Programs
Millions of cats are killed in shelters and humane societies each year, for lack of space. Thousands more die as strays from accidents, disease, and at the hands of those who call them a “nuisance.” Too many kittens are born, resulting in more cats than people to care for them. Alley Cat Rescue looks to solve this problem through its innovative adoption model that not only provides an additional outlet for placing the local “surplus” cat population in adoptive homes, but also includes an aggressive spay-neuter program and increased public education.

Adoption Program

ACR’s adoption program finds loving, furrever homes for about 250 cats and kittens each year. We find homes for abandoned, stray, and relinquished cats; we also socialize feral kittens and work to find barn homes for feral cats. Prior to adoption, all cats receive a medical evaluation, including sterilization, vaccinations, testing, and are treated for parasites. All cats and kittens also undergo a temperament analysis prior to re-homing. If a cat or kitten is unable to be socialized, ACR will find a barn home. For friendly cats, ACR partners with a local Petsmart store to function as our adoption center. Our innovative adoption program has helped thousands of stray and abandoned cats find good homes.

 

• As a Luv-a-Pet participant, Alley Cat Rescue currently operates adoption centers at PETsMART stores.
• Through having an adoption site, ACR is alerting the public to the problem and educating them about solutions.
• ACR practices neuter-before-adoption thus ensuring rescued cats do not contribute to the overpopulation tragedy.

 

Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic
Alley Cat Rescue is offering a low-cost spay/neuter clinic to low-income residents of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

The cost to neuter a male cat is $40 and the cost to spay a female is $45. The costs include the surgery and rabies & distemper vaccinations; additional services will be covered by the individual. For more information on this program and to get an application, please contact ACR by phone or by email.

 

Download the application.

 

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Program

Alley Cat Rescue operates a TNR program for feral cats. Feral cats are sterilized, eartipped, vaccinated against rabies and distemper, and are treated for internal parasites and fleas.

 

Our feral cat clinic operates on Thursday and Friday and is by appointment only. We ask for a $50 donation to help cover the cost of surgery and treatment. We also lend out humane traps and demonstrate how to use them properly. To schedule an appointment to bring in a feral cat to be sterilized or to borrow a trap, please call our office to make arrangements.

 

Campaigns

For many years, Alley Cat Rescue has been engaged in promoting humane solutions to resolving the complex issues of cat overpopulation, especially those relating to feral cats. They are often classified as "non-native" species, despite that they have been living in a feral state in the United States for almost 500 years.

 

Our programs and campaigns to end the killing of healthy stray and feral cats in local shelters are diverse. They range from actual, hands-on trapping and sterilization of cats, to running low-cost spay clinics for companion cats, as well as promoting education and public relations to help cats. We are constantly working to put an end to the myths and misinformation surroundings these innocent creatures. When cats are considered nothing more than "pests" and "nuisances," this current trend of scapegoating dangerously fosters and promotes cruelty to animals.  

 

At ACR, we believe that ALL animals, whether "exotic," "alien," or "introduced," all deserve our respect and compassion, and if humane, non-lethal methods for controlling their populations are offered, then these should be the preferred methods--instead of out-dated, inhumane, lethal eradication techniques.

 

Free Feral Cat Spay Day (FFCSD)

 

On April 27th, Alley Cat Rescue launched Free Feral Cat Spay Day (FFCSD)! We know the name is a mouth-full but the idea behind this important day is simple...offer free and low-cost trap-neuter-return (TNR) services to those who care for feral cats 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 President and Alley Cat Allies co-founder, Louise Holton, sent out a plea to veterinarians across the US, asking them to participate on this important day by offering at least two free spays or neuters of feral cats to the public. Over 150 vets across the US participated, sterilizing over 750 cats! The results are still pouring in, but if 40% of them were females, that means more than 1,200 kittens were prevented from being born...combatting homelessness and shelter euthanasia rates!!

And thanks to our compassionate friends in South Africa, FFCSD has become an INTERNATIONAL campaign! The South African Veterinary Association and the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Veterinary Science, along with a group of dedicated individuals at Sun City Resort, participated in FFCSD by offering low-cost sterilization services to free-roaming cats. Together, we hope that our work will continue to inspire others to offer low-cost sterilization services, especially to feral cats. Thank you to ALL who participated! We look forward to partnering with you next year!

 

For more information on this campaign or to get your veterinarian involved on Free Feral Cat Spay Day, please contact us!

 

Spay Day USA

 

On February 25th and 26th, Dr. Manzoor and the Brentwood Animal Hospital partnered with ACR to advocate for low-cost sterilization to combat pet homelessness. Joining the team was Dr. McFadden and Dr. Caroline Preyer. ACR would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Preyer, a graduate of Ohio State University, for volunteering her time to help us out. We would also like to thank Christi Fries, of Terrapin Pets, for helping with trapping and transporting of feral cats. Together, we sterilized 40 cats! 
Every year “kitten season” lasts longer, bringing in more kittens than rescue groups can handle; so again before spring arrives, please make sure your pets have been sterilized. Kittens are cute, but unwanted litters only mean higher euthanasia rates at local shelters and countless more forming feral colonies. Please help spread the word of how important it is to sterilize pets and the importance of trap-neuter-return (TNR). 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are killed every year in local shelters. The only effective way to stop this is through low-cost sterilization programs and TNR programs.