ALLEY CAT ACTION CAT REVOLUTION EVOLVES MILESTONE FOR VIRGINIA SPAY/NEUTER GROUP. Alley Cat Allies Newsletter

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Christian Parks
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Over the years, National Feral Cat Day has become more than a single day. All over the world, advocates turned their time and attention to efforts to help strengthen our movement to save cats lives.

They answered the call to action and stepped up their work for cats in keeping with this year s theme: The Evolution of the Cat Revolution.

1 ALLEY CAT ACTION Alley Cat Allies Newsletter WINTER 2016 For Alley Cat Allies Over 600,000 Supporters and Activists CAT REVOLUTION EVOLVES October 16, National Feral Cat Day is a day for cat lovers to advocate for cats. Over the years, National Feral Cat Day has become more than a single day. All over the world, advocates turned their time and attention to efforts to help strengthen our movement to save cats lives. People stood up on behalf of cats across the country and the world. They answered the call to action and stepped up their work for cats in keeping with this year s theme: The Evolution of the Cat Revolution. As Alley Cat Allies begins its own next generation of cat protection, so do all the people who support us and who care about cats as much as we do. Each year is bigger and better than the last, but this year was really something special. There were events that began in September and ran for weeks. In addition to a host of weekend-long spay-a-thons, some that were active for a week or two. Some people took to the streets and leafletted their neighborhoods. Others met with their public officials so new policies could be adopted. Here are a few of the stories. We invite you to read more at (continued on page 3) Boardwalk Cat Otis meeting a miniature Frank the Feral on National Feral Cat Day in Atlantic City, New Jersey. MILESTONE FOR VIRGINIA SPAY/NEUTER GROUP In November, Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson joined Caring Hands Animal Support & Education (CHASE) for its fifth Trap-Neuter-Return event on Chincoteague Island, Virginia. The four-day event resulted in a total of 189 cats being spayed or neutered and vaccinated! Each cat was microchipped in addition to being eartipped. Both are means of identifying the cat. Alley Cat Allies donated microchips from Found Animals. CHASE has carried out TNR for some 1,200 cats in the past five years. The veterinarians and the veterinary assistants as well as the trappers volunteered their time. We are especially impressed and inspired by CHASE s connection with and support of the community. A large majority of the cats on the island are now sterilized and vaccinated!

PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Happy New Year! After 25 years of saving cats, we welcome the New Year and the opportunities to continue our progress and elevate the standards of care for cats.

You helped us get there we could never have achieved so much without your generosity, compassion, and support. One of our largest and most prominent campaigns is National Feral Cat Day.

2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Happy New Year! After 25 years of saving cats, we welcome the New Year and the opportunities to continue our progress and elevate the standards of care for cats. We have advocated for cats for a quarter century. We have advanced protections for cats and mobilized the nation. You helped us get there we could never have achieved so much without your generosity, compassion, and support. One of our largest and most prominent campaigns is National Feral Cat Day. That national call to action reflects the growing number of advocates, and in 2015 they had a greater impact than ever before. We are proud of everyone who joined our campaign that we launched 15 years ago. We want you to know that you have played a critical role in the success of this year s National Feral Cat Day. Every story we receive about local outreach, humane education, spay/neuter/vaccinate clinics, winter cat shelter-building events and more, proves that people around the nation and the world are joining and expanding the cat revolution. But these stories also demonstrate that there is much more to be done. The threats to cats are our main concern, especially institutionalized and publicly funded threats. As our research has shown, the greatest documented cause of death for cats lies with our nation s animal facilities. The majority of shelters and animal control agencies around the country continue to operate on outdated policies that kill millions of cats each year. Dedicated advocates join us in our mission because they recognize the persisting need for real, systemic change. Let s continue making that change together. Thank you for fighting by our side for 25 years, and for the 25 more to come. For the cats, Connect with me online facebook.com/acapresident instagram.com/feralbecky Becky Robinson, President and Founder twitter.com/feralbecky 7920 Norfolk Ave., Suite 600 Bethesda, MD Tel: Fax: ALLEY CAT ALLIES ALLEY CAT ACTION, Volume 26, Issue #2, WINTER 2016 PRESIDENT: Becky Robinson VICE PRESIDENT: Donna Wilcox BOARD MEMBERS: Karyen Chu, PhD; Irina Dline; Rachel Gorlin; Patricia E. Kauffman; Dina Paxenos; Becky Robinson; Donna Wilcox All rights reserved. We may make this material available for use by other groups, but none of it may be reproduced in any format without specific written permission from Alley Cat Allies. Alley Cat Allies is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and tax-exempt organization. Alley Cat Allies federal employer ID number is All contributions, donations, and gifts are tax deductible, as allowed by law. It is Alley Cat Allies practice to exchange the names of our donors with other charities that share our values. We do this in order to both expand our donor base and spread our mission, and to support those charities that we feel are working toward the good of animals and our community. Please notify us if you would prefer that we not share your name. We would be happy to remove your information from our exchange list. Alley Cat Allies is proud to have earned the highest rating of four stars from Charity Navigator, the nation s largest and most respected charity evaluator. Join us and our more than 500,000 supporters at OUR MISSION: To transform and develop communities to protect and improve the lives of cats. OUR GOALS: 1) Reform public policies and institutions to serve the best interests of cats; 2) Expand and promote cat care; 3) Increase understanding of cats to change attitudes and eliminate misconceptions. 2 ALLEY CAT ACTION

our crucial work. They handed out educational materials and spoke to people about what they can do to help cats in their community.

The Boardwalk is home to the famous colonies of community cats (16 in all) that Alley Cat Allies has been caring for as part of our Boardwalk Cats Project. New York The Animal Rights Alliance, Inc.

3 CAT REVOLUTION EVOLVES... (continued from page 1) Alley Cat Allies Celebrates Our mascot Frank the Feral, accompanied by Alley Cat Allies staff, took to the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to spread the word about our crucial work. They handed out educational materials and spoke to people about what they can do to help cats in their community. Boardwalk-goers enjoyed photo ops with Frank, and even the resident cats got into the National Feral Cat Day spirit. The Boardwalk is home to the famous colonies of community cats (16 in all) that Alley Cat Allies has been caring for as part of our Boardwalk Cats Project. New York The Animal Rights Alliance, Inc. (T.A.R.A.) made huge strides in helping New York s cats by holding 16 lowcost spay/neuter days at nine different locations all throughout October. In honor of National Feral Cat Day, it performed surgeries for a total of 754 cats and helped 375 unique clients. In the wake of Governor Cuomo s decision to veto New York s TNR Funding Bill, T.A.R.A. s dedication makes more difference than ever. California Community cat awareness organization Love Your Feral Felines teamed up with the owner of Internet cat celebrities Cole and Marmalade to feed over 150 cats in one night, and create a video to spread awareness. The video follows volunteers as they care for colonies, and informs viewers about community cats, TNR, and eartips. With more than 88,000 views to date, the video has helped educate thousands of people about the importance of TNR and how to best care for community cats. Kentucky A volunteer with the Franklin County Humane Society went the extra mile by making over 60 unique, catshaped feeding bowls to raise money for TNR clinics and related activities. Sales and donations generated more than $2,000 to benefit cats. On top of that, its National Feral Cat Day information exhibit helped it educate hundreds of residents about cats and TNR. It even attracted the attention of the local news! Thanks to T.A.R.A., 754 cats were spayed/ neutered in October in New York. More than 150 cats were fed in one night with the help of Love Your Feral Felines in California. Six of the handmade cat-shaped bowls that benefited cats in Kentucky. 3

IN YOUR BACKYARD With your support, Alley Cat Allies is working with advocates in communities across the nation to protect cats. Supporting Cat Advocates in Michigan We ve been busy in Michigan!

We discussed developing lifesaving programs for cats, and the next steps to getting local policymakers on board to implement them.

4 IN YOUR BACKYARD With your support, Alley Cat Allies is working with advocates in communities across the nation to protect cats. Supporting Cat Advocates in Michigan We ve been busy in Michigan! In October, we traveled to Detroit to conduct a TNR workshop for a group of 20 active, enthusiastic advocates, including Feral Friends. We discussed developing lifesaving programs for cats, and the next steps to getting local policymakers on board to implement them. We then attended the Great Lakes Animal Welfare Conference in Battle Creek to educate a great crowd of attendees about protecting cats. Much of Michigan including animal control and municipal shelters already supports and practices TNR! We look forward to working even more in Michigan and helping local advocates succeed. More Progress for Cats in Maryland We re hard at work making changes for cats in Maryland. Today, we re proud to say that Harford County has made good progress! Alley Cat Allies staff educated the Harford County Council about the best approaches to community cats, and the council agreed with our mission. It expressed its support for a TNR program, and we re working with Best Friends in Harford County, an animal protection organization, to implement change in the Humane Society of Harford County. We ll keep you updated as we move forward on TNR and shelter reform in Harford County and beyond. Crucial Change in Batavia, New York Batavia, New York, was once on track to implement a detrimental community cat feeding ban. But thanks to Alley Cat Allies staff working in collaboration with local activists, the Batavia town council rejected the feeding ban and voted 8 to 1 to support a TNVR Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release program instead! We sent a letter of support and offered assistance with drafting ordinance language, and a local constituent attended a council meeting with materials we gave her to make this lifesaving change possible. Reggie Rex is a sweet seven-year-old community cat in Batavia. ALLEY CAT ACTION 4

NEW RESOURCES! Toolkits for Shelter Staff We re giving animal shelters the programs and protocols they need to protect cats!

the public. Kids Can Color Frank the Feral with Our New Posters There s something for cat lovers of all ages on www.alleycat.org.

The toolkits include extensive and targeted advice to walk shelters step by step through: #FrankTheFeral 1. Creating a Cat Help Desk to respond to calls and emails from concerned people. 2.

Alley Cat Allies www.alleycat.org The Shelter Series was created to empower shelters to take charge and make humane, lifesaving change.

org ALLEY CAT ALLIES REMEMBERS OFFICE CAT FERGIE With heavy hearts, we share news that our beloved Office Cat Fergie has passed away.

She was our tiniest office cat, but Fergie s adorable little squeak-meow always made her presence known.

5 NEW RESOURCES! Toolkits for Shelter Staff We re giving animal shelters the programs and protocols they need to protect cats! Our new Shelter Series is four toolkits that provide detailed guides on creating programs to manage concerns about cats and Trap-Neuter-Return, provide foster care, and effectively communicate with the public. Kids Can Color Frank the Feral with Our New Posters There s something for cat lovers of all ages on New coloring pages featuring our mascot Frank the Feral and the National Feral Cat Day 2015 logo design are ready to print and color. The toolkits include extensive and targeted advice to walk shelters step by step through: #FrankTheFeral 1. Creating a Cat Help Desk to respond to calls and s from concerned people. 2. Starting a foster care program and building a network of volunteers. 3. Addressing public concerns about a newly adopted TNR or SNR program. 4. Supporting TNR in their community without doing it all. Alley Cat Allies The Shelter Series was created to empower shelters to take charge and make humane, lifesaving change. We thank Humane Network for working with us to write these invaluable guides. Alley Cat Allies ALLEY CAT ALLIES REMEMBERS OFFICE CAT FERGIE With heavy hearts, we share news that our beloved Office Cat Fergie has passed away. Fergie came to our office when she was a 10-week-old kitten, and for 13 years she was at home in our office. She was our tiniest office cat, but Fergie s adorable little squeak-meow always made her presence known. One of her little quirks was that she loved to be petted while she ate demanding admiration like the royalty she was. Fergie was the dominant cat in the office, and when she wasn t bossing the other cats around, she was playing with her Turbo Scratcher toy or napping in her flying saucer bed. When Fergie first developed kidney disease, she handled everything like a champion. But as she started to lose her signature attitude, we knew it was time to make a decision. Euthanasia, making the choice to end an animal s suffering, is extremely difficult, even when you know in your heart it s the right decision for the animal you love. We did not want Fergie to go. Fergie is survived by her siblings, Diana and Charles. We ll always remember Fergie s sweet face and her little meow. Her memory will be with us forever. ALLEY CAT ACTION 5

THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME FOR CATS AND KITTENS We know you are dedicated to protecting cats. Now you can create your own lifesaving legacy by joining our Forget-Me-Not Society.

6 THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME FOR CATS AND KITTENS We know you are dedicated to protecting cats. Now you can create your own lifesaving legacy by joining our Forget-Me-Not Society. When you name Alley Cat Allies as a beneficiary of your will, trust, retirement plan, or life insurance policy, you make a powerful statement about your love for cats. Anyone can make a bequest, and no amount is too small. Sample Language for Wills or Living Trusts Alley Cat Allies can be named as the beneficiary of a specific dollar amount of your estate or of specific assets. As an example: I give and bequeath to Alley Cat Allies, a nonprofit organization, Tax I.D. # , the sum of $ [or, the proceeds from the sale of my residence, coin collection, stock securities/certificates, savings bonds or description of the asset] to further the objectives and purposes of Alley Cat Allies. Alternatively, you can name Alley Cat Allies as a beneficiary of the remaining assets of your estate after specific bequests are made to others. As an example: I give and bequeath to Alley Cat Allies, a nonprofit organization, Tax I.D. # , 75% [or other percentage] of the rest and remainder of my estate. We strongly urge you to consult your own estate-planning advisor to ensure that your personal objectives are met. To learn more about your giving options, please contact the Development team at or donate@alleycat.org. Visit for more information. HISSES AND PURRS The stories of those who deserve to be celebrated...and scorned. PURRS to the Sparks, Nevada, City Council for rejecting a proposed ban on community cat colonies and TNR. Special thanks to the Nevada Humane Society, Washoe County Animal Services, and local activists for working with us to make this happen. HISSES to Governor Cuomo of New York for vetoing a TNR bill that would have provided critical funding toward spay/neuter/vaccination services for community cats. PURRS to the Qatar Feral and Stray Cat Group for launching its National Neuter Day and taking the lead to help cats in the Middle East. PURRS to caregiver Michael Marra and the Mayor s Alliance for NYC s Animals for successfully negotiating for TNR at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. SAVE A CAT WITH A MOUSE With just a few clicks, you can make a difference in cats lives and their communities. Here are some online resources to help you on your way: $ CONNECT Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. DONATE Support cats nationwide. LEARN Advocate for cats in your community. TAKE ACTION Receive our FeralPower! action alerts and other s. 6

ALLEY CAT ACTION. For Alley Cat Allies' Over 500,000 Supporters and Activists. Derek found a log just his size!

ALLEY CAT ACTION. For Alley Cat Allies' Over 500,000 Supporters and Activists. Derek found a log just his size! ALLEY CAT ACTION Alley Cat Allies Newsletter www.alleycat.org FALL 2015 Alley Cat Allies launched National Feral Cat Day as a call to action to spread awareness about community cats. For Alley Cat Allies'