RAPPCATS

1. Rappahannock County is a small county, with fewer than 8,000 inhabitants. The county government does not fund a cat shelter. The RappCats Adoption Center, a private no-kill and cage-free shelter, in Flint Hill, Virginia, acts as a de facto shelter and is the only Virginia approved cat shelter in the county. Adoptions are our original Program Service. In 2025, the Adoption Center and RappCats foster homes served 155 Rappahannock County cats in our custody. During 2025, 65 RappCats were adopted. RappCats has only a full-time shelter manager and a part-time assistant shelter manager. Volunteers provide help with increasing adoptions, socializing homeless cats and kittens, expanding our social media presence, and engaging in community outreach such as through regular open houses and taking part in community events. We advertise cats available from RappCats primarily through social media and the local newspaper. We pay for all necessary medical treatment and vaccinations for our cats. Many costs, including cat food and boarding, utilities, and administration such as insurance and information technology, are necessary costs of a successful adoption center.

2. To help reduce the homeless cat population, RappCats facilitates and provides no cost and low-cost spaying and neutering for Rappahannock County cats. In 2025, 111 Rappahannock County cats were spayed or neutered using RappCats funds. Expenses include not only direct veterinary fees, but also significant payroll expenses associated with staff time relating to trapping cats and transporting cats to and from veterinary offices. Among its efforts to reduce the homeless cat population, RappCats has initiated a program supported by local charities that works with low-income residents to provide no-cost neutering. The program recognizes that neutering male cats is more economical than spaying female cats and is much less intrusive. Neutering mail cats is especially effective, as a single male cat can mate multiple females.