More Concerned Citizens Reach Out for Help

AlleyCatAction
A Publication of Alley Cat Allies
Celebrating Over 17 Years of Compassion for Feral Cats & Kittens Winter 2008
AWARENESS GROWS
More Concerned Citizens
Reach Out for Help
irtually overnight,
calls and e-mails to Alley
Cat Allies doubled.
Emily Facet, a recent addition
to the staff, former animal science
major and life-long animal lover, is
the initial point of contact for many
people looking for help or advice
about feral cats. After a while,
Emily realized that the increase in
requests for help wasn’t some passing fluke. The numbers remained
high through the summer and fall
and into the winter.
Inside Action:
Page 3
Alley Cat Allies
In Your Backyard
Page 5
Call for Action
Feral Fact
Page 6
Hot Topics
Page 8
Meet Coo
This mystery had an easy solution. As Elizabeth Parowski, Alley Cat
Allies’ communications manager explained, “Our educational outreach
has paid off. The national campaigns
centered on National Feral Cat Day,
as well as more regionalized campaigns throughout the country, have
reached a tipping point. And, as
more people become aware of feral
cats, more people start searching for
ways to help them.”
People such as Lynda Robinson, who contacted Alley Cat Allies
about a pair of feral cats living in
the alley behind her home. Lynda
was given a list of Alley Cat
Allies’ Feral Friends Network
members in her state. She
found the resources she needed
to safely and humanely trap
the cats and a low-cost clinic Caseworker Emily Facet discusses
where they could be spayed or how best to help a feral cat
neutered and vaccinated. Lynda caregiver with team member
recently checked in to report Elizabeth Parowski (left).
that she is building the cats a
winter shelter using the plans
to respond when one of the cats
on Alley Cat Allies’ website.
under her care tested positive for
People often contact Alley Cat Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).
Allies for moral support or advice. She didn’t know if this cat would
One woman, an experienced fe- endanger the others in the colony.
ral cat caregiver, was unsure how
Continued on page 6
NFCD October 16, 2007
Taking the Next Step on National Feral Cat Day
A
lley Cat Allies started
National Feral Cat Day
(NFCD) on October 16,
2001, as a means to educate the
public about feral cats and celebrate
the lives of feral cats and their caregivers. Every year since then, NFCD
has grown in scope. NFCD 2007
launched a yearlong campaign urging the public to become actively
involved in protecting feral cats with
ads and posters that read: “If you
don’t believe in killing cats, then
you are already an advocate.”
Alley Cat Allies’ supporters took
up the call to educate their communities. With showings of Alley
Cat Allies videos, radio interviews,
letters to the editor, and informational booths at local fairs, advo-
cates made certain that the NFCD
message was heard. In North Vancouver, British Columbia, the Pacific
Animal Foundation used Alley Cat
Allies’ Truth Cards and other materials in a presentation about feral
cats and Trap-Neuter-Return before
the city council. Kindred Kitties in
Kenosha, Wisconsin, did educaContinued on page 4
Alley Cat Action
Volume 18, Issue No. 2, Winter 2008
Alley Cat Allies
President
Becky Robinson
Executive Director
Donna Wilcox
Staff
Wendy Anderson
Lindsay Borden
John Davis
Melissa Douglass
Emily Facet
Lisa Forrest
Jessica Frohman
Elise Fullerton
Will Gomaa
Michelle Ingley
John Jankowski
Elena Johnson
Kim Kean
Adriana Montano
Sally Muth
Elizabeth Parowski
Elise Ravenscroft
Micha Rieser
Aislinn Sheehan
Amy Vaniotis
Board Members
Donna Wilcox, Chair
Becky Robinson, Treasurer
Tamara Kukla, Secretary
National Cable &
Telecommunications
Association
Beth Ayres
Karyen Chu, PhD
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
Irina Dline
U.S. Department of Treasury
Eric N. Raphael
PHASE 4 Learning Center
U.S. Fuel Cells Council
Board of Advisors
Ellen Perry Berkeley
Author, Maverick Cats;
TNR—Past, Present, and
Future
Donna Bishop
Alliance for Animals
Tippi Hedren
The Roar Foundation
W. Marvin Mackie, DVM
Animal Birth Control Clinics
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Esther Mechler
SPAY/USA
Michael Mountain
Best Friends Animal Society
Jenny Remfry, PhD, VetMB,
UK
Roger Tabor, MBIO, MPhil, FLS
Author, Biologist, Naturalist
AnnaBell Washburn
PAWS, Martha’s Vineyard
Author
Board of Scientific Advisors
Marcus Brown, DVM,
Frank Hamilton, PhD
Brenda Griffin, DVM, MS,
Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, ACVIM
Cornell University
Margaret Slater, DVM, PhD
Capital Cat Clinic
Diplomate ACVIM
Eckerd College
University of Florida
Texas A&M University
Visit or contact us online:
www.alleycat.org
www.alleycat.org/resources
MESSAGE FROM THE board chair
A New Year for Feral Cats—Thanks To You
A
s I contemplate the start of a new
year, I am taking a moment to think
about all that Alley Cat Allies has accomplished in previous years—and what
the world would look like without those
accomplishments.
Without Alley Cat Allies’ work and accomplishments of the past 17 years, feral cats would
still remain in the shadows of most people’s
consciousness. Compassionate people would
contact animal control for help, only to be told
that trap and kill is the solution. Now they can
get the information they need from us.
As we look to the year ahead, our strengths
are clear. Together, the hard-working staff of
Alley Cat Allies and our dedicated and loyal
supporters made major changes in the world
for feral cats, and we continue to do so. Our
education campaigns are succeeding in getting
the word out about feral cats. More people now
have an understanding of the elusive creatures
they glimpse in the backyard or alley or in their
office parking lot. They recognize the value of
feral cats’ lives. Because of that, they want to help
ensure feral cats’ safety and well-being.
In some ways this is the easy part—
making people aware of feral cats
and Trap-Neuter-Return, a humane
method to manage the population
and improve the cats’ lives.
And yet, the challenges ahead
remain formidable. We are faced
with the difficult task of ending the systematic killing
that takes place daily
in our animal shelters.
From a base of public
awareness of feral cats,
we must build the po-
litical will to end the extermination. We must
confront the misperceptions that have led to
this entrenched animal control system. We
must forge community solutions to implement
Trap-Neuter-Return. And we must never, ever
accept the lie that killing is necessary.
When I think about that the work that Alley
Cat Allies and our dedicated supporters have
accomplished together, I always return to the
individual cats we have saved. Every day in the
Alley Cat Allies office we see six wonderful
reminders of what we are working for. Our
office cats were feral kittens or strays who
needed a new home. They make us smile,
relieve stress, and keep us focused on the
important work we are doing for all feral and
stray cats. In this issue, you will meet Coo, our
oldest office cat (page 8).
Although we have our work cut out for us, I
am confident that together, we will change the
animal control system. Together we will work
to end systematic killing and replace it with
ethical care for feral cats. Your help is crucial. It
is only because of your generosity that we are
able to research and create the materials
necessary to do this work, offer advice
to individual caregivers, collaborate
with public officials, and more.
Our loyal supporters and volunteers are the real binding of the safety
net that we are creating together for
feral cats. I thank you and look forward
to continuing our work together in
the coming year. ●
Donna Wilcox
Alley Cat Allies
7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814-2525
Tel: 240-482-1980
Fax: 240-482-1990
Contact: www.alleycat.org/response
© 2008, Alley Cat Allies
All rights reserved. We may
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cat populations.
Our Vision: Alley Cat Allies envisions the time when Trap-Neuter-Return and other nonlethal control
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01/18/2008
measures for managing outdoor cat populations are accepted as the standard.
What Is Trap-Neuter-Return? It is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already
living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated,
and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and social cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy feral
cats are returned to their familiar habitat under the care of volunteers.
2 AlleyCatAction W i n t e r
2008
Alley Cat Allies
in your Ba kyard
ith 17 years experience advocating for feral cats, Alley Cat Allies
leads the movement to protect feral cats from being killed in every
community in the country. Alley Cat Allies provides caregivers and feral
cat advocates as well as animal control and shelter personnel with the tools they
need to save the lives of the feral cats in their communities.
Chicago, Illinois… The Every Kitty–Every
City campaign has hit the Windy City. Alley Cat
Allies is targeting Chicago for educational outreach focused on Trap-Neuter-Return and feral
cat awareness. A series of hands-on workshops
is giving residents the tools they need to create
a safety net for the feral cats in their neighborhoods. With public education campaigns,
community organizing, and partnerships with
leading animal welfare agencies and shelters,
Every Kitty–Every City in Chicago will bring
feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return to the forefront
of public awareness.
Cape May, New Jersey… Alley Cat Allies came to the aid of embattled feral cats
in this popular tourist destination. Although
the Cape May Trap-Neuter-Return program
has been thriving for more than 10 years, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently been
urging local officials to abandon the program.
Unfortunately—and incorrectly—federal policy
continues to blame feral cats for the loss of
endangered shore birds. With Alley Cat Allies’
longtime support for the city’s model TrapNeuter-Return program in Cape May, the program is a proven success. City Animal Control
Officer John Queenan reports that the program
has lowered the feral cat population from close
to 400 cats in 1995, when it began, to about
100 currently. Because all cats returned to the
outdoors are neutered, cat colonies are decreasing in size and will continue to decrease as the
cats die of old age.
Thanks to the more than 2,100 advocates
who responded to Alley Cat Allies’ FeralPower!
action alert, Cape May’s leaders know that
their Trap-Neuter-Return program has strong
support. When Trap-Neuter-Return came up
for a vote recently in the city council, it passed
unanimously.
Becky Robinson, left, and Lisa LaFontaine
of WHS “unbuckle the collar” to open the
National Capital Area Spay and Neuter
Center in ceremonies held in October.
Washington, DC… The official opening
of the National Capital Area Spay & Neuter
Center was the result of years of Alley Cat Allies’
work in the nation’s capital city. The October
4th ribbon-cutting ceremony was actually a
“collar-unbuckling” that marked the beginning
of a new era of care for the Washington, DC
metropolitan area. Located at 1001 L Street on
Capitol Hill in Southeast Washington, DC, this is
the first high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter facility
in the region. Washington Humane Society is a
founding partner with Alley Cat Allies. The clinic
provides spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations
at no-cost to feral cat caregivers and will have the
capacity to sterilize at least 75 cats a day.
Fairfax, Virginia… When Michelle Hankins
of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter needed
help getting a fledgling Trap-Neuter-Return
program started, she turned to Alley Cat Allies. She used Alley Cat Allies’ Truth Card series
to help educate county residents. When she
needed help identifying and training volunteers, she turned to Alley Cat Allies’ program
manager Elena Johnson. Elena conducted a
series of workshops in Fairfax that recruited and
inspired volunteers. Those volunteers now have
the knowledge to actively help stray and feral
cats, the people who care for them, and the
neighbors who live among them. Michelle said,
“There is nothing like the feeling of returning
a spayed female safely to her colony, knowing
that she (and her neutered feline friends) won’t
be responsible for any more litters ever again!
We truly could not have accomplished what
we have so far without Alley Cat Allies and all
the guidance they have provided.” ●
To stay informed of further
developments in Cape May or any of our
campaigns, visit http://action.alleycat.org
to join FeralPower! online.
THIS JUST IN
Baltimore Trap-Neuter-Return Legislation Passed
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon signed changes to the city’s animal control ordinances into law on November 27. The changes will remove the threat of fines
and make Trap-Neuter-Return an officially recognized method of helping stray
and feral cats. The new ordinances were an important goal of Alley Cat Allies’
Every Kitty–Every City campaign in Baltimore. That goal was realized through
the concerted work of many, including Alley Cat Allies supporters who flooded
Baltimore’s City Council offices with e-mails and calls in support of the change.
“This is a great first step,” said Alley Cat Allies Board Chair Donna Wilcox. “We
will continue to work with caregivers, advocates and public officials in Baltimore
to increase local support and resources for Trap-Neuter-Return.”
W i nt e r 2 0 0 8
AlleyCatAction 3
NFCD October 16, 2007
Taking the Next Step on National Feral Cat Day
Continued from page 1
tional outreach to explain Trap-Neuter-Return
to its community. Reflecting on the success of
the event, Cathy McDowell of Kindred Kitties
said, “Alley Cat Allies is the premier means of
educating people and spurring action in communities across the country. We were happy to
be a part of your efforts!”
Many communities chose to mark NFCD
with spay/neuter clinics. Operation Wild Cats
in Canastota, New York, targeted a colony of
43 feral cats living on a farm with an old
empty house that the cats
had used
Gina Marvin
for shelter. The farm house came
and feral cats. The interest was so
in handy as the perfect place to
great that after PCAT’s clinic
keep the cats after they were
helped 29 cats, they set up a
trapped and during their rewaiting list for their next spay/
covery. Dane County Friends
neuter day.
of Ferals in Wisconsin held a
From Glen Burnie, Mary24-Hour Spay-Neuterathon in
land, to Springfield, Illinois, to
honor of National Feral Cat Day.
Copperas Grove, Texas feral cat
A total of 137 cats were spayed or
advocacy groups and individual
neutered in the effort by a work- Last Hope, Ltd in Syosset, caregivers marked NFCD with
force that included seven vetcat food drives. These events can
NY held a free spay/
erinarians, four veterinary
be vitally important to caregivers
neuter clinic in honor of
technicians, 17 NFCD. 110 cats, including who need help subsidizing the
veterinary stu- this kitten were sterilized care and feeding of their comand vaccinated.
dents, 40 vetmunities’ cats. Contributing cat
photo: Last Hope Ltd
erinary technifood can be an important first
cian students, and more than step for people first becoming aware of the
10 helpers. Plaquemine Cat feral cats in their community and wanting to
Action Team (PCAT), which was become part of a humane practice.
founded by Alley Cat Allies as
Alley Cat Allies salutes the many dedipart of its ongoing work on cated people who
the Gulf Coast, sponsored a joined with them
$10 spay/neuter day for stray to celebrate and
raise awareness on
Focus on Ferals and Carol’s Ferals
National Feral Cat
of Kent County, MI used some “cagey”
Day 2007.
●
tactics to raise feral cat awareness.
National Feral Cat Day 2007 Events
Thanks to all who participated and made this the most celebrated NFCD yet!
Tucson, AZ
North Vancouver, BC
Tampa, FL
ACT
Kent Count y, MI
Pacific Animal Foundation
Blairsville, GA
Castro Valley, CA
Kahului Maui, HI
Tri-Valley Fix our Ferals
Morgan Hill, CA
Town Cats
Waldorf, MD
Feline Foundation of Maui
Pontiac, IL
Springfield, IL
Cincinnati, OH
O’Bryonville Animal Rescue
Focus on Ferals
Carol’s Ferals
Toledo, OH
Oxford, MS
Pacific City Angel Arms
FURR
Tupelo, MS
Pacific Cit y, OR
Portland, OR
Tillamook, OR
Parlier, CA
Cat House on the Kings
Animal Protective League
Spay/Neuter Clinic
Columbus, NC
United Paws of Tillamook
Conover, NC
South Bend, IN
Always Best for Pets
Colmar, PA
Colorado Spring, CO
Quaker Hill, CT
Wichita, KS
Jacksonville, NC
Belle Chasse, LA
Trenton, NJ
Waterford Country School
Bradenton, FL
Humane Society of
Manatee County
Gainesville, FL
Operation Catnip
Geneva, FL
Oviedo, FL
PCAT
Raton, NM
New Orleans, LA
SpayMart
Tulane Campus Cats
Billerica, MA
Billerica Cat Care
Medfield, MA
Palm Harbor, FL
Medfield Animal Shelter
Tallahassee, FL
Glen Burnie, MD
It’s Meow or Never for Ferals
4 AlleyCatAction W i nt e r
2008
Cat Care Network
of CO and NM
Canastota, NY
Operation Wild Cats
New Windsor, NY
Precious Paws, Inc
Syosset, NY
Last Hope Animal Rescue &
Rehabilitation
Lehigh Valley, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Community
Cats Council
Nacogdoches, TX
San Antonio, TX
Salt Lake Cit y, UT
Charlottesville, VA
Voices for Animals
Mechanicsville, VA
Richmond, VA
Seattle, WA
Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project
Stanwood, WA
NW Organization for
Animal Help
Kenosha, WI
Shippensburg, PA
Kindred Kitties
Metro Manila,
Philippines
LaCrosse, WI
Lake Wylie, SC
Dane County Friends
of Ferals
Knoxville, TN
Madison, WI
Knoxville Feral Cat Friends
Milwaukee, WI
Copperas Cove, TX
Bridgeport, WV
Fort Wayne, TX
CALL FOR ACTION
Susan Kresbach, D.V.M
One of the 43 feral cats
Trap-Neuter-Returned
by Operation Wild Cats
of Canastota, NY makes
the trip from farm to
veterinarian.
Life-Saving
Contact Cards
Reprinted courtesy Eagle Newspapers, Syracuse, NYcredit Susan Kresbach, D.V.M
Chances are that someday soon, someone you know is
going to be looking for help with a feral cat colony. Alley Cat
Allies’ public education campaigns have gotten the word out:
the humane, effective choice for feral cats is Trap-Neuter-Return
Now, more and more people want to know how they can help
feral cats. That’s why Alley Cat Allies maintains an up-to-date,
comprehensive website of information about protecting feral
cats, with advocacy information, legal resources and more.
A veterinary technician student brings a feral cat from surgery
to recovery during Dane County (WI) Friends of Ferals’ 24 Hour
Spay-Neuterathon.
Here’s what you do: Right now, put the Alley
Cat Allies Contact Cards included in this newsletter
in your wallet or purse. Then, when you meet someone who
needs to find feral cat information or resources, you will have
all the necessary Alley Cat Allies contact information ready
to hand out!
feral
Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to broadbased public education about stray
and feral cats and the policies that
control their lives—or cause their
deaths. Every issue of Alley Cat Action takes on a misconception about
feral cats, and gives you the real story…
fac t
Trap-and-remove is an effective method
for reducing numbers of outdoor cats.
❑ True
ACT
A happy
caregiver
at Animal
Coalition of
Tampa’s NFCD
spay/neuter
clinic.
❑ False
The fact is trap-and-remove doesn’t work. “Trap-and-remove”
is a euphemism for capturing and killing feral cats, which is
animal control’s traditional approach to feral cats.
Trap-and-remove attempts may temporarily reduce the
number of feral cats in a given area, but two things happen
to cancel that effect: one, unsterilized survivors continue to
breed prolifically; and two, other cats move in to take advantage of whatever sources of food and shelter are available.
This is known as the vacuum effect. The vacuum effect has
been documented worldwide.
There is a proven method to avoid this. Trap-NeuterReturn breaks the cycle of reproduction and improves the
lives of cats.
Visit www.alleycat.org/tools to purchase Alley Cat Allies’
Truth Card series.
W i nt e r 2 0 0 8
AlleyCatAction 5
Awareness Grows
More Concerned Citizens Reach Out
for Help
Continued from page 1
Her e-mail asked for guidance so that she could
do the right thing for both the individual cat
and the feral cat community.
This is one of many questions Alley Cat Allies
is well prepared to answer. Feral cats with FIV
should be returned to their colonies. Research
and many years of experience have proved that
in a managed colony, feral cats with FIV do not
spread the disease to their colony mates for
the simple reason that FIV is usually transmitted
through mating and fighting behaviors. These
behaviors are eliminated when feral cats are
TURN UP THE VOLUME
Alley Cat Allies Unveils
New Video PSA
Too many people still do not know
that the leading cause of death
for cats in this country is intentional killing by animal control.
That’s why Alley Cat Allies created a public
service announcement (PSA) to share this
important and sad truth about feral cats.
The goal is to share this video message and
build the movement to stop the killing. Visit
the website, view the one-minute video,
then spread the word. You can forward
the link to friends, post the PSA on your
own website, or order a copy to air on a
local television or cable station.
Get the word out that taxpayer dollars
are being spent to kill cats. Let others know
that the only humane, effective way to
help cats and control their population is
Trap-Neuter-Return.
Just
some of the
many thousands of
cats Alley Cat Allies
has saved.
Reducing Feral Cat Populations with TrapNeuter-Return.” Negotiations continued for
over a year, until Bethlehem officials agreed to
ignore their leash and anti-feeding ordinances
and allow Trap-Neuter-Return.
The dedicated advocates of Bethlehem were
thrilled with this victory. Diane wrote in her
last e-mail to Alley Cat Allies, “I have never
encountered an animal group as responsive as
you are. Thanks so much for your support. We
are very excited and pumped to get this [TrapNeuter-Return] program off the ground.”
For answers to your questions about feral
cats and Trap-Neuter-Return, contact Alley Cat
Allies at www.alleycat.org/response.
●
Go to www.alleycat.org/resources_vets
to learn more about Feline
immunodeficiency virus (FIV).
Hot Topics
Alley Cat Allies continually tracks the issues that affect cats throughout the country—
and takes action as soon as it is called for. Hot topics currently in the spotlight include:
in the u.s. house of representatives, H.R. 767, the Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance,
and Immediate Response Act, seeks to eradicate “harmful nonnative species” in federal wildlife
refuges and adjacent private lands. Although the word “cat” does not appear in the proposed
bill, the broad definition of “harmful nonnative species” could leave hundreds of species open to
target—cats among them.
Go to www.alleycat.org/AntiCruelty/report for the latest developments and possible
Action Alerts for H.R. 767.
J.F.K. Airport in New York City, has been home to feral cats for years. In October, the Port
Authority of New York, which manages NYC’s airports, suddenly decided to exterminate the feral
cats living on the airport grounds. After enduring an influx of calls and e-mails from the public, and
national media coverage including USA Today, they suspended catch-and-kill. However, the Port
Authority continues to snub the offers from Alley Cat Allies and other organizations to implement
a humane, long-term Trap-Neuter-Return program.
For the latest developments at J.F.K. Airport and Action Alerts go to www.alleycat.org.
Stay informed and involved with Alley Cat Allies’ FeralPower!
Go to http://action.alleycat.org to join.
To view the PSA video, go to
www.alleycat.org/savethiscat
6 AlleyCatAction W i nt e r
sterilized. The cat was returned to
his home. (In fact, Alley Cat Allies
does not recommend FeLV or FIV
testing on feral cats, as feral cats
are no more likely to be infected
than companion cats and the testing is not the best use of limited
feral cat resources. A study found
that infection rates for free-roaming outdoor
cats “are similar to prevalence rates reported
for owned cats in the United States.”)
Yet many requests for help require more than
an e-mail exchange to reach resolution. Diane
Davison of the Northampton, Pennsylvania,
SPCA contacted Alley Cat Allies when health
department officials in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
proposed a trap and kill plan for feral cats. The
health department argued that it was necessary
to kill feral cats to protect people from rabies.
Alley Cat Allies senior program manager Jessica Frohman took on the case. She wrote a
letter to the Bethlehem City department of
health outlining current research about rabies
transmission and explaining the benefits of
Trap-Neuter-Return. She also sent a copy of the
Alley Cat Allies’ video, “The Humane Solution:
2008
NEW FROM ALLEY CAT ALLIES
Anti-Cruelty Resource
Center Launched
I
ntentionally killing a cat is a crime
in all 50 states, and anti-cruelty laws apply
to all cats—pet, abandoned, lost, and feral.
Now, with the launch of Alley Cat Allies’ AntiCruelty Resource Center, there is a central place
for concerned citizens, lawyers, journalists, and
public officials to learn more about legal protections for cats. In addition to other features, the
website provides needed context to the trial in
Galveston, Texas, of a man who was indicted
on animal cruelty charges for shooting a feral
cat (see companion story, below).
Alley Cat Allies’ Anti-Cruelty Resource Center
will be regularly updated with current events
and ways you can join the movement to end
cruelty. ●
Visit the Anti-Cruelty Resource Center at
www.alleycat.org/anticruelty.
JURY DEADLOCKS
Animal Cruelty Trial
Ends in Mistrial
T
he jury deadlocked in the trial of
the Galveston, Texas, man charged with
animal cruelty for shooting and killing a
feral cat. After more than eight hours of deliberation over two days, eight of 12 jurors voted to
convict. Alley Cat Allies responded immediately
with a letter to the Galveston County District
Attorney, urging him to retry the case.
Unfortunately, the District Attorney’s office decided against a retrial. While this decision
is disappointing, the attention this trial has
brought to the issue of cruelty to feral cats has
been beneficial. Texas law has recently been
clarified to expressly protect feral cats, and to
make it unequivocally clear that anyone who
intentionally kills any cat, whether companion,
stray, or feral, will be violating Texas anti-cruelty
law. It is important to note that although the
defendant was not found guilty, he was also
not found innocent. ●
Go to www.alleycat.org/anticruelty to
read Alley Cat Allies’ letter to the Galveston
District Attorney.
Provide For Your Future
And Alley Cat Allies’
That’s exactly what Lyla
Kelley is doing by making an
Alley Cat Allies charitable gift
annuity.
“I had some stocks that were
paying very little in dividends,
but the capital gains tax
on them would have been
tremendous. I realized that
creating a charitable gift annuity
with Alley Cat Allies would
work to benefit us both.”
Advantages of an Alley Cat
Allies Gift Annuity include
lifetime payments at attractive
rates, plus significant tax
benefits for your charitable
contribution.
Sample Rates
Effective January 2008
(One beneficiary)
Age 65
Age 75
Age 85
Age 90+
6.0%
7.1%
9.5%
11.3%
Lyla Kelley, a special friend who is
thinking of Alley Cat Allies’ future.
r
Send information on an Alley Cat
Allies Charitable Gift Annuity.
Birthdate(s):________________
Amt:r$15,000r$50,000
r$25,000r_________
r
Send information on including
Alley Cat Allies in my will.
r
I have already left Alley Cat
Allies in my will.
Name________________________
Address______________________
_____________________________
Phone:_______________________
Alley Cat Allies
7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814
240-482-1983
Alley Cat Allies’
Forget-Me-Not Legacy Society
7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814
PG1-08
E-mail: eravenscroft@alleycat.org
Winter 2008
AlleyCatAction 7
Please don’t throw this out! Leave this newsletter at your doctor’s office, gym, lunch room, or veterinarian’s office.
Meet Coo …
CALLING ALL FERAL FRIENDS
Your Updates
Urgently Needed!
The Feral Friends Network is an Alley Cat Allies’
database of organizations and individuals experienced
with Trap-Neuter-Return and feral cat colony care. They
offer knowledge and sometimes resources to help guide
fledgling caregivers. Alley Cat Allies connects those in
need of assistance by geographical location.
This is where you come in…We have been unable
to contact some Feral Friends despite our outreach
attempts, but we know you’re out there! If you are a
member of our Feral Friend Network, please take a moment to update your records so that we can continue to
save cats through connections. Additionally, if you are
unable to continue we need to know that too.
If you see “Feral Friend” printed on the donation slip
included in this newsletter in addition to above your
address on the outside of the envelope, please update
your record. Simply go to www.alleycat.org/updateff or
call us toll-free at 866-309-6207, option 3.
Go to www.alleycat.org/feral_friends to learn how you
can become a member of our Feral Friend Network.
In 1998, I was a stray in Southeast Washington,
DC. I started hanging out with a feral cat colony,
and their caregiver trapped me and took me to
a veterinarian where I was neutered. I tested
positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV
for short). Well, the man in Southeast really
loved his colony and he worried that if I came
back, I’d infect the other cats. He shouldn’t
have worried; FIV is transferred through biting
and other behaviors that go along with mating. Since we’d all been sterilized, that wasn’t
an issue. But not everybody understands that.
Lucky for me, the wonderful people at Alley Cat Allies know all about stray and feral
cats and FIV. Ever since then, I’ve lived happily at the Alley Cat Allies office with my
buddies, Jazzy, Jared, Charles, Diana, and Fergie, none of whom have FIV after being
around me for years (stay tuned for their stories) and my human friends, who still crack
up when I run sideways and dance in a box. ●
For more about FIV, visit www.alleycat.org/pdf/test.pdf and see page 1 of this
Alley Cat Action.
New Tools for Change
Alley Cat Allies Releases
Two New Brochures
Alley Cat Allies’ new How to Live With
Cats in Your Neighborhood brochure is
the perfect tool to promote understanding and harmony between the humans
and outdoor cats in your neighborhood
Here in one user-friendly brochure are
the answers to many of the common
topics that arise when feral cats and
humans share a neighborhood.
When You Give,
They Live.
I know my support helps promote life-saving methods to
stop the killing of stray and feral cats.
Please accept my generous gift of:
❑ $35 ❑ $50 ❑ $100 ❑ $250 ❑ Other________
❑ Check
I‘d like to pay by:
❑ Mastercard ❑ Visa
❑ Discover
CREDIT CARD NUMBER EXP. DATE
SIGNATURE
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY ST
CUT OUT AND COPY TO SHARE WITH OTHERS
Why Do Cats Do That …
And How Can I Make Them Stop? defines
“community cats,” as the stray and feral
cats that make their homes outdoors in
every community. It offers five easy ways
to deter outdoor cat behaviors and ensure
that community cats can live peacefully
in their home communities.
ZIP
HOME PHONE
E-MAIL
8 AlleyCatAction W i n t e r
2008
Alley Cat Allies
7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600; Bethesda, MD 20814-2525
Or donate online at www.alleycat.org/support.html.
✃
Go to www.alleycat.org/tools to
order your copies of the new
How to Live With Cats in Your Neighborhood
brochure and the new Why Do Cats Do That And
How Can I Make Them Stop? brochure.
N2-08-WM