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Feral Cat Allies
We received an interesting letter awhile ago about an organization called "Alley Cat Allies," and we are quoting some of that letter to help you realize the problem and how you can help.
"It's not easy being a feral cat in an unmanaged, unsterilized colony. It's a life without a reliable source of food, and no guarantee of a tomorrow. You need to look no further than your own alley or back yard to find them. Regardless of where you live, their story is much the same...
The gray-and-tan tabby, tired and thin, walked wearily down the street. For weeks she had searched for food and a safe, warm place to give birth. Barely more than a kitten herself, she found a garbage bag that smelled of food.
Clawing desperately through the bag, she gorged herself on the stale french fries, crusts of bread, and decaying meat. Her stomach full for the first time in weeks, she curled up in a crushed cardboard box. This would be her haven, her salvation, and the place where she would bear her six tiny kittens.
A few days after their birth, the mother cat realized three of her kittens were not going to make it. Weak and underweight, they struggled with every breath. Without adequate food for herself, the mother's body simply could not produce enough milk to feed all six.
She knew they would not live long so, obeying an instinct deep within, she made a painful decision. She gathered up her three stronger kittens and moved them to another box farther down the alley.
Finding food for herself and the remaining kittens was all she could manage.
As her surviving kittens grew, she taught them to protect themselves from harm. They learned the survival skills just as their mother had learned them, and they too became feral.
Soon other cats and kittens, driven by the same survival instincts, joined them near their food source. Another "colony" was formed."
An estimated 60 to 100 million feral cats live in the United States today. Feral instincts are never far from the surface in domestic cats. In fact, a survey ha shown that 30% to 60% of unsterilized domestic cats will find themselves living in feral colonies within three years."
This growing number of feral cats and the inability for shelters and communities to control them (other than trapping and killing) appears to be the reason that Becky Robinson and Louise Holton started the Alley Cat Allies (ACA) in 1990.
This is a national organization that assist feral cats and their caretakers in every part of a feral cats life -- from taming to long-term colony management. The intent of the program, that includes "trap-neuter-return," (TNR) to begin to reduce the number of feral cats, and "colony-management" that monitors and feeds the colonies, is to have healthier colonies and stable populations.
Please visit their web site at http://www.alleycat.org, and/or send a contribution to: Alley Cat Allies, 7920 Norfolk Ave, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814, Phone: 240.482.3881, Fax: 240.482.1990. You can fill out their response form at http://www.alleycat.org/response. According to their literature 80% of the proceeds to directly to the Program, 8% to administration and 12% to fund raising. Ask your community's leaders to investigate and institute TNR programs to cut down on your feral populations.
Your contribution will help in training volunteers and communities, neutering cats, feeding colonies, medical treatment and many other costs involved in managing feral cat populations.
Other TNR sites are:
Rescue Links