Join Alley Cat Allies for the 14th annual National Feral Cat Day on Oct. 16!
Their original mission was to promote feral cats, often referred to as community cats, to raise awareness of the highly successful Trap-Neuter-Return program (TNR) and to support the people across the country who care for the millions of feral cats across the U.S.
Statistics are ugly for the feral cat. Cats in general don't get a chance at shelters, with a 70 percent average of them being euthanized, and that includes the friendly ones. Feral cats have a 100 percent death rate at animal shelters, which is why Alley Cat Allies came up with the TNR program.
"During TNR, cats are humanely trapped ad brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, spayed or neutered, and then vaccinated. While under anesthesia, the cats are eartipped - a small portion of the left ear is painlessly removed for identification. After they recover from the sterilization surgery, they are returned to their outdoor home," says Alley Cat Allies, according to The Cat Channel.
"Trap-Neuter-Return is the only effective method of stabilizing cat colony populations. In the last decade, the number of local governments with official policies endorsing TNR has increased tenfold, with hundreds of cities and towns successfully carrying out TNR programs," Alley Cat Allies added.
"Our incredible success in promoting Trap-Neuter-Return for feral cats as a mainstream practice has saved countless lives, but there's more to be done," said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies, according to the Examiner. "We encourage cat advocates to continue with their own local evolution by taking the next step. It could be neutering a cat, speaking at a community meeting or spearheading a campaign for a local Trap-Neuter-Return ordinance. There's always room to grow."
