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Coalitions Create Change for Community Cats

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When individuals and organizations form coalitions to help community cats, their impact can be greater as they pool their resources and harness their collective expertise. That’s why Alley Cat Allies is enthusiastic about the Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition in Maryland. Its mission is to improve the lives of community cats by promoting Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), assisting community cat caregivers, and educating residents about community cats.

The coalition formed in March 2016, and we were delighted to provide guidance and expertise. After all, TNR is truly a community effort.

“The coalition puts [TNR] in the community, where it belongs,” says Thomas Koenig, who became director of Maryland’s Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (MCASAC) in 2015. He suggested creating the coalition after he had success forming Virginia’s Loudon County Community Cat Coalition in 2014.

Kim Deserio, volunteer for TNR group Metro Ferals, says the coalition has helped her group increase its impact and get more community cats spayed and neutered. “Now we find out about so many more colonies because the [shelter] staff refers people to us,” says Deserio.

Plus, colony caregivers feel empowered to tend to their colonies without getting in trouble with animal control. “There is this spirit of collaboration and cooperation,” Deserio adds.

Nearly 300 cats have been spayed or neutered since March 2017, thanks to monthly mobile spay/neuter clinics with Metro Ferals, which is also a member of our Feral Friends Network. The coalition also supports MCASAC as the shelter continues to work toward reducing the killing of community cats and instead returning them to their colonies.

The shelter will spay and neuter, eartip, microchip, vaccinate, and provide veterinary care for community cats brought to the shelter. Then it coordinates with community cat groups to return the cats to their outdoor homes. Animal control officers also don’t pick up eartipped cats, and shelter staff will provide community members with information and resources for TNR.

Efforts like these are key to making progress for TNR and community cats. As support grows, the coalition expects to be the local go-to resource for caregivers, as well as the shelter, says coalition President Jan Armstrong. She says the coalition will educate people about TNR and help them to “understand what community cats are and how we can help them, and why we should help them.”

Eventually, the coalition will become a model program for other communities, “and we have the skills in this group to do it,” Armstrong says.

The coalition includes nonprofit organizations, animal control officers, animal shelter staff, veterinarians, individuals who carry out TNR, colony caregivers, and animal advocates.

“We’ve had a great working relationship,” Koenig says of his organization and Alley Cat Allies. “We’ve done a lot to move [MCASAC] forward.”

Start a coalition in your community! Go to alleycat.org/CommunityChange


Profile in Compassion: Philadelphia Woman Cares For 80 Community Cats

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Compassionate caregiving by extraordinary people is in the news once again. Pat Frederick caught the media’s attention in Philadelphia as she set out to feed 80 community cats around her neighborhood. A photographer captured her in a daily routine that takes five hours: Going from colony to colony, and from one street to another, to feed the cats.

Pat’s commitment is inspiring. As supporters like you know, this dedication to cats is shared by so many unsung heroes like Pat all around the country.

Pat moved from Chicago to her parents’ house in Philadelphia eight years ago. That’s when she began to feed the two dozen community cats on their block. That number grew to 80 cats after neighbors told Pat about other stray or feral cats outside.

Pat carried out Trap-Neuter-Return on the colonies with help from her community and Alley Cat Allies.

Pat says she feels rewarded by this work, which she does in every kind of weather. It takes a 16-pound bag of dry food, 32 cans, and three gallons of water to feed the cats each day. Several neighbors help by giving her a few bags of food each month.

“The best thing is when the cats are happy and giving you love,” she says.

 

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.

Wait Until 8 Saves Kittens’ Lives

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Like most animal shelters, Fort Bend County Animal Services and Harris County Animal Shelter, both in Texas, see an influx of kittens each spring and summer. This is kitten season, and this year, these two Texas shelters were prepared with Alley Cat Allies’ Wait Until 8 program.

Here’s how it works: When people find litters outside and bring them to a shelter, the staff members, instead of taking the litters in, recommend that the individuals care for the kittens at home with Alley Cat Allies’ Kitten Care Kits. Once neonatal kittens reach 8 weeks of age, they can be taken back to the shelter to be spayed or neutered and put up for adoption.

The program maximizes the kittens’ chances for survival as kittens in shelters are at risk for illness and disease, or worse, are often killed due to the lack of resources or staff to care for them.

Alice Burton, associate director of Animal Shelter and Animal Control Engagement at Alley Cat Allies, provided her expertise to the two Texas shelters in February as they prepared to kick off Wait Until 8.

“It’s a solution the community can be part of,” says Kerry McKeel, a spokeswoman at the Harris County Animal Shelter.

The Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection in Roanoke, Virginia, implemented Wait Until 8 in 2017 after learning about it from Alley Cat Allies at a conference. About 15 people who brought kittens to the shelter have participated in the program in 2017, says Libby Carden, a shelter supervisor. “It saves the kittens—and people are willing to help,” she says. “They just needed resources.”

In Canada, Morgen Manners, operations manager at the Lloydminster and District SPCA, began asking people who brought in litters if they would care for the kittens until they were 8 weeks old. The response was so positive that the Wait Until 8 program was implemented this year.

“A lot of people, as soon as I mentioned, ‘We can get you food, we can get you a litter pad,’ they were like ‘Oh yeah,’” she says. “It takes away that barrier that they have to go get supplies … and I think they felt they had more support.”

Barbara Vass, a coordinator for the Fort Bend shelter, also had high hopes for community involvement. “If we’re able to give them the guidance and resources to get started with the Kitten Care Kit, I think it’s going to have a big impact on people wanting to help,” she says.

Interested in providing kitten care? Volunteer with your local shelter, foster neonatal kittens, or encourage a shelter to start a Wait Until 8 program. Caring for neonatal kittens? See our easy-to-follow guide at alleycat.org/KittenGuide. Check out our Kitten Care Kit instructions at alleycat.org/KittenCareKit. Learn more at alleycat.org/WaitUntil8.

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.

Earlier-Age Spay and Neuter Gains Momentum

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Alley Cat Allies has long supported pediatric spay and neuter, which is performed when healthy kittens are about 2 months old and weigh 2 pounds. Now the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and other veterinary groups are slowly moving in this direction.

In a recent decision, the AVMA endorsed a recommendation that veterinarians spay and neuter cats by 5 months of age, one month earlier than had been customary. Cats, however, can get pregnant as young as 4 months. The Veterinary Task Force on Feline Sterilization made the new recommendation.

The Feline Fix by Five campaign, spearheaded by Esther Mechler and Joan Miller, advocated for the task force’s recommendation. Mechler has been a driving force in the spay and neuter movement in the United States for the past 30 years.

 

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.

Postcards From the Edge:  Saving California’s ‘Fire Cats’

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Alley Cat Allies is helping animal rescues keep hope alive for cats and people still recovering from the devastating 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. Surrounded by the smoke and chaos of the blazes, hundreds of cats were displaced from their homes. Alley Cat Allies provided grants to two local groups, Outcast Cat Help (OCH) and Surfcat Rescue and Adoptions, to support their lifesaving mission to care for the “fire cats” and reunite them with their families.

Through feeding stations equipped with cameras, OCH volunteers spotted and trapped Sebastian. He was reunited with his family 55 days after they fled their home during the Sonoma County fires.

“I’ve pinched myself every day since Sebastian got home,” says owner Coreen Allen. “I’m so grateful to everyone who contributed in having him come back.”

Thanks to OCH trapping efforts, Nemo was reunited with owner Claudia Meglin 87 days after he went missing during the Sonoma County fires.

“I ended up losing everything in the fire, but the biggest pain was that we didn’t have Nemo with us. Evacuating without him was one of the hardest things I had to do. Now we’re back together, and I almost can’t believe it,” Meglin says.

The Thomas Fire in Ventura County left little Roni with singed whiskers and ears, and paws so badly burned that she could barely walk. Surfcat volunteers rescued her and got her immediate medical attention.

A month after her rescue, Roni was reunited with her brother, Storm, who was saved by another Ventura County rescue. Now they’re safe and sound in a forever home—together. Look how good Roni looks!

Scarlett went missing when her family evacuated from the Thomas Fire. After weeks of failed efforts, Surfcat volunteers finally trapped and reunited her with owner Katrina.

Frankie’s owners had nearly given up hope after two months of searching following the Santa Rosa fire that burned down their home. With OCH’s guidance, Frankie was finally returned to his family’s arms.

 

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.

Alley Cat Allies gets Kittens the Help They Need

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From Darkness to Light

With your support, Alley Cat Allies saved the life of a brave little kitten! In March, a tiny 4-week-old tabby was found huddled alone in a cold, pitch-black utility tunnel in Bethesda, Maryland, where Jakob Martin had been working. He heard the kitten’s distressed cries through the darkness. Since the kitten’s mother was nowhere to be found, Martin picked her up and sought help from Alley Cat Allies.

The kitten (we named her Gertrude after the patron saint of cats) didn’t seem to respond to movement or light. We wondered if she might be blind. We rushed her to get medical attention at a nearby veterinary hospital. Thankfully, the kitten was given a clean bill of health and the veterinarian expects her eyesight to return!

An Alley Cat Allies staff member fostered the kitten until she was 8 weeks old and could be spayed and adopted. Then she’s expected to go to the perfect forever home: Martin’s!

“I’ve always wanted a cat and I was thinking about getting one in the next few months,” says Martin, who is renaming the kitten Pyramid. “It was like destiny just walked in. How was I going to back down from that?”

Our generous supporters and donors like you make it possible for Alley Cat Allies to get kittens
like Pyramid the help they need. Thanks to your compassion, she will live out her life safe and sound with her rescuer.

Miracle on a Highway

To rescue a young cat from a busy six-lane causeway in New Jersey, Kim Kean, the Atlantic City program manager at Alley Cat Allies, had to think fast. She spotted the little tortoiseshell on the median strip as she was driving, while cars and buses zoomed by.

“I realized I had to act quickly,” she says. Kim knew she couldn’t save the cat on her own. She called an animal-loving police officer who has worked with Alley Cat Allies through the Atlantic City Boardwalk Cats Project for years.

A few minutes later, the officer and her partner arrived. Kim helped them stop traffic in both directions and scooped up the little tortie with a net. Then, Kim took her to a veterinarian. The cat was scared but, amazingly, had no injuries. She was very tiny, though—only 3 pounds at 6 months old. The veterinarian thought the little cat was so cute that she decided to foster her! Guess what we named her: Miracle!

 

*This article was originally published in Alley Cat Action, Volume 28, Issue 3, Spring 2018.

Troubling Conditions Threaten Community Cats in Hawaii

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Community cats—and owned cats who are sometimes outdoors—are facing a grave situation in Hawaii. A cruel plan to outlaw the feeding of cats, interfere with the practice of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and ultimately “destroy” cats at small boat harbors “by any means necessary” may become law soon.

Despite overwhelming opposition from local and national organizations, including Alley Cat Allies, and residents, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is pushing for Governor David Ige to sign its deadly plans into law.

The provision to destroy cats at small boat harbors would be delayed until January 2019. The feeding ban and interference with TNR would be effective immediately, resulting in the suffering and deaths of healthy, much-loved community cats.

The new DLNR rules are a misguided attempt to control cat populations. TNR works, and 91 percent of voters in Hawaii prefer TNR over killing cats.

Alley Cat Allies has succeeded in delaying the rules and is working strenuously to prevent them from becoming law. Should they be implemented, we will fight to have them overturned.

Speak out and protect the cats who need us. Take action at alleycat.org/Hawaii.

Memo to Jefferson: Iowa Communities Report TNR Success

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Officials in Jefferson, Iowa, came under fire this spring for their policy of trapping and shooting cats. Following national news coverage, the cruel practice carried out by police officers was halted.

“Jefferson has taken an important first step, but in order to be effective in helping cats and their community, the town needs a comprehensive humane approach, including low-cost spay and neuter services and a Trap-Neuter-Return program,” says Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies.

Our team deployed to Jefferson to create immediate and humane solutions, but officials declined to meet with us. We continue to reach out.

Meanwhile, Jefferson doesn’t need to look far for inspiration. Surrounding cities and counties have embraced successful TNR programs for years. Through TNR, community cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, eartipped, and returned to their outdoor homes.

In rural Winterset, a city-funded TNR program that began in 2014 has spayed or neutered more than 500 community cats. The program has been so effective that officials increased the city’s budget for TNR this year. Before TNR was adopted, the city trapped and killed cats—and it accomplished nothing.

“We used to get a fair number of calls or people would come to City Council meetings and implore us to do something about the cats. Now we’re not really getting complaints at City Hall anymore about stray or feral cats,” says Winterset City Administrator Mark Nitchals.

In nearby Boone County, the Boone Area Humane Society’s new TNR program is already proving effective. The “stray hold area” of the shelter, which had always been full of cats, is now often empty.

The city of Cedar Rapids boasts that the Iowa Humane Alliance’s Regional Spay/Neuter Clinic has spayed or neutered 39,000 animals since opening in 2013, including community cats. Local shelters also reported decreases in their community cat intake since TNR began.

Communities around Jefferson, and throughout the United States, have seen firsthand that TNR is the only humane and effective approach to community cats.


Alley Cat Allies Fuels Shelter’s Transformation

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In 2006, the Camden County Animal Shelter in New Jersey was stacked floor to ceiling with cages of cats and kittens. The annual intake was more than 6,000 animals, and the total save rate was under 50 percent. The shelter was faltering, with half of the animals coming from the city of Camden, one of the poorest areas in the nation.

A group of volunteers stepped in to keep the debt-ridden shelter afloat. Among them: Michelle Zebrowski, who became the shelter’s board president. “I was staring at all these cats, and I didn’t know what to do,” says Zebrowski. “I reached out to Alley Cat Allies out of pure desperation.”

Alley Cat Allies’ advice—that her community needed more low-cost spay and neuter options—was “eye-opening,” Zebrowski says. We helped the shelter provide these low-cost services, a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, and used innovative ideas to gain community support.

Zebrowski and others worked with nearly every elementary and middle school in the shelter’s sprawling service area, stuffing thousands of students’ backpacks with flyers “so we could reach the parents that way,” she says.

They set up tables at community events and hung Alley Cat Allies doorhangers in neighborhoods to change residents’ attitudes about cats.

The shelter used mapping software to find “hot spots” of community cats, which helped it carry out targeted TNR. The shelter implemented a foster program, filled adoption spaces at local pet stores, and increased partnerships with other New Jersey shelters and rescues.

Each year, conditions at the shelter improved. By 2017, the shelter had fully transformed. Its save rate for cats is 91 percent, the highest of any shelter in the region. More than 20,000 owned and community cats have been spayed or neutered.

Now that Camden County has passed a resolution endorsing TNR, more groups are working closely with the shelter to save even more community cats, says Camden County Animal Shelter Executive Director Vicki Rowland.

If Camden County can transform its shelter and policies despite such odds, then communities around the nation can create humane change, too.

A Profile in Compassion: Rita Flygar

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It started with a community cat colony close to her Rockville, Maryland, neighborhood. Rita Flygar and her husband, Ray, tag-teamed to carry out
Trap-Neuter-Return. She took on trapping the cats while Ray transported them to spay and neuter clinics.

The couple then worked their way through other colonies in a nearby industrial area. In three years’ time, the Flygars put some 200 cats through TNR.

“I would go at night with binoculars and make sure that no new unspayed or unneutered cats were coming into the colonies, [and] make sure there were no kittens being born,” Rita Flygar says.

Over the years, Alley Cat Allies provided the Flygars with supplies and advocacy help. Rita Flygar used that advice to help a positive TNR ordinance get approved in Rockville in 2015.

“TNR gives these cats … a life where they’re not constantly reproducing, not hungry, and they’re healthier,” she says. “I’m glad that I can do something to contribute to their well-being.”

Hurricane Harvey: Checking In 14 Months Later

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Bones is now a spokescat for CATNIP Foundation, which rescued him during Harvey.

More than a year after Hurricane Harvey ravaged parts of Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, rescue groups are still helping animals displaced by the storm as communities rebuild—and Alley Cat Allies continues to support these efforts.

We teamed up with A Life to Live in coastal Baytown, Texas, which was hit hard by flooding, to carry out Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) following Harvey. Now we’re working with the group to strengthen a TNR program in the city.

Austin Pets Alive! ran a temporary shelter in Houston after the hurricane, caring for more than 5,000 animals in the months following Harvey. Many were adopted or transferred to organizations that partner with Austin Pets Alive!

In Houston, some residents and community cat caregivers have not yet been able to return to their homes. “We’re seeing increases in community cat populations because the people who were feeding and doing TNR are sometimes no longer in the neighborhoods,” says Salise Shuttlesworth, founder and executive director at Friends for Life, which ran animal care at a “mega-shelter” for evacuees.

The group is increasing its TNR efforts with help from Alley Cat Allies’ online resources. More than 4,600 cats have been spayed or neutered free of charge since 2013.

Some community cat caregivers were unable to return to their neighborhoods after Hurricane Harvey.

The Louisiana-based CATNIP Foundation continues to educate the community about disaster preparedness. Many of the 200 cats it rescued following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have been adopted.

Mary Heerwald, Austin Pets Alive! director of marketing and communications, says Hurricane Harvey showed how resilient animals can be in the face of disaster. “You see their will to live and you see they absolutely deserve a chance to live out their lives happily,” she says. “They need advocates.”

Planned Giving Profile: Lynn Kennedy, Ph.D.

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When Lynn Kennedy, Ph.D., decided to update her estate plans, she said she included Alley Cat Allies because we “make cats’ lives better.”

Lynn Kennedy poses with her cat Bangkok.

Lynn grew up surrounded by cats and dogs. During her busy career teaching English, and as chair of the Humanities and Developmental Studies Division at Darton State College (now called Albany State University West Campus in Georgia), she particularly valued cats’ companionship and independence.

Lynn is now retired, and she and her husband enjoy studying the group dynamics of her six indoor-outdoor cats, including Smokey Joe Wood and Light Horse Harry Lee.

“There is a definite sense of community among the cats, in spite of a little competition over who gets to sit in the humans’ laps,” she says.

Lynn encourages people who are making their estate plans to include provisions for animals in their care. By remembering Alley Cat Allies in her estate plans, Lynn will leave a legacy of compassion and protection for countless cats around the globe.

Alley Cat Allies Provides Lifesaving Support in Hurricane Michael Aftermath

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Days after Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle, Alley Cat Allies provided local shelters and organizations with emergency funds to save animals affected by the deadly storm. The cleanup from the hurricane is ongoing, and Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to supporting the affected cats and dogs who need us. With help from our supporters, we are ensuring cats and kittens, who are often forgotten in natural disasters, receive the protection and care they deserve.

In the wake of the hurricane, Alley Cat Allies issued an emergency grant to the Alachua Humane Society in Gainesville, Florida, to provide lifesaving supplies and veterinary care to affected animals, and to fund the cost of airlifting cats to other facilities as animals continued to come in from impacted areas.

Alley Cat Allies gave another emergency grant in October to Jacksonville Humane Society to help save the lives of 30 kittens in Bay County, Florida, the area hit hardest by Hurricane Michael. Our funds were used to provide medical supplies, veterinary care, microchips, and spay and neuter services for these kittens.

Alley Cat Allies is proud to work with Jacksonville Humane Society, which was designated as a Hurricane Michael hub and was protecting animals in the storm’s wake. The shelter airlifted about 40 cats and kittens out of its facility to make room for even more animals displaced by the storm.

Alley Cat Allies also provided an emergency grant to nonprofit animal welfare organization First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP), which has worked to protect so many animals. With help from our funds, the group purchased vital supplies for animals impacted by the hurricane and mobilized a fleet of three trucks and a support van to Georgia and Florida to bring the supplies in, evacuate animals out, and provide veterinary care.

Our support allowed FCNMHP to save the lives of 75 dogs and 150 cats from the Bainbridge-Decatur County Humane Society in Georgia, which lost power in the wake of the hurricane, and other shelters.

Alley Cat Allies appreciated this acknowledgement from FCNMPH on its Facebook page: “Disaster relief efforts continue for those who were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Michael. We cannot thank our friends at Alley Cat Allies enough for all they are doing to support this effort. With their help, we have evacuated hundreds of cats since the opening days of the relief efforts … and transported dozens of cats out of impacted shelters and rescues to no-kill partners in other areas. They are a vital partner in this hurricane relief effort as well as our daily work. So many people working together to make a difference.”

There is still much work to be done and so many animals who need help. Recovery efforts will be a priority for a long time to come, and Alley Cat Allies needs your support to continue to provide supplies, guidance, and aid to protect cats affected by the disaster.


Please make an emergency donation to our Hurricane Michael disaster relief efforts.
Together, we will save even more lives.

Standing Against Cruelty In Shelters

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Alley Cat Allies, together with our supporters, put an end to the cruelty by closing the Spencer County Animal Shelter in Indiana. The abuse was so awful it’s hard for us to even write: The shelter was closed after it was reported that kittens were “euthanized” by putting them in a freezer to die.

We mobilized residents, advocates, and supporters to speak out, and attended County Commissioners meetings to demand humane change, oversight, and accountability. We presented officials with a letter, signed by 8,000 supporters, calling for immediate reforms.

Two months later in October, our efforts paid off. Officials closed the shelter and transferred a dozen or so animals to local rescue groups.

In a statement that was carried by national and local news outlets, Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies, said: “Closing the shelter was the only way to ensure humane treatment for animals in the county. The county needs to ensure best practices are in place if the shelter reopens, and that there is no chance of returning to the dark days of freezing animals to death.”

Alley Cat Allies will continue to push for the county to operate with the highest standards of care to protect animals if officials reopen the shelter. Staff and volunteers must be adequately trained. Indiana also must pass laws that would increase transparency and require shelters to keep detailed public records of intake and outcome for all animals.

These are the standards and practices that shelter animals deserve, and they should be in place in every shelter in the U.S.

Alley Cat Allies thanks everyone who helped us push for justice and accountability in Spencer County.

The Whistle-blower: Bridget Woodson Speaks Out to Protect Animals

At age 24, Bridget Woodson didn’t know her courage would be tested last summer when she went to work at the Spencer County Animal Shelter in Indiana. On the job for only a month, she was shocked when her boss directed her to “euthanize” kittens in a horrifying way. She refused and reported the shelter to authorities.

Alley Cat Allies met with Woodson and worked to bring shelter officials to account. We are grateful that this brave young woman spoke out for the animals.

Planned Giving Profile: Wendy Averill

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Cat looking out window

Amber, a valued member of Wendy’s family.

Cats have always been a part of Wendy Averill’s life, whether she’s caring for her own cats, or carrying out Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

“There’s a majesty, grace, and intelligence that cats have,” she says.

Wendy is a retired elementary school teacher from Los Angeles who taught for 38 years. She values education and finds it especially important to teach children about compassion, particularly for cats, whose lives often aren’t valued, she says.

Wendy says she has been a longtime donor to Alley Cat Allies because we’re a voice for cats and promote humane programs, like low-cost spay and neuter and TNR, as well as education and outreach.

“Nobody is promoting this in this way that you are,” she says of Alley Cat Allies. “You’re out there at the forefront. You’re educating people.”

Wendy says she decided to include Alley Cat Allies in her estate plan so that our mission to protect and save cats is funded for the future.

“I have been concerned about my life on earth counting for something,” she shared.


Profile in Compassion: Keith Williams

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Cat outside

Since January 2010, C% has saved over 32,000 community cats with Trap-Neuter-Return

On any given morning, you’ll find Keith Williams, founder and president of nonprofit Community Cat Coalition of Clark County (C5) in Las Vegas, awake at the crack of dawn to drive dozens of newly spayed and neutered cats back to their outdoor homes.

It’s a typical day for Williams. He hasn’t let retirement, working solely out of his garage, or even his cat allergy, curb his enthusiasm for saving cats’ lives with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Since it began in 2009, C5 has helped more than 35,000 cats! Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson recognized C5’s amazing work when she was the keynote speaker at its annual event in Las Vegas in 2018.

Williams works closely with caregivers and advocates who together manage more than 2,800 community cat colonies around the Las Vegas area. Residents are seeing the difference as far fewer kittens are born in their neighborhoods. C5 is run entirely by donations, fueled by fundraising events, and driven by dedicated volunteers.

“We work hard to build and maintain a good relationship with the community,” Williams says. “It’s vital that resources like TNR are put directly out into the community, where the animals also live. It’s the core of our efforts.”

The Transformers: San Jose Embraces Shelter-Neuter-Return

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Cat in Grass

The SNR program at the San Jose Animal Care Center keeps thousands of cats in their outdoor homes and out of the shelter

When Alley Cat Allies visited the San Jose Animal Care Center earlier this year, all the adoptable cat cages were empty. Each cat had been adopted or returned to their outdoor home. This should be every shelter’s goal!

In most shelters, cats fill all or most of the cages, which leads to more cats being killed for space, and drains shelter resources and taxpayer dollars. Many cats brought to shelters are community cats, who are not socialized, or friendly toward people, and are not adoptable.

The difference in San Jose is its Shelter-Neuter-Return (SNR) program, which has kept thousands of cats out of the shelter since 2009. With SNR, community cats who are brought to the shelter are spayed and neutered, vaccinated, eartipped, microchipped, and returned to their outdoor homes.

Shelter staff said the facility had transformed to fit the needs of the SNR program, and that led to its success.

“We’ve had some of the program’s original cats come back into the shelter for a checkup this year,” said Lorance Gomez, shelter coordinator. “These cats are safe and happy living outdoors. Why keep them in the shelter when we can just take them back to where they’re already at home?”

From Recovery To Reunion: True Tales Of The Camp Fire Cats

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The Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center® continues to work around the clock to care for cats who survived California’s deadliest wildfire in November 2018. The Camp Fire devastated the town of Paradise and several other communities. Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson was on the front lines as cats were rescued in the aftermath. Our leadership, expertise, and funding, and the generosity of our donors, is making the recovery center possible. Operated by FieldHaven Feline Center, the recovery center has provided everything from recovery to reunion for more than 500 cats since the Camp Fire occurred in November 2018.

Read about some of the cats’ journeys out of the ashes and into the care of the Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center®.

Ellie

When Ellie was rescued in December and brought to the recovery center, she wore a collar with her name and phone number, but it was to a landline in a home that had burned down. We turned to our community network and Butte County’s Camp Fire website to track down Ellie’s caregiver, Constance F. After two months apart, Constance F. was thrilled and grateful to be reunited with Ellie.

Hunter

Hunter hunkered down for 62 days near the remains of his Paradise home before he was caught on camera by a volunteer working with the recovery center. His family fled without Hunter when the fire erupted. Hunter was finally humanely trapped and brought to the recovery center, where he was reunited with his family.

Dixie

Three months after the Camp Fire separated Lisa H. from her beautiful cat, Dixie, she’d lost hope for a reunion. Lisa H. left her information with the Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center® in case Dixie was brought in. Then she got a call: Dixie had been rescued and was at the recovery center! It was the day before Lisa H.’s birthday when she finally held her cat in her arms again.

Ghost

This handsome gray cat had two cases of mistaken identity before finding his family. After the recovery center rescued Ghost in December, two different people arrived hoping he was theirs. Thankfully, the third time was the charm. Kathryn L. knew the moment she walked in that the gray cat was hers. Now Ghost is back with Kathryn L. where he belongs.

Camp Fire recovery continues and our work for cats is far from over.

Support the Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center®

Granted: Alley Cat Allies Provides Grants to Help Animals in Need

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Mopsey Malone and Salvador are playful, healthy, and thriving cats.  But last fall, their fate was uncertain. The team at the nonprofit CATNIP Foundation found the felines in a Louisiana trailer park where the group has been carrying out Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) thanks to a grant from Alley Cat Allies.

Mopsey, a black kitten, was tangled in a mop string that had twisted around his waist and was holding his back foot against his body. The string also likely prevented him from properly digesting food, so he was malnourished. Some of the string was so embedded in his skin that it had to be surgically removed, and veterinarians had to ensure his internal organs weren’t damaged.

Salvador was about 7 months old and appeared to have suffered horrible cruelty. He had severe road burn and a mangled ear. His tail was broken and dislocated. A few veterinarians believed his wounds were too severe to heal.  But CATNIP Foundation CEO Catherine Wilbert insisted that Salvador receive veterinary treatment.

After months of treatment and lots of care, including surgery, medications, and physical therapy, both cats are healthy and thriving. They can walk, run, jump, and play without any limitations.

In addition to the extensive medical care for these two cats, Alley Cat Allies’ October grant helped the CATNIP Foundation carry out TNR for about 400 cats as of February. The CATNIP Foundation isn’t the only group that Alley Cat Allies has helped care for cats. In 2018, Alley Cat Allies provided 15 grants to groups in states including California, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania.

CATNIP Foundation’s Wilbert says there are very few resources in the area such as low-cost spay and neuter for people who care for community cats. After the devastating 2016 floods in Louisiana, many displaced cats ended up living outdoors. Since then, populations have increased without TNR programs. Alley Cat Allies was on the ground assisting the CATNIP Foundation following these floods and also provided the group with a grant in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The CATNIP Foundation is working to get animal control and local governments on board with TNR and support spay and neuter efforts. It is also partnering with other animal organizations to help more cats.

The grants have “afforded us the opportunity to help people and animals in the neediest places who otherwise would’ve had absolutely no other resource,” says Wilbert. “The need here is overwhelming.”

Chincoteague Island Community Cats, Chincoteague, Virginia

Stache, a mustachioed tuxedo community cat, eagerly returned to his outdoor home on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, after he was neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and eartipped.

Stache was the 100th cat who volunteers trapped, spayed or neutered, and returned in 2018 as part of the Chincoteague Island Community Cats TNR program, supported with a grant from Alley Cat Allies.

The group continues to hold TNR clinics and carry out TNR on the island. It’s goal is to carry out TNR for another 100 cats in 2019.

Homeward Trails Finds Homes for Adoptable Cats and Kittens

Meow, an 11-year-old FIV-positive tabby cat, had been in an animal shelter for eight years when he was hospitalized for pneumonia. Luckily, Virginia animal rescue Homeward Trails, with help from Alley Cat Allies’ funding, stepped in and placed him in a foster home, so he didn’t have to go back to the shelter. The cuddly, affectionate cat was adopted in early December and can now live out his senior years in a comfortable, loving home.

The August 2018 grant from Alley Cat Allies supports this critical work of rescuing animals like Meow from shelters and finding them homes. The grant has been used for veterinary care, including for kittens who will come into the group’s new cageless cat shelter called Meow Palace, which will open in the summer to house kittens who come in during kitten season. Meow Place will allow Homeward Trails to increase the number of 3- to 9-month old kittens in its care by 50 percent, says Sue Bell, founder and executive director.

Bell estimates that Alley Cat Allies’ grant has funded medical care for 45 cats, including many seniors, and will help 35 kittens get initial veterinary check-ups.

“This is absolutely not something we could have done without this support,” says Bell.

Phoenix, a tan and white 7-year-old cat who’d been rescued from a rural cat sanctuary, was being treated for an eye infection when the Homeward Trails team learned she may have a rare neurological disorder affecting the muscles in her face—and it could worsen over time. Homeward Trails continued to provide veterinary care, and Phoenix’s foster caregiver decided to adopt her!

Blue Bear, a gray cat who was evacuated from a rural North Carolina shelter affected by Hurricane Florence, arrived at Homeward Trails with his eye swollen shut and in danger of rupturing, and a bad cold. After weeks of treatment and many trips to an eye specialist, Blue Bear’s eye was saved.

Alley Cat Allies relies on and appreciates the support of all of donors, who enable us to continue to provide grants that save cats’ lives.

From the Field: Amazing Organizations in Barcelona Protect Cats

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Hello, it’s Molly Armus, Alley Cat Allies’ Staff Attorney! In my work, I’m always connecting with officials and advocates to educate about and implement laws and policies that protect the lives of all cats, no matter where they live. I can’t turn off my advocacy even while on vacation! So when I traveled to Barcelona, Spain, with my family, I just had to take an exciting opportunity to meet with some inspiring local cat advocates.

As we all know, community cats live outdoors in virtually every landscape on every continent where people live. Since Barcelona is the second largest and most populous city in Spain, there are cats living alongside people, and many individuals and organizations are doing amazing work on their behalf.

Community cats enjoy their scenic outdoor home at the well-known Port of Barcelona in Spain. They even have special concrete block feeding stations.

Among those advocates are Yolanda Van Amersfoort and Magda Giol Mitjans, whom I had the pleasure of meeting one fine morning. Yolanda works with a cat protection organization called Gats de Gràcia, which is based in Barcelona and operates primarily in the district of Gràcia. She is also president of Plataforma Gatera, a coalition of organizations that works to protect the lives of community cats in the Barcelona area. Magda works with Gat I Gos, a Barcelona-based organization that is also a member of Plataforma Gatera.

The mission of Plataforma Gatera, says Yolanda, is to “dignify the lives of the cats of the city” through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Each group within the coalition focuses on a different neighborhood in Barcelona and the community cats who live there. They provide TNR, food, and veterinary care and serve as mediators for any concerned community members. The organizations receive funding from the municipality for spay and neuter surgeries and pay out of pocket for all other expenses.

People are seeing the difference. In fact, more than 450 volunteer caregivers throughout the city now collaborate closely with these groups!

While we discussed their TNR success, Yolanda and Magda showed me around some of Barcelona’s cat advocacy world. Our first stop was Bivero de Tres Pins, a spay and neuter clinic located on Montjuic, a prominent Barcelona hill. The clinic, which is funded by the city, is the only one in Spain that exclusively serves community cats. Local organizations are grateful for this amazing resource, which spays and neuters up to 30 cats per week. There’s also a family of well-loved community cats on the clinic’s grounds as well as a small shelter with some friendly, adoptable cats.

Then we checked in on a family of community cats living at the famous Port of Barcelona. Magda, one of the primary caregivers for these cats, has a special pass to get into the port just to care for them. She says her exclusive access is due to growing support of TNR by the port’s administration and some police officers.

The port’s cats have it good. All have been helped with TNR and their outdoor home is a huge open green space overlooking the water. They even have six trailers complete with litter boxes and beds that they can go into whenever they like.

I was thrilled to see firsthand that Barcelona does not catch and kill community cats but instead invests in humane, effective approaches like TNR and low-cost spay and neuter. Its approach can serve as a model for cities around the world.

“Plataforma Gatera is proud of its constant work with the city to find the most ethical way to manage the feline colonies,” Yolanda told me.

Cats living on the grounds of spay and neuter clinic Bivero de Tres Pins. It’s the only clinic in Spain that exclusively serves community cats.

Heavy engagement in the city’s policymaking process is the real driving force behind Plataforma Gatera’s achievements. Recently, the coalition organized a debate with different political groups to explain their proposals for the management and protection of community cats. The coalition also organizes Feline Forums, which invite leading national and international veterinary and animal protection leaders to meet and discuss how best to improve cats’ lives. Plataforma Gatera even received the International Cat Care Welfare Award in 2014 for its incredible work.

I’m very proud and happy I had the chance to meet Magda and Yolanda and learn about the many Spanish advocates who put so much heart, effort, and soul into saving cats’ lives. I’m glad I can share my experience with you, too. Let’s look forward together to all the lifesaving change Plataforma Gatera will continue to make for cats in Barcelona!

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