by Nancy Peterson & the National Kitten Coalition (with some kibbitzing from ANIMALS 24-7) Five years ago––six years ago in July 2021––I retired after 18 years as first and still only national cat program manager for the Humane Society of the United States. Having a national and even sometimes international platform to help animals, especially […]
Predation is nature’s disease control, including for Tweety & Sylvester
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 […]
Secrets of Marion Island: what NatGeo didn’t tell you
Seabird recovery project haunted by ghosts of cats, in the form of voracious mice CAPE TOWN––National Geographic writer Leslie Nemo omitted two of the most ecologically significant facts about the Marion Island Special Nature Reserve from her December 14, 2018 online feature “Saving a remote island’s birds—by getting rid of its mice.” Lauding […]
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 […]
Which Hurricane Harvey animal relief charity took the Labor Day weekend off?
How far north will torrential rains and flooding be felt? HOUSTON, TEXAS––Having scourged the length of the Texas coast, inundating more than a third of Houston, soaking western Louisiana as well, Hurricane-turned-tropical-storm Harvey is expected to drench Tennessee next, from Memphis to Nashville, before blowing out over Washington D.C. over the Labor Day weekend. […]
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 […]