Too few cats around bird feeders means pine siskins die by thousands SACRAMENTO, California––When are free-roaming cats watching a bird feeder the birds’ best friend? When infectious disease is at large among common bird feeder species, spreading rapidly from bird to bird in the absence of predators to kill and consume the sick and […]
Ceasefire halts cat shootings in East Bay Regional Parks––for now
But “Tweety-&-Sylvester” conflicts rage on, despite success of Project Bay Cat neuter/return program just across San Francisco Bay OAKLAND, California––The latest of least 30 years of frequent “Tweety-&-Sylvester” battles between East Bay Regional Park District biologists trying to preserve endangered bird species within the biggest urban park district in the U.S. and feral cat […]
Neuter/return requires impact study, says Los Angeles judge
City support of feral cat population control program stopped by lawsuit brought by American Bird Conservancy LOS ANGELES––California municipal governments may not assist or promote neuter/return of feral cats without first completing an environmental impact report, ruled Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas McKnew on December 4, 2009. McKnew ruled on behalf of five organizations […]
Marking territory: photographers vs. Alley Cat Allies
Pissing match hits the Chronicle of Philanthropy ARLINGTON, Virginia––Founded almost literally in a Washington D.C. alley to advocate on behalf for one of the most contentious of species, Alley Cat Allies has for 28 years been embroiled in controversy on a daily basis, but without––until mid-November 2018––itself becoming controversial over management issues. That was […]
TNR protects African wildcats from “genetic pollution” & ferals from cruelty
Alley Cat Rescue begins project at Kruger National Park KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa––Alley Cat Rescue, of Mount Ranier, Maryland, is now “working to implement trap-neuter-return programs for stray/feral cats around Kruger National Park,” according to founder Louise Holton, to keep African wildcats from hybridizing with their domestic descendants. Having “advocated for the humane […]
$1.5 million DC Cat Count: useful, make-work, or compiling a hit list?
Counting cats in Washington D.C. & how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall WASHINGTON D.C.––For $1.5 million, one could catch, sterilize, and microchip all of the approximately 7,000 free-roaming, not-yet-fixed cats who may be at large in the 68.34 square miles of Washington D.C., at an average cost per cat of […]
Cat rescuer & advocate AnnaBell Washburn, 90, had global influence
Pioneer of neuter/return transformed & healed wounds within the animal advocacy community AnnaBell Leinbach Washburn, 90, “seen as the matriarch of an entirely new way of thinking within the animal rights movement” in the words of longtime friend and Alley Cat Allies founder Becky Robinson, died on August 12, 2017 in New York City. More […]
Pit bulls, “outliers” & Humane Society of the U.S. prez Wayne Pacelle
Pits kill four people in five years within 15 minutes of Pacelle’s family home, but he calls us insanely aggressive A 10-year-old girl in Bridgeport, Connecticut will require multiple surgeries over the next several years to repair damage inflicted on July 18, 2017 by a family member’s pit bull. The pit bull first attacked a […]
Feral cats: the true tale behind the tails
A “victory” and “rescue” story making a difference for millions This is about our feral cats Alley, Oops, and Red Schoendienst. It is quite a bit different from the hard news and serious analysis of animal issues that you usually see from us. Alley, right now, is asleep on our bed. Oops may be stalking […]
“Vagrant” or “feral” cats: part 2 of What to Call Cats & why it matters
Part 2 of a four-part series. See also: What to call cats, & why it matters: evolving terms; Feral cats & street dogs; and “Community cats” vs. community health. Krazy Kat, alley cats, & strays In the beginning of the mass media era, before George Herriman introduced the 1913-1944 Krazy Kat cartoon series, depicting a much-abused […]