Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies wants you to pledge that you're an Alley Cat Ally. Their mission is to protect and improve cats' lives, whether they be feral, strays, or house cats. Through numerous programs, Alley Cat Allies works to:
- Extend days and hours shelters and pounds are open to increase adoptions.
- End unnecessary euthanasia in U.S. pounds and shelters where unadoptable, usually feral, cats are put to death due to ordinances that push such cats into the shelter system.
- Educate society about outdoor cats.
- Get the message out that trap-neuter-return (TNR) is the way of the future.
Many shelters have prohibitive adoption hours and days they're open, often making it difficult for prospective pet parents to meet and adopt cats. As a result, adoptable cats often go to their deaths because they've been in the shelter system too long.
Feral cats often end up in pounds or shelters. Feral cats are unadoptable, and, therefore, are euthanized. Alley Cat Allies works to educate people that feral cats have existed side-by-side in communities across the country since the first cat was brought to the New World. Through TNR efforts, feral cats are spayed/neutered and returned to their colonies to live out their lives. Besides teaching people about TNR, Alley Cat Allies also educates people that feral cat feeding bans are cruel and ineffective. Cats are territorial, and they find other sources of food, but
[i]n certain situations, feral cats who have been fed on a consistent schedule can become dependent on their caregivers for food, and in these cases, to abruptly discontinue care is cruel and can lead to the death of some cats. But cats will not disappear simply because compassionate people can no longer legally feed them.
Cats who live where feeding bans are in place are often forced to roam further away from their territories to find food. Managed colonies are fed on a regular schedule, they don't roam as far, and they no longer roam to find mates.
Alley Cat Allies wants you to get involved in advocating for all cats. One way you can become involved is to take the 'I'm An Alley Cat Ally' photo pledge.
- Print out the 'I'm An Alley Cat Ally' sign.
- Print your name on the sign, pose with or without your cat(s), and take a picture.
- Upload your photo (smaller than 300 KB) on their pledge page.
There are numerous events throughout the country every month, including the ongoing Changing Communities For Cats Tour that began in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on February 2, 2013 and a webinar, Helping Cats In Your Communities, on Wednesday, February 13, 2013.
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