It Doesn't Take a Hurricane

I never imagined the events in my life would bring me to Alley Cat Guardians. Previously, I worked for over 10 years as an aerospace engineer in the defense industry. But my decision to volunteer with Best Friends Animal Society following Hurricane Katrina changed my path forever. I spent over a month in Tylertown, Mississippi, working primarily in the Best Friends cat shelter. There I had my first experience with feral cats. I thought to myself, “The crisis with stray and feral cats is just as bad in Modesto, and we haven’t even had a hurricane!” I decided I would devote myself to aiding the feral cats and their caretakers upon my return home. Now, two years later I am helping Alley Cats mount their first major fundraising campaign in an effort to promote Trap-Neuter-Return and provide our community access to affordable free-roaming cat sterilization at the proposed Alley Cat Guardians Spay/Neuter Facility.

I know in my heart (and in the shelter’s euthanasia statistics) there is a better solution to cat overpopulation than the status-quo method of trap and kill. Has the stray cat situation improved using this technique for the last ten years? Absolutely not. You can trap the cats and take them to the pound where they will be disposed of, but the temporarily opened space only allows new cats to move in and start the breeding cycle again. This is known as “the vacuum effect”. New cats will follow because there is food, water, or shelter at that location sufficient to support the cats. Removing the cats does not remove that food source.

Not until we implement an aggressive spay/neuter campaign will the number of free-roaming cats diminish. Sterilizing stray cats will end the breeding cycle, stop nuisance behaviors like yowling and spraying, and the number of cats will decline through natural attrition. Furthermore, a dedicated caretaker is present to monitor the colony for health issues and quickly trap and sterilize any new arrivals.

Promoting TNR is just the first step. It is one thing to say, “If you feed them, you fix them,” but we must give people the resources to do so. This community desperately needs increased access to low cost free-roaming cat sterilization. Just listen to a few callers to our hotline. Their stories are heartbreaking and it’s even harder once our clinic is booked and we have to ask them to try again next month. For numerous reasons, the local government hasn’t put significant funding behind a long-term, low-cost free-roaming cat spay/neuter program. But I believe the citizens of this county care about treating companion animals with compassion and will rally behind a humane solution to cat overpopulation. Alley Cat Guardians is ready to lead the charge on this front, by opening a facility that is capable of sterilizing 50 cats each day of operation. Stanislaus County needs this facility – for you, for your neighbors and for the cats.

Perhaps you didn’t know what to do for the cats or you haven’t been asked to help. Now Alley Cat Guardians is making a call to action. We need each of you to lend a hand to expedite the facility’s grand opening. From registering to volunteer at our clinic to sponsoring an entire clinic day, there are numerous ways you can help. Your continued involvement is vital to change the state of stray cats. Based on a facility budget analysis, ACG needs to raise $50,000 to get the ball rolling for our first year of operation. Your donation now is critical to show potential grantors we have the community’s support. With a combination of individual donors, corporate sponsors and grants we will have this facility open in early 2008!

Nicole Montroy
President
Alley Cat Guardians
nicole@alleycatguardians.org