Graphic by Alley Cat Allies
Put that community cat back! …
Browsing Tag
Alley Cat Allies
 |
| www.NationalFeralCatDay.org |
Cynthia: Happy Feral Cat Day!
Marcy: Didn’t we just do this last year?
Cynthia: Yes. Every year on October 16th we recognize feral cats and society’s efforts to help them.
Marcy: Why would you help cats that can’t help themselves?
Cynthia: That’s precisely why we do help them, Marcy. It’s not their fault they are living on the streets. In fact, you would have been a feral cat if someone didn’t help you and your two brothers.
Marcy: Gasp.
Cynthia: This year’s theme focuses on TNR which stands for Trap/Neuter/Return. Cats are humanely trapped, sterilized/vaccinated, and then returned to the area where they live.
TNR is the best, most effective, and humane way to reduce the stray cat problem. Once the cats stop reproducing, the colony gradually reduces through natural attrition until there are no more.
Marcy: I thought if one cat dies then another stray cat comes in to take its place.
Cynthia: Sometimes this happens but most often it does not. Two colonies I TNR’d and am able to monitor have not had this happen. One colony of nine cats is now down to two over a six year period and another colony of five cats is down to four over a two year period.
Marcy: You’re seeing other cats behind my back?
Cynthia: The resources out there for helping these cats are growing and growing. So if you see stray cats and kittens in your neighborhood and want to help them, simply do a Google search of cat rescues or TNR in your area. I bet you’ll find several groups that can help solve the problem.
| source unknown |
Marcy raises her Friskies can. Cynthia raises her martini glass.
Marcy and Cynthia: Happy National Feral Cat Day!
Marcy: And big slurpy kitty kisses to all those compassionate people helping to alleviate the suffering of society’s neglected and abandoned feline friends.
*You Might Also Like:
The (50 Second) Scoop On Feral Cats By Jackson Galaxy
Wild Thing, I Think I Love You: National Feral Cat Day Is Today
Cynthia: Marcy, today is the day that we honor Feral Cats and the wonderful people who help them – those tireless people who do TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) and maintain TNR’d cat colonies.
And – celebrate that you are not living in the streets.
Marcy: Whatever.
Cynthia: Hmpf. I expected a little more enthusiasm from you.
Marcy: Yeah, why.
Cynthia: Because. You are not eeking out a paw to mouth existence, prone to disease and injury, having litter after litter because you aren’t spayed.
You are living in a cozy house with a warm bed, human friends, and all the Friskies you can eat. Show a little appreciation. Show some compassion for those kitties out there not as fortunate as you.
Marcy yawns.
Cynthia: Show some humanity for those kitties who didn’t ask to be living in the streets but through no fault of their own –
Marcy (interrupting): Humanity? It was humanity that put my species in this position in the first place.
Cynthia: Now you’re talking!
Marcy: Yeah, well this is how I show my appreciation.
Marcy stalks off to the sunspot in the living room. She curls up with her longtime buddy, Scooter, and takes a 2 hour nap. Later, they watch the world – and the feral cats in it – go by.
Cynthia: That’ll work too.
*A big kitty shout out to organizations like FixNation, The Kris Kelly Foundation, Alley Cat Allies, Stray Cat Alliance, Vox Felina, and Kitten Rescue that work their butts off in trying to alleviate kitty suffering and reducing the feral cat cat population through humane strategies.
*Since 2007, FixNation has spayed/neutered over 80,000 feral cats in Los Angeles! Their service for ferals is free! Thank you, FixNation! I don’t know what Los Angeles would do without you!
*And, because it is so wonderful, I am reposting Jackson Galaxy’s 50 second PSA about Feral Cats.
Cynthia: Cat Daddy, Jackson Galaxy, explains Feral Cats and TNR (trap/neuter/return) in 50 seconds. Fifty seconds, Marcy!
Marcy: OMG! How’d he do that?
Cynthia: He is one seriously cool dude. Honestly, if you love (or even just like) cats, please watch his PSA, The Scoop On Feral Cats, for Alley Cat Allies. If you ever wondered about or worried about those elusive cats you see around, please watch. He explains it all quickly and succinctly. And with such compassion.
Marcy: He is so cool. Do you think he would let me be his kitty? Do you?
Cynthia: Marcy, he already has his own kitties. And besides, he would not approve of your moodiness and terrorist tendencies towards our carpet and other cats.
Marcy: I don’t care. I want to be his kitty. I love him.
Cynthia: Well, most of us cat fanatics do. He has brought a tremendous amount of attention to feral cats. And, he has helped numerous cat owners understand their kitty’s behavior with his TV show, My Cat From Hell. Plus, he’s kind of bad ass.
Marcy (sighing): He’s perfect.
*National Feral Cat Day is October 16th.
*Please check out Alley Cat Allies or Fixnation to find out more about TNR (trap/neuter/return) and how you can help the homeless cats in you neighborhood. Or, even just understand them better.
