Alley Cat Rescue's Guide to Managing Community Cats by Louise Holton

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

At last there is a comprehensive, authoritative book for people who help feral cats. Alley Cat Rescue's Guide to Managing Community Cats by Louise Holton with a Foreword by Roger Tabor.

Holton is no newcomer to helping feral cats. She has founded two international cat advocacy organizations in the U.S., including Alley Cat Allies with Becky Robinson, and then went on on her own to found Alley Cat Rescue. Louise Holton is my go-to person for issues regarding community cats. Holton helped pioneer TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) in the U.S., bringing her experience of working with feral cats from her home country of South Africa. She has assisted over 40,000 cats of the past four decades, has presented at many conferences and symposiums and won awards for writing about feral cats.

Louise Holton and Dennis

What I love about this book is that it covers such a range of topics that are so easily understood because of her ability to explain them clearly, making this a practical guide for everyone from people who work with feral/community cats to city and county officials. Veterinarians, too, will find this guide interesting and helpful.

The really heartbreaking issue is that people throw cats away as if they weren't living, breathing, sentient beings, often dumping their pets into an established colony of feral cats where they will face competition for food, space, be attacked by other cats who haven't been vaccinated and will badly injure these former house pets who are left to find for themselves. If a cat disappears, the owners are less likely than dog owners to look for them, believing that they are "independent." They are independent hunters but not independent creatures. Domestic cats are dependent upon their owners for food, love, companionship and safety. 

Kittens Eating

For entirely too long, cats have been blamed for the diminishing bird population. Holton supplies her readers with the  scientific information dispelling the misinformation that has led too many places to ban TNR which is completely humane and proven to be effective. Yes, the misinformation continues. I urge you to read this book for the truth as well as how to handle the cats, the importance of spay/neuter of companion cats as well as feral or community cats. She includes health issues and a plethora of information as well as true stories about cats. 

The book is only $15.99 in soft cover 235 pages.  Buy it for yourself but it also makes a wonderful gift for anyone who cares about cats. It is invaluable.  

Here's a link to the book at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1X7uFrt

For more information about Louise Holton go to: www.SaveACat.org

Ear Tip Photo courtesy of Maggie Funkhouser

National Feral Cat Day - 2014

Photo Courtesy of Putsch Photography

This year, National Feral Cat Day falls on Thursday, October 16th Yes, that's today. Feral cats are unowned cats who live in colonies.  Cats are solitary hunters but are not loners, they like to live in a family grouping, even if that group, called a Clowder, is of their own making. Feral cats have lived among people for centuries.

Sadly, skewed numbers in a "study" have blamed feral cats for killing birds. Of course that's false information. How people who claim to love birds can hate cats is beyond comprehension. They're all living breathing sentient beings. While too many people find feral cats to be a nuisance, the best way to lessen their numbers is by Trap, Neuter, Return, commonly known as TNR. Each neutered or spayed cat is returned to the place where they have been living with a cut in their ear to show that they have been neutered.  They are given food and water by dedicated volunteers who also trap them humanely and transport them to be spayed or neutered.

Alley Cat Allies, founded in 1990, began National Feral Cat Day on their 10th Anniversary.  The date is always October 16th only the day changes from year to year.

For more information on National Feral Cat Day, here is my Q & A with Elizabeth Holtz, Staff Attorney for Alley Cat Allies.

Q.  How did you come up with this year's theme?

A.  Our Theme: TNR From the Alley to Main Street, captures the tremendous progression of TNR from something practiced privately by people who care for cats to the mainstream. Today over 430 local governments recognize or endorse TNR. It's practiced by animal control officers, city officials, citizens and animal shelters.

Photo Courtesy of Putsch Photography

Q.  How do you convince those who don't realize that TNR is the best option to choose for their city or town?

A.  I approach it logically by noting that TNR is currently the only effective is the only effective form of cat management that we have available. Cities have practiced trapping and killing (where feral cats are trapped, taken to a shelter, and euthanized) for decades with no positive impact on the cat population. It wastes taxpayer dollars and is cruel. When people realize that what they're currently doing is ineffective (yet costs money), they are happy to support TNR.




Q.  Is there a percentage of feral cats that are adopted into homes?

A.  No. The term "feral" refers to a cat's socialization level. Truly feral cats should not be tamed because they prefer living outdoors in their colonies. Today we use the term "community cats" to describe cats living outdoors, so they can have a range of socialization levels. Some people do adopt friendly community cats. But by far the best approach to community cats is TNR.

Q.  What are your goals for National Feral Cat Day?

A.  National Feral Cat Day is a celebration of the people on the front lines, caring for cats and advocating for humane laws in their community. It's a moment to recognize their hard work. Our goal is to build on the momentum and continue to spread the word.

Thanks to Elizabeth Holtz for this interview. You can find Alley Cat Allies online at:

http://www.alleycat.org

National Feral Cat Day 2013

October 16, 2013. What makes this day special?  It's National Feral Cat Day 2013. Alley Cat Allies (http://www.alleycat.org) does a wonderful job of helping make life better and safer for Feral Cats.  Too much misunderstanding surrounds these cats. For years, volunteers have fed, watered, trapped, neutered and returned feral cats to their colonies where they can live out their lives in peace, no longer able to reproduce but quite capable of leading happy lives, allowing for as much or as little human interaction as they like.

These cats have been vilified by far too many people, including slanted alleged "studies" of the "harm" they do to birds and the environment. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth.  They are living, breathing sentient beings who deserve to live out their lives in peace and, through attrition, the colonies of these cats die out of, hopefully, natural causes, not reproducing any more. Sometimes the kittens can be rescued and can be gentled to become loving indoor pets. Wherever they are they have a right to live out their lives in peace and relatively good health.

A number of events are scheduled around the country, more than 400 of them!  You can find one near you by going online to:
http://www.NationalFeralCatDay.org


There will also be an online Webinar at 7 p.m. EDT on the 16th. For the Helping Cats in Your Community Webinar point your browser to: http://www.alleycat.org/webinar

It's important for all of us to remember humane animal care. Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane treatment of Feral Cats.   There is much to learn and much to be celebrated.  I hope you'll help celebrate National Feral Cat Day 2013.