already been treated and returned. This one is unclipped.
Next, the captured cat is inventoried and loaded in Lynch's minivan, where it will be taken home for the evening, fed, watered and monitored for any severe illness or malformations. The next morning, it will be taken to the Richmond SPCA where it will be neutered, vaccinated for worms, rabies and other diseases, and have its ear clipped.
"Without this program, these feral cats will reproduce unchecked and their numbers will continue to grow to the extent that the food source permits," said Robin Starr, Richmond SPCA CEO. "This will limit the population growth of the colony and ensure that the cats carry no disease that could affect humans."
After the medical treatment, Lynch will then take the cat back home for another 24 hours for monitoring and allow time for the anesthesia to wear off. The following morning, the cat will be returned to the colony and released back to its natural habitat.
So far, over the past two weeks, 32 cats have been captured, 26 of which are kittens that are up for adoption. The team expects to catch, treat and return about 50 cats in all that are living in the area. Efforts and the hunt will go on for the next week or so and the monitoring will continue for the next few years.