FEBRUARY 19, 2009
Contact:
ELIZABETH PAROWSKI, eparowski@alleycat.org or 240-482-1984
FRANCIE ISRAELI, fisraeli@johnadams.com or 202-737-8400
ALLEY CAT ALLIES ENCOURAGES MILLS COLLEGE TO ADOPT HUMANE PLAN FOR CAMPUS CATS
Notes that college campuses across the country successfully using Trap-Neuter-Return
BETHESDA, MD- Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for stray and feral cats, today urged Mills College of Oakland, CA to adopt a humane approach for the campus’ population of feral cats as a permanent policy, including Trap-Neuter-Return and managed colony care. Alley Cat Allies noted that colleges and universities across the U.S. are actively employing Trap-Neuter-Return programs to ensure that cats and people share the campus harmoniously.
“We are encouraged by reports that Mills College is seriously considering adopting a well-organized Trap-Neuter-Return program,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies.
“As many college campuses have already discovered, policies like catch and kill, feeding bans and colony relocation are not only cruel – they don’t achieve the desired goals,” said Robinson. “New cats simply move in and take the place of the cats who were there before. This is a documented phenomenon called the ‘vacuum effect.'”
Robinson noted that Alley Cat Allies has worked with colleges and universities nationwide to coordinate campus Trap-Neuter-Return programs for feral cats through its Campus Cats program. Information on the program is available at: www.alleycat.org/CampusCats.
Feral cats are not socialized to people and are not adoptable. They live and bond with other cats in social groups called colonies, and exist all over the country in every landscape – urban, suburban and rural. Studies show they are just as healthy as pet cats.
With Trap-Neuter-Return, feral cats are humanely trapped by volunteers and taken to a veterinary clinic to be neutered, vaccinated and “ear-tipped” (to identify the cats as part of a managed colony). Trap-Neuter-Return improves the cats’ lives by ending the breeding cycle and the mating behaviors associated with it, including roaming, yowling and fighting. Other aspects of a managed colony program – including constructing simple shelters and keeping to a regular feeding schedule – also discourage roaming and keep the cats out of areas they are not wanted.
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About Alley Cat Allies
Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to ending the killing of cats and leading the movement for their humane care. Their web site is www.alleycat.org
