From the Desk of Louise Holton-- ACR President

Last week the Orlando Sentinel newspaper published an op-ed by Audubon’s editor-at-large, Ted Williams, giving explicit directions on how to kill outdoor cats.


Well after many people protested at this---poisoning animals is not only cruel, and prohibited in many states, and killing a domestic animal can be a felony—Audubon finally distanced themselves from this and said Williams is an “independent journalist”.

The flawed anti-TNR Smithsonian study was again used. What all these “environmental” groups have never grasped in the last 2 decades is that all their constant vilifying of cats has created millions of cat haters who will take the law into their own hands and go out and poison outdoor cats.

Or perhaps they do realize this and simply hate cats so much that they do not care. After all one of their own, Nico Dauphine, a scientist at the Smithsonian, was caught trying to poison feral cats in Washington D.C.

This is what we have been saying for many years at ACR: It does not help to constantly set the cat up as a scapegoat for our environmental ills. Without protecting birds from pesticides, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, cutting down the rain forest, flying into tall buildings, and wind turbines and communication towers, we are not helping birds at all. The National Audubon Society itself says loss of bird habitat is the greatest threat to bird populations.

Many songbirds that nest in the United States spend their winters in Central America and the Amazon. Unless we change some of our own habits, and put an end to cutting down the rain forests, the songbirds are going to disappear, regardless of predation by cats. Most cats live in urban areas and urban birds are thriving. Birds adapt very well to living among humans, and thrive in our gardens, which create food and shelter for them. Many have obviously adapted to cats, or there would not be a “steady, strong increase” in urban bird populations.

This is what the State of the Birds 2009 Report showed: “The urban/suburban indicator, based on data for 114 native bird species, shows a steady, strong increase during the past 40 years, driven primarily by a small number of highly successful species.”

The offending paragraph has now been deleted. If you go to Peter Wolf’s Blog Vox Felina, he has downloaded the original paragraph.

Please send a letter to the National Audubon Society expressing your shock and outrage at this clear message to stir up hate and inhumane treatment towards cats.  You can contact them through their website: http://www.audubon.org/contact-us or write to them at 225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

And send a Letter to the Orlando Sentinel for publishing instructions on how to illegally kill cats. You can contact them here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/about/orl-feedback-2,0,4041118.customform

The Sentinel now says: “We’re not in the business of telling people how to kill cats’”

A bit late for this, right?

Putting out poisons for cats endangers not only outdoor cats, but dogs, and other wildlife and even birds. Their hatred for cats in so intense, they forget that birds eat the food put out for cats and will ingest any poison as well.

Cats and Predation—a new attack on cats.



Jabu just wants to eat whatever we left on the plate

 Cats have become Public Enemy Number 1 for some. This momentum has been building for many years. In a recent paper published by biologists from the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the authors claim that cats kill nearly 4 billion birds each year, and more than 15 billion small mammals. One of ACR’s friends writes: “Of course it is no coincidence that two of the authors of this “study” …are affiliated with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center – the same outfit that employed Nico Dauphine.” You will remember that Dauphine was eventually fired from the Smithsonian and was found guilty of setting out poisons for feral cats in Washington D C.


“The authors write that trap-neuter/spay-return programs–or those in which feral cats are caught, “fixed,” and released back into the wild unharmed–are undertaken throughout North American and are carried out largely without consideration towards to native animals and without widespread public knowledge. While cat lovers claim that these methods reduce wildlife mortality by humanely limiting the growth of feral colonies, the authors point out that the scientific literature does not support this assumption. Therefore, such colonies should be a “wildlife management priority,” they write. They don’t come out and say it but the implication is that feral cat colonies should be exterminated.”



Our cat friend writes: “The extravagant extrapolations posing as “science” here promise to outdo all the other “studies” we’ve seen so far and which the media will no doubt latch onto.”



Well the Media did latch on to it….hundreds of article every day, too numerous to respond to each and every one. Headlines read: “Death to the house cat!”, “Born Killers”, “Cats are killing everything”, and “Furry Little Death Mills.” And so on and so forth…



The “implication” is that all feral cats be exterminated. Our question once again is: (1) who will do this killing and who will pay for this extermination of millions of feral cats?

(2) what will happen to all the rodents in every city across the U.S. if their top predator is removed?

Coincidentally, this came upon the heels of a businessman wanting to ban all cats in New Zealand to protect wildlife. When the question arose: What would happen to rats and mice? The answer by some was: “Reduction in cat numbers is unlikely to result in a widespread increase in rats to levels that would impact native wildlife in urban and agricultural landscapes because people are highly motivated to kill rats. A rise in the rat population would not go unnoticed by the rat-hating human population. Any increase in rats would be met by an increase in trapping and poisoning by people in all the ways we already do and including the new hi-tech traps available”

Perhaps this is the Smithsonian biologists’ answer as well? Let rat numbers increase. People will take care of that by setting out more poisons for rats.

Is this what we really want? Spraying more pesticides into the environment, poisoning more of our water supply? And my other question is: Will this not kill more birds?

Finally: What happened to compassion and our humane treatment of animals? Why do these environmentalists insist on killing, when we have seen that nonlethal control DOES work?

Why NOT embrace all the folks already working on humane, nonlethal control?

Our Spring Newsletter will be out soon, and in it we discuss the dangerous game these environmental groups are playing by trying to remove a mesopredator and a successful predator of rodents.

Do look for it in your mailbox in the coming weeks.

Guest Blog: Rosie Sorenson

It’s a rainy Saturday. The ritual has begun: the tinny clink of utensils being sorted and placed in their appropriate drawers, the clop of bowls lifted from the dishwasher and put away in the cupboard, the soft murmuring of a man’s soothing baritone reaching me in my writing loft upstairs.


“This little Baby Bill . . . No, you’re not allowed . . . No, don’t scratch . . . ,” all said in sweet and cooing tones, the tones of a man in love with his young son. “No, Billy,” he says but doesn’t mean.

I’m familiar with every move, every gesture, every word in this oft-played scenario between my sweetheart Steve and our strawberry blonde rescue kitty Billy. I’ve stood many times outside the kitchen and watched as Billy tried to climb up Steve’s rock-hard leg, those sharp kitty claws piercing Steve’s oh-so-human flesh. From a cat’s point of view, why would he think of it as anything but a handy tree stump?

“Not now, not ever,” says Steve, his voice rising in pitch on the “now,” and descending on the “ever.” Even though I’m upstairs at my desk, I know what Steve is doing – he’s picking Billy up ass over teakettle, bringing the kitty wide-eyed joy. Steve’s is a musical voice, the one I fell in love with 13 years ago. The one I plan to listen to forever.

When I hear him murmuring to our Billy downstairs, I smile. “We’re going to have to chuck the Billster,” he says with a foolish laugh. More clinking, more clopping. “Just chuck him.” The dishwasher tray clunks along as it’s pushed back inside, rattling the cups and glassware.

For me, this is the true measure of a man – how much does he love cats? Not “like,” you understand, but LOVE them -- insane, irrational, do-anything-for-the-kitty-kind of love. Cuddle love. Putting a special pillow and towel on his lap so Billy can lie there as Steve works at his desk, the kitty batting at pens and papers. Steve turning on the heater under his desk. The kitty must stay warm, you know.

Like any relationship, however, where one party mostly gives and the other party mostly receives, Steve and Billy have their “issues.”

Billy likes to bite his Daddy, not hard enough to break the skin but with enough pressure to get Steve’s attention, usually after Steve has tried to stop Billy from messing about on the desk. “He doesn’t like it when I curtail his activities – he doesn’t think it’s right,” says Steve with more patience than, say, if I were the one who’d been doing the messing about.

“Could you please get something for me?” Steve will often call up to me from downstairs.

“Got the Billster in your lap again, do you?”

“Yes, I know . . . it’s not right that we let them run our lives, but . . . ”

“Why don’t you just chuck him onto the floor?” I say but don’t mean.

“Not now, not ever . . . ”

Rosie Sorenson, MA, MFT

Award-winning author of: They Had Me at Meow: Tails of Love from the Homeless Cats of Buster Hollow

www.theyhadmeatmeow.com

www.zazzle.com/theyhadmeatmeow for t-shirts, mugs, greeting cards, etc. featuring the cats of Buster Hollow

This holiday season, here are 3 ways to help your favorite animal group:
1) Give the gift of time- dedicated volunteers are always needed to help, even with things as simple as cleaning and giving the animals extra attention
2) Give a home- fostering frees up resources so animals groups can save even more lives.  You can foster on a short term or long term basis. 
3) Give a donation or charitable gift- groups are always struggling for money, and more money means more lives can be saved.  You can donate to Alley Cat Rescue through Network for Good.

CWA Certificate of Excellence

Alley Cat Rescue is pleased to announce that our newsletter, Alley Cat Mews, is a finalist in the Cat Writers' Association Annual Communication Contest.  Alley Cat Mews is up for Muse Medallion, which will be awarded during the CWA's annual conference taking place in November.

Recieving a Certificate of Excellence means that the individual must score an average of 90 or higher based on the scores submitted by the three judges for each category.

We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter.  If you do not, and would like to, please email us at ACR@saveacat.org.

In other news, ACR is in need of cat food and litter.  We will use any kind.  Donations can be dropped off at our office or sent in the mail. (please call 301-277-5595 to make arrangements). Gift cards to PETsMART are also extremely helpful.

Thank you for your support!

Update: Sudan Cats



Mosby is ready to go to his forever home!

 ACR is thrilled to announce that the first cat we helped rescue from Sudan has been adopted!  We introduced Mosby back in August, and one of our volunteers has fallen in love with him and decided to adopt him.

Hanah is a recent transplant to Maryland.  Her husband is in the military, and they have 3 other cats. The first day she came in, she told me that she had a feeling she would end up taking Mosby home.  They bonded quickly, and after a few weeks she decided that Mosby would make a great addition to her house. 

We also wanted to introduce another one of the cats rescued from Sudan: Little M.



Little M



Little M headbutting my
hand for attention!



Little M is quickly making friends with everyone at ACR and at the Brentwood Animal Hospital, who we work with.

She is a all black, except for one patch of white on her chest.  She can act shy, but as soon as she realizes you want to pet her, she starts headbutting your hand.  She is also a HUGE fan of feather toys!

We are hoping that the perfect home comes along for her soon.

If you want to help ACR continue to help cats like Mosby and Little M, please consider sending a donation.  Without your help, we cannot save the lives of the cats who need us!

A really easy way to give money to Alley Cat Rescue without costing you a single cent!



You can help cats like Nathan
without spending a penny!



While we are pleased they have done so well, we would like YOU, a well-known cat lover to help Alley Cat Rescue and all the cats whose lives we save!

Load Good Search and Good Shop on your computer as your Search Engine.  To help us spay and neuter more cats, make sure you choose Alley Cat Rescue, Mount Rainier, MD Charity # 836129 as your charity of choice to receive donations.

ACR has 130 subscribers (we could use a LOT more!!)  Their searches have given ACR $1,369 over the years. Sadly I am the highest “donor” nearing the $100 mark.

Many of our donors have only given .01 cent. I think it may be because even though they have signed up, they do not make sure Good Search is on their toolbar. And I have noticed that other search engines can be quite “aggressive” in trying to get you to change.

Computers all come with a search engine already loaded. But you can change yours to reflect your compassion for cats!

Other groups have earned a lot of money through a simple click of a mouse from their donors. Groups like ASPCA have received $46, 562 and Best Friends has received over $28,000.

And remember to spread the word….ask your friends and family to join in as well. For Free!!

Jill and Mosby

Mosby and Jill

I want to introduce everyone to Jill and Mosby, our first pair of cats from Sudan.

Jill is a beautiful white and brown tabby who is estimated to be around a year and a half old.  She travelled here in a carrier with Mosby, a grey cat.

Jill was trapped and brought into Barbara's home in March of 2012.  Barbara told us about what happened when Jill first arrived:

After her surgery, Jill disappeared!  Vanished into thin air! We had confined the two of them in the laundry room, with no door to the outside.  No way she have escaped and was hiding elsewhere in the house – too many other cats who would have found her.   We searched everywhere – removing everything from the pantry and cupboards.  We shut Jack (her brother) in the bathroom to eat and set out food in the laundry room at night for three nights – nothing eaten.  I called the maintenance men to search the crawl space in the ceiling and the washing machine.  Nothing.  On the sixth day, I went into the laundry room, and there she was!  We’re convinced that she was hiding in the washing machine – between the drum and the walls of the outside cover.  She has moved to the guest room, where she hid in the box springs for week.  Over time, she has gradually become tolerant of us and began to come out to play with Da Bird and Snake (other cats in the home).  Now she loves iPad games, and comes out to play as soon as she hears it.

Jill is still very shy and afraid of people, but you can tell that she will come around with patience and love!



Helping Mosby get more comfortable with people

 According to Barbara, Mosby and Jill have become very good friends, so we are keeping them together.  Mosby is slightly more outgoing than Jill, and is willing to be held.  When you first pick him up it is clear that he is scared, but after a little petting and soothing voices he settles into your arms.

The guards think Mosby was born in March 2012.  He and 3 other kittens were trapped once they were old enough to be weaned. 

Mosby and Jill would make a great pair of cats for a loving, patient, experienced family.  Jill may never be a lap cat, but we think Mosby will and will help Jill trust people more.

International Rescue: Sudan

Kylie and Ranger riding back from Dulles

In early July, Alley Cat Rescue received an email from a friend of a friend who was looking for a rescue group to help a group of cats from Sudan.  Barbara, posted at the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, had started Trap-Neuter-Returning cats on some properties that were formerly owned by the US.  When Sudan took a large part of the property back and the facility with kitchen closed,r5gt4 the cats were left without any way to get food.  Barbara brought food to the guards, who continued to feed the cats.

Meanwhile, on another part of the property, new people came and were complaining that the cats were scaring their dogs.  This prompted the security office to forbid the guards from feeding the cats anywhere on the property.  Barbara had no choice at the point- she either had a rescue the cats herself and let them starve.  So Barbara started bringing them into her home, and working with them. 

The political situation in Sudan is complicated and unstable, and Barbara realized that there was a chance she would have to evacuate quickly.  If this happened, she would not be able take all of the cats with her because of housing regulations, so she started looking around for someone in the US who might be able to take them and find them forever homes. 

When we received the email requesting help, we thought that we had the resources to give these cats a chance, so with emails flying back and forth over the Atlantic, slowly a plan came together to fly 9 cats from Khartoum to Amsterdam to Washington DC.

A date was worked out, and the cats were scheduled to arrive at Dulles Airport on Saturday, August 4th.  My husband Scott and I (Kylie Riser) drove out to the airport, found our way to the cargo area and waited for the plan to land.  After about an hour of waiting, we were told that the cats did  not make it onto the plane and were rescheduled to arrive on Sunday.  So we headed home, and waited another night.

On Sunday morning, the gentleman who worked at the KLM cargo area gave me a phone call to let me know that the cats were in fact on the plane, and we could pick them up around 4 p.m.  We headed back out to Dulles.  The sky was ominously dark on the way there, and  were were sure we were going to get soaked, but luckily the rain help off until the cats were all loaded into my car and we were on our back to the ACR office.



We need a bigger car for ACR to fit this many cats!



The cats had arrived safe and sound!  Six carriers with 9 cats were waiting for us.  We check them through customs with the help of the KLM cargo staff who went out of their way to help us, played cat puzzle trying to get them all in my car, and were on our way. 

Scott and I brought them back to the office, where they are all set up in our boarding area.  They are beautiful cats, but they are definitely a little freaked out by the trip, and will need some special attention. 

We are going to feature the cats over the next few days so you can read about each individual cat and their story.  We are looking for very special homes for them, as most of them started off as feral cats and need experienced cat people who will give them the time, love and patience it will take for them to be wonderful pets! 

If you are interested in helping these cats, either through adoption or through a donation, you can email us at ACR@saveacat.org or donate through Network For Good.

Stop Killing Feral Cats in Switzerland

Please take a moment to sign this online petition to ask the Swiss government to consider Trap-Neuter-Return as a way to help control the feral cat population. Click here to sign the petition.

As far back as 2008, Animal People Magazine has been writing about cruelty to cats in Switzerland, in particular the Swiss fur trade.  While most people insisted that the cat fur trade in Switzerland is small, any trading in cat fur should be illegal.  According to the article, "But [Tony] Paterson [of the London Independent] confirmed that some cats are skinned in Switzerland. At the Ark Farm in Huttwil, where a store caters to craft artists, Paterson found a "pile of cat pelts lying on a table...on sale with sheepskins, whole calf skins, and fox pelts for five Swiss francs each," worth about $5.00 U.S.

A news article on July 11th, 2012 brought to light that Reinhard Schnidrig, the head of the Swiss environmental ministry's hunting division said that “Domestic cats have no place in nature, specifically not in the forests and mountains. We should capture them, kill them 'humanely' and not release them. Domestic stray cats become a major issue for local biodiversity,” in an email to Tomi Tomek, director of cat rescue organization SOS Chats.

Considering how it has been shown over and over that it is impossible to kill all the cats on an island, even using methods like poisoning the food supply, how on earth would it be possible to kill all the feral cats in in a forested or mountainous region?  Please sign the petition and let Swiss officials know that killing feral cats will not help the situation.

DC suburb considers feral cat protection bill

From The Examiner, by Marc Selinger on June 26, 2012

A Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., is considering a bill aimed at reducing the trapping and killing of feral cats by animal control officers.


The legislation, introduced by Prince George’s County Councilmember Mary Lehman, would protect outdoor cats who are unsocialized to people and who have been sterilized through a “trap-neuter-return” or TNR program. Feral cats who go through a TNR program 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.


Under the bill, animal control officers who trap an eartipped cat in the field would have to release him or her immediately “if the cat is not attacking humans or other animals, damaging property, or offending the human senses by urinating in a yard or yowling in the middle of the night, etc.,” Lehman policy analyst Matt Dernoga told Examiner.com June 25. An eartipped cat who ends up at the county animal shelter would have to be held for three work days instead of being euthanized immediately, and animal control would have to give feral cat groups an opportunity to rescue the cat.

Although neutered feral cats are usually not licensed pets, Lehman considers it “wasteful and unnecessary” to euthanize them because they “are not a public health threat” and because they have caregivers who invest significant amounts of time and money getting the cats spayed/neutered, feeding them regularly and providing shelter, Dernoga said. Lehman's bill was prompted by complaints from caregivers in Laurel whose eartipped feral cats were trapped and euthanized by county animal control.

Dernoga said the bill represents “a small step forward” to reduce euthanasia at the county shelter, which takes in an estimated 150 to 200 eartipped feral cats a year, most of whom are put to sleep. Overall, the county shelter has euthanized an average of more than 3,800 tame and feral cats a year over the past three years, according to an overview of animal euthanasia in the county.

The council’s transportation committee approved the bill unanimously on June 19. The measure "will come to a vote before the full council on July 24, and is expected to become law," Dernoga said.


In a related matter, Dernoga told Examiner.com that Lehman hopes to foster collaboration between the city of Laurel and the county on a pilot TNR program that Laurel is working to set up.

The Alley Cat Rescue office is located in Prince George's County, Maryland, and we fully support this bill.  We have been in a constant struggle with the animal control agency regarding the treatment of feral cats in the county, and the amount of animals that are euthanized there. 

If you reside in PG County, please contact your representative to the county council and express your support for the feral cats in this county.  You can find their contact information here.