Earlier today, Alley Cat Rescue (ACR) focused their repeated pleas for help to the veterinary community in a bold move to remove feral cats from the streets of our country. On April 27, 2010, Alley Cat Rescue will launch Free Feral Cat Spay Day to encourage the veterinary community and individuals to get involved in putting an end to cat homelessness and decreasing euthanasia rates at local shelters.
ACR has requested that veterinarians across the U.S., offer at least two free spays or neuters of feral cats to the public. While two cats may seem to be an insignificant number, ACR explains the dramatic effects it will have on the cat population. “Out of 80,000 cats, if half are females, and have 2 litters each year (with just 4 kittens surviving in total), in just 5 years we could have 800,000 extra cats on our streets. And that will just be from the initial cats. Then, add all the progeny from the offspring, and you can see the numbers get quite intimidating. However, if 40,000 veterinarians respond to this appeal, 80,000 cats will be fixed, and the success of these free clinics will prevent hundreds of thousands of unwanted animals from being born, which is the first step in the fight against pet overpopulation.”
Feral cats, or cats descended from the domestic cat that have never had contact with humans, have long been a controversial topic for animal welfare advocates and government controlled animal control. Feral cats normally come together in colonies, and local citizens will take on the task of feeding them daily and trying to keep them healthy. Alley Cat Rescue advocates for the practice of TNR, aka Trap-Neuter-Return, which has widely been proven as the most effective and humane way to reduce feral cat overpopulation. But the cost of neuter/spay surgeries can become unaffordable to private citizens, which is why ACR has organized this nationwide plea for assistance.
ACR President Louise Holton states, "our intention is not to place a burden of caring for the country's stray and feral cats on veterinarians, but rather we are hoping that the public will respond to this as well, and a network will be created to help solve this national epidemic. Individuals will build relationships with participating vets, and over time, this will bring more business to the veterinary community. By establishing long-term relationships between vets and rescuers, together we can help the town's stray cat population.”
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