![]() Kitten season is around the corner! This annual influx of kittens around this time of year follows the cats’ breeding cycle beginning in March in the Western Hemisphere. Although kitten season may sound like a cute time of year, kittens are one of the most vulnerable groups of cats for euthanasia at shelters. The high intake of kittens can decrease their chances of survival due to overcrowding. Over 1.4 million cats enter U.S. shelters each year, but sadly, 3 in 10 will not make it out alive. The good news is that you can help kittens and gain a new lovable companion! ACR is looking for foster parents to temporarily house kittens in their home. Fostering helps free up valuable space at ACR headquarters and helps kittens receive one-on-one attention and socialization, making them better candidates for adoption. Fostering is great for cat lovers who want the joy of having a kitten but cannot make the life-long commitment of having a permanent companion. ACR provides foster parents with training and resources to help them best care for kittens. In return, fosters receive the valuable and heartwarming experience of caring for and loving a kitten; plus, the satisfaction of knowing they truly are saving lives! Our current foster parents enjoy meeting so many amazing kittens, each with their own purrsonalities, and they’re rewarded by watching their kittens adopted into loving forever homes. If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, please contact [email protected] to learn more about our program.
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![]() Great news for cats in Maryland this week! The Baltimore County Department of Animal Services is opening up its Southwest Area Park Swap Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic services to recipients of Maryland’s Department of Agriculture spay/neuter grant. The state of Maryland runs a grant program that is “designed to the number of unwanted cats and dogs euthanized in shelters across the state.” The program works by providing grants to local governments and animal welfare organizations to promote and provide free spay/neuter services to companion animals and feral cats cared for by low income Maryland residents. This new clinic will be a great asset to local governments and animal welfare organizations as it provides a fully equipped surgical suite to accommodate high-volume/high-quality services, a holding and recovery facility specifically for feral cats and a loading space for easy loading and unloading of caged cats. Spaying and neutering cats is the most effective way to reduce cat overpopulation and reduce euthanasia at shelters. This clinic will help save countless cats’ lives and help make spay/neuter services accessible to everyone, regardless of income. The SWAP facility can be found at 3941 Klunk Drive, Brooklyn Maryland. Spay/neuter services will be free to groups working within Baltimore County and will be $40 a cat for groups outside of the county. People interested in receiving the free spay/neuter services are urged to contact the grant recipients directly. ![]() Proposed bans on the feeding of feral cats have come up time and time again as a potential solution to cat overpopulation. These bans incorrectly assume that if people stop feeding feral cats, they will simply leave the area and the problem will be over. This is not the case. Feeding bans are not only ineffective, but cruel. They suddenly cut off an expected source of food for cats and criminalize compassion. Alley Cat Rescue opposes feeding bans and is working towards ensuring more cities implement trap-neuter-return as a humane solution to cat overpopulation. Cats are scavengers and will search to find food. If a feeding ban is enacted, the cats often will stay in the area and find a new source of food. The cats will eat garbage, scraps or other animals which do not provide cats with the nutrients they need. Malnourished cats are more susceptible to diseases and parasites. Because feeding bans do not address reproduction at all, the malnourished cats will often give birth to sick kittens who will die at a young age. Feeding bans actually create more nuisance behaviors than they eliminate. The bans encourage cats to search through garbage, fails to spay/neuter cats and leads to the spread of diseases. Cats without a solid source of food will wander around towns more than cats who have an area where they know they will be fed at. The feeding bans also make trap-neuter-return (TNR) almost impossible because the cat caretakers cannot lure the cats to the traps with wet food. TNR ends these nuisance behaviors while also stopping reproduction. Cat caretakers are compassionate people who want to help cats in their area. Compassion should not be criminalized but encouraged. Without cat caretakers feeding and TNRing cats, many more cats would suffer. Further, the enforcement of feeding bans is very difficult and resource intensive. Areas that want to address cat overpopulation should instead implement TNR. If your town or city is considering a feeding ban please reach out to your government and tell them:
![]() This week is National Justice for Animals Week, an important time to focus on one of the most vulnerable victims of abuse. It is vital that people take action to protect animals and give a voice to the voiceless. Many of our supporters have kept up to date on Hardy, a cat Alley Cat Rescue saved who had endured weeks of torture and mutilation. Although his recovery was inspiring, it was a difficult story for many to hear. ACR has been advocating for Hardy and cats who have endured similar abuses, to end this senseless violence. You too can help victims of animal cruelty by calling your representatives and urging them to take action on these important bills: Federal Laws:
State and Local Laws:
[1] Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act. N.d. Retrieved from https://awionline.org/legislation/dog-and-cat-meat-trade-prohibition-act. [2] Sharp, M. (October 20, 2017). “It’s time to go cruelty-free.” Retrieved from http://m.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2017/11-12/cruelty-free-they-are-worth-it.html. [3] United States Department of Agriculture. (2016). “Annual Report Animal Usage by Fiscal Year.” Retrieved from https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/reports/Annual-Report-Animal-Usage-by-FY2016.pdf. ![]() February 27th is World Spay Day, an international day to encourage the spaying and neutering of companion animals. Spaying or neutering a cat is the simplest and most effective way a person can help prevent cat overpopulation. Alley Cat Rescue (ACR) offers a Cheapfix clinic to members of the public to sterilize and provide a rabies vaccination for cats. The Cheapfix clinic provides a low-cost option for people who want to trap-neuter-return feral cats or have their companion animal sterilized. Kitten season is around the corner and ACR has ramped up its clinic from once a month to once a week in preparation. Spring is referred to as “kitten season” because of the high influx of kittens brought into shelters during this season. This intake follows the cats’ breeding cycle beginning in March in the Western Hemisphere. Many kittens are born outside to feral cats and can face euthanasia when brought to local shelters. Low-cost clinics prevent kittens from being born to an uncertain fate. In addition to ACR’s once a week Cheapfix clinics, we will also be offering a clinic on February 27th to spay/neuter 15 cats in honor of World Spay Day. The fee has been reduced to $20 for a spay/neuter surgery and rabies vaccination for a feral cat. We rely on compassionate people such as yourself to continue to offer these services. Get involved on World Spay Day and donate to ACR here to help us continue to offer these vital services! ![]() Of all the zoonotic diseases, rabies is one of the most feared and misunderstood. Many discussions on rabies in the United States focus on feral cats; which misrepresents the issue, because studies show the main transmission of rabies to humans is from bats. The recent case of the 6-year-old boy dying in Florida after being scratched by a rabid bat illustrates the risk bats can pose. Bats are vital to our ecosystems as pollinator species and we should work to protect them and others from rabies. Since the 1980s, the vast majority of human cases of rabies in the United States and Canada were from bats[1]. Bats and other species such as raccoons, skunks, and foxes are referred to as vector species, because they are the most common rabies carriers and pass the disease onto others. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 23 cases of rabies in humans in the United States and Puerto Rico from January 2008-September 2017. Eleven of these cases were from bats and zero of these cases were from cats[2]. The risk of contracting rabies from bats may increase over time as climate change affects their range areas. As the temperatures get warmer, bats will expand their range, bringing the disease with them[3]. A study of over 200,000 bats found that 6-7% had rabies[4]. Rabies is a potentially fatal disease and our government should employ a robust, nonlethal program to combat rabies from bats. Bats make up 20% of the world’s mammals and are instrumental to the functioning of our ecosystems[5]. Similar to feral cats, efforts to eliminate rabies by killing bats would not only be cruel, but also ineffective, costly, and difficult to implement. Nonlethal control has proven to be more effective over the long term. Furthermore, programs to address climate change will help reduce the spread of rabies and will improve the overall health of our planet. Alley Cat Rescue advocates for a three-step approach to nonlethal rabies control: 1. Implement widespread oral-vaccine immunization barriers for key wildlife vector species, primarily raccoons and skunks. 2. Continue to research rabies vaccines for bats[6]. 2. Educate the public on steps to minimize human risk from contracting rabies from wildlife, including vaccinating outdoor cats and dogs and reporting sick bats to wildlife groups or the local health department. (Do not kill bats indiscriminately. They are a vital asset to our environment.) 3. Recognize and support the vaccination and nonlethal management of feral cat colonies as an effective and important part of a comprehensive rabies (and population) control program. [1] De Serres, G., Dallaire, F., Cote, M. & Skowronski, D.M. (2008). Bat Rabies in the United States and Canada from 1950 through 2007: Human Cases with and without Bat Contact. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 46(9), 1329-1337. [2] “Human Rabies.” N.d. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/surveillance/human_rabies.html. [3] Bazilchuk, N. (2005). “Warmer Weather May Bring Bats and Rabies.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 3(9), 464. [4] Patyk, K., Turmelle, A., Blanton, J.D. & Rupprecht, C.E. (2012). “Trends in national surveillance data for bat rabies in the United States: 2001-2009.” Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 12(8), 666-673. [5] “Arizona’s Bats”! N.d. Retrieved from https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/sce/grand-canyon-chapter/conservation/Bats%20and%20climate%20change.pdf. [6] Stading, B., Ellison, J.A., Carson, W.C., Satheshkumar, P.S. & Rocke, T.E. (2017). “Protection of bats (Eptesicus fuscus) against rabies following topical or oronasal exposure to a recombinant raccoon poxvirus vaccine.” PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(10), e0005958.
![]() Nearly one million healthy cats and kittens are euthanized annually at shelters across the country. Of these healthy cats, feral cats often face the bleakest outcome. This is because feral cats are born and raised in the wild and are generally unsocialized towards people. Feral cats are not good candidates for adoption; they often hide in the back of their cages and do not seek affection from people. Thankfully, trap-neuter-return (TNR) provides an answer to a near certain death for feral cats. TNR involves trapping the cats, providing them with spay/neuter surgery and vaccinations, and returning them where they were found outside. The cats are ear-tipped to identify those who have gone through the TNR process. TNR’d cats will have a colony caregiver who will provide them with continued food, water, and veterinary care. This method humanely handles cat overpopulation, while allowing the cats to live out their lives. TNR acknowledges that feral cats are unsuitable for indoor living and at the same time, helps shelters reduce their intake and euthanasia rates. Furthermore, the number of cats living in outdoor colonies will decrease over time because the cats can no longer reproduce. TNR is not only the most humane option but the most practical. Trap-and-kill plans have proven to be ineffective because these plans do not address the root problem of reproduction. A study in Tasmania found that killing feral cats actually led to an increase in population. Researchers stated that this was probably due to new individuals taking over the area after dominant cats were removed[1]. TNR is also much less costly than trap-and-kill plans. One reason TNR is more cost-effective is because it reduces shelter intake and shelter euthanasia, saving local governments’ time and resources. Lastly, TNR also helps curb problem behaviors such as wandering, howling, spraying, and fighting that eradication plans do not address; again, because TNR focuses on reproductive/mating issues. TNR Reduces Shelter Intake and Euthanasia Rates
TNR Reduces Colony Size
[1] Lazenby, B.T., Mooney, N.J. & Dickman, C.R. (2015). Effects of low-level culling of feral cats in open populations: a case study from the forests of southern Tasmania. Wildlife Research, 41(5), 407-420. [2] Scott, E. (January 19, 2012). Trap, Neuter, Return Program Decreases Homeless Feral Cat Population. Retrieved https://springfield.wusa9.com/news/news/89821-trap-neuter-return-program-decreases-homeless-feral-cat-population. [3] Trap-neuter-return. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.faastexas.org/. [4] Levy, J.K., Isaza, N.M. & Scott, K.C. (2014). Effect of high-impact targeted trap-neuter-return and adoption of community cats on cat intake to a shelter. The Veterinary Journal, 201(3), 269-274. [5] Cleveland, C. (March 24, 2017). FOTAS: ‘Rigorous’ community cat diversion program solution to shelter intake issue. Retrieved from https://www.aikenstandard.com/news/fotas-rigorous-community-cat-diversion-program-solution-to-shelter-intake/article_77140b66-0f1a-11e7-a197-af86f1a48d73.html. [6] Edinboro, C., Watson, H. & Fairbrother, A. (2016). Association between a shelter-neuter-return program and cat health at a large municipal animal shelter. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 248(3), 298-308. [7] Levy, J. K., Gale, D.W., and Gale, L.A. (2003). Evaluation of the effect of a long-term trap-neuter-return and adoption program on a free-roaming cat population. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 222(1), 42-46. [8] Hughes, K.L. & Slater, M.R. (2002). Implementation of a feral cat management program on a university campus. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 5(1), 15-28. [9] Trap-Neuter-Return. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.feralcats.com/tnr/. [10] Natoli, Eugenia, et. al. (2006). Management of Feral Domestic Cats in the Urban Environment of Rome (Italy). Preventative Veterinary Medicine, 77, 180-185. ![]() Many cat owners know the dangers of rodenticides (pesticides used to kill rats), but the rise of bromethalin should have owners on high alert. This poison acts as a neurotoxin that affects a victim’s brain and liver, often leading to a fluid buildup in the brain and a painful death. There is currently no cure or diagnostic test for bromethalin poisoning. This leaves few options for treatment. Veterinarians will try and get the poison out of a cat's system through inducing vomiting and using activated charcoal. Bromethalin is fast acting and pet owners often only have hours to treat a cat for poisoning before they will die. The increase in the use of rodenticides occurred after a 2008 EPA directive to make rodenticides safer. The directive mandated all consumer marketed rodenticides phase out the use of long acting anticoagulants. Although this directive intended to make humans and animals safer, it is having the opposite effect because manufacturers are increasingly using bromethalin as a substitute. Human and animal exposure to bromethalin is increasing and many cat owners are forced to watch their pets painfully die from poisoning. The EPA allows for bromethalin to be placed outside as long as it is within 50 feet of a building. Allowing this harmful poison outside increases the risk to humans, wildlife and pets. Owners who allow their pets outside should be especially alert for signs of poisoning such as unsteadiness, muscle tremors, vomiting and seizures. Even indoor cats are at risk through secondary poisoning by eating mice that have ingested the poison. This deadly toxin should not be allowed around our pets! Contact EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and tell him to ban the use of this dangerous poison. Bromethalin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/bromethalin/ Huntington S, Fenik Y, Vohra R, et al. Human bromethalin exposures reported to a U.S. Statewide Poison Control System. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2016;54:277-281. JAVMA News. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 2014; 245:152-171. Kent, M. & Glass, E. (June 13, 2017). Veterinary neurology alert: Bromethalin toxicosis on the rise in pets. Retrieved from http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/veterinary-neurology-alert-bromethalin-toxicosis-rise-pets?pageID=1 Rat Poisonings in Cats. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/toxicity/c_ct_bromethalin_rodenticide_toxicity Restrictions on Rodenticide Products. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/rodenticides/restrictions-rodenticide-products
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