To help implement a new law aimed at protecting feral cats in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Prince George’s County, Md., two local nonprofits are asking residents to let them know if they care for such cats, and to notify them if any of their ferals go missing.
Alley Cat Rescue and Rock Creek Cats have both signed up to be notified about eartipped cats who enter the Prince George's shelter. But the groups can't rescue the cats unless they know who the caregivers are. Information about the caregivers and the cats' outdoor homes will be kept confidential.
The law, enacted by the county government in late 2012, is designed to protect outdoor cats who are unsocialized to people and have been sterilized through a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program. Feral cats who go through TNR are eartipped, which means that while they are under anesthesia, the tip of their left ear is removed to indicate they have been neutered and vaccinated.
Eartipped cats trapped by animal control are to be immediately returned to their outdoor homes instead of being impounded or killed in shelters, unless they show signs of disease or injury or are the subject of a nuisance complaint. In addition, eartipped cats entering the county shelter will have the opportunity to be rescued by local TNR groups.
Alley Cat Rescue can be reached at ACR@saveacat.org or 301-277-5595.
Rock Creek Cats can be reached at rockcreekcats@yahoo.com or 202-746-9682.
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