Acr Newsletter Spring 2018
Acr Newsletter Spring 2018
Acr Newsletter Spring 2018
Cats have been used as scapegoats for centuries. Just as thousands of cats were killed during Medieval Times
because of the terrible witch-hunts, much of the modern-day “war” on cats is once again related to a frenzy of
misinformation. This time around it is predominantly driven by otherwise-intelligent scientists and biologists hand-
wringing over predation. Some in the scientific community are even labeling cats as “non-native,” “alien,” and “exotic,”
which all translate into eradicate.
In the book Rat Island (2011), William Stolzenburg writes “Culling perpetuates the problem. Current
about the use of this terminology saying, “the warriors methods of competitor control do not aim at
come armed with their own emotional terminology. Alien, eradication … they aim at ‘sustained
plague, invader—these are the tags of the conservation
community’s own choosing, affixed to the creatures they control.’ They are therefore not only cruel—
are compelled to kill.” they actually guarantee the continuation of
the problem, if indeed there is a problem.
In private conversations I have had with some American
environmentalists and biologists, including one of the
Lethal competitor animal control methods
world’s foremost experts on migratory birds, many do are about the temporary concealment of
acknowledge the bias against cats. Unfortunately, they are problems… instead of addressing the real
so far unwilling to go against their peers in defense of the causes of environmental and ecological
cat.
degradation.”
Quotes from unbiased experts regarding birds:
— Frankie Seymour, Australian ecologist
“The global environmental crisis has caught up with
migratory birds. There are simply too many people making ever increasing demands on a fixed supply of resources. It
is inconceivable that we can continue on the same reckless path for very long.”
— John Terborgh, Why American Songbirds are Vanishing (1992)
“Human-related factors threaten 99 percent of the most imperiled bird species, and bird extinctions already far exceed
the natural rate of loss. At least 128 species have vanished over the past 500 years, 103 of them since 1800.”
— Worldwatch Institute, Winged Messengers (2001) (Cont.)
Cats who rely solely on hunting for food spend much of their
time performing the act of “searching” for food and then
stalking it. They usually have to wait for hours for potential
prey to come by and often are unsuccessful at making a kill.
Zoologist Paul Leyhausen considered the domestic cat to be a rodent specialist, because its preferred
sit-and-wait hunting strategy is much better suited to catching mice and young rabbits. Cats will wait for hours outside
burrows for these animals to come out. It requires less time and energy for a cat to stalk and kill small mammals than
birds, who can fly in any direction and are more difficult to catch.
.
In her 2001 book, Maverick Cats, author Ellen Perry Berkeley examines almost 50 years of studies conducted on
the stomach and fecal content of feral and rural cats. One study (performed in New Zealand) shows that mammals
account for 93% of a cat’s consumed food and birds only 4.5%. In a similar study, Australian biologists Brian Coman
and Hans Brunner concluded that mammals made up 88% of a cat’s diet and birds 5.2%. They reported: “The
common belief that feral cats are serious predators of birds is apparently without
basis. Although birds were common in all sampling areas, they were a relatively
minor item in the diet.”
Years ago, declawing a cat may have been considered a routine veterinary procedure but advocacy groups, such as
Alley Cat Rescue, have always fought against this perception and for stronger laws against the practice. Although
slowly, legislative changes have begun in the United States to ban this cruel procedure and offer protection for cats.
While 20 countries and the UK currently ban declawing, it is not banned federally or at the state level in the United
States. Cities such as Hollywood, CA, Santa Monica, CA and Norfolk, VA have bans on declawing in place, and New
York, New Jersey, and Hawaii have seen statewide bills banning declawing proposed in the past few years. California
and Rhode Island have passed laws that ban landlords from requiring tenants to have their animals declawed or
devocalized. These bills are positive steps towards full statewide bans of the cruel practice, but there’s still much work
to be done.
ACR saw firsthand the devastating effects of declawing. If you keep up with our social media and emails, you have
undoubtedly been touched by Hardy’s story. Hardy is a cat ACR saved from a local shelter after he had suffered from
extreme cruelty and mutilation. Hardy’s limbs and tail were tied and bound for weeks, which ultimately lead to the
necessary removal of the digits of his toes by our veterinarian, similar to a declawing procedure where the last bone in
each toe is removed.
After performing the surgery, our doctor stated that Hardy will likely suffer many of the same health issues endured by
declawed cats such as arthritis, pain in his paws, and litter box aversion. Not to mention, scratching (and stretching)
are natural instincts for cats. When they are prevented from engaging in these behaviors—they physically can no
longer scratch and/or it’s too painful—cats tend to develop frustrations and act out in destructive ways.
There is a growing number of veterinarians and veterinary groups that oppose declawing. The Humane Society
Veterinary Medical Association opposes the practice and has supported anti-declawing bills. Please join the growing
number of cat guardians and veterinary professionals and refuse to declaw your cats!
You can help your state enact a ban on this practice by contacting your state legislators today and encouraging them
to introduce anti-declawing bills. If you live in California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, or West Virginia, your
legislature has already introduced a bill to ban declawing. To ensure that these bills keep their traction, please reach
out to your state legislators and tell them how strongly you support these bills.
The first cat café opened its doors in 1998 in Taiwan, with
others quickly bursting onto the scene in neighboring
Japan. Most people in these countries live in apartments
and condos where companion animals are not permitted.
Photo: torne (where’s my lens cap) via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
So the original idea behind cat cafés was to provide
animal-loving people the opportunity to visit their local Since the first U.S. cat café opened its doors in 2014,
coffee shop and enjoy the company of cats. Word spread dozens of cafés have joined the cause. Most are
about these one-of-a-kind cafés and they soon became concentrated on the coasts with several located in
tourist attractions, bringing in travelers from all over the California and a few in the upper New England states.
world. Within seven months of being open, Cat Town in
Oakland, CA reported that "the euthanasia rate at its
partner shelter has declined from 41 to 21 percent, and
184 cats have made the transition from the café's Cat
Zone to permanent homes."* In June 2015, Crumbs and
Whiskers opened its first cat café in Washington, D.C.,
and later opened its second location in Los Angeles, CA
in September 2016. To date they’ve adopted out over 600
cats and saved over 1,300 cats who were at risk of being
euthanized.**
Nearly all available appointments have been filled this Spring as word of our
program continues to spread in the community and kitten season arrives. And
as part of our annual May Spay Challenge to get more vets involved in TNR
and offering low-cost services, we provided free spay/neuter services for all
feral and free-roaming cats who came through the program in May. The more
cats spayed, the more kitten lives saved!
We’re looking for donations of two vehicles, one for our program in central Maryland and one for our
growing program in Los Angeles, CA. Do you have a car or van to replace our trusty and teal cat-sedan
in Maryland? Are you in LA and have a van or large SUV that could be donated and used for transporting
cats and volunteers?
Please contact us to learn more about vehicle donation. Not only is your contribution tax deductible, but
you will gain the peace of mind knowing that your old vehicle is being used to save cats’ lives.
ORDER
FORM
ITEM
Ð
PRICE
AVAILABLE SIZES
QTY TOTAL
(please circle)
Cat Face t-shirt (white) $20 16 S–M–L–XL–2XL–3XL $
Cat Face t-shirt (grey) $20 16 S–M–L–XL–3XL $
ACR v-neck t-shirt (black) $18 14 S–M–L–2XL–3XL $
ACR long-sleeve (black) $20 16 S–M–L–XL–2XL $
“TNR is the Cat’s Meow” hooded sweatshirt (blue) $30 20 S–M–L–XL–2XL $
Grocery Bag (cat face logo) $10 5 (Green & White) $
Tote bag (ACR paw logo) $15 12 Grey - Black - Green $
Water bottle (aluminum) $10 8 $
ACR’s Handbook Guide to Managing Community Cats $15.99 11 $
Sub-total $
Make Checks Payable to: Maryland residents ONLY add 6% sales tax please. Tax $
Alley Cat Rescue We provide flat rate shipping and handling. Shipping $ 7.00
Feeling generous? Donation $
Name: Total $
Ship to:
Phone: Email:
Credit Card Orders: ¨ Visa ¨ MasterCard ¨ Discover ¨ American Express
Name on card:
Bill to (if different):
Card Number: Expiration Date:
CVV (back of card): Signature:
4 • Alley Cat Rescue Alley Cat Rescue • 7
Mail completed form to Alley Cat Rescue, Inc., PO Box 585, Mt. Rainier, MD 20712. Thank you!
Action Alert DON’T LET CATS BE LABELED
AN “INVASIVE SPECIES” — CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
called Trap-Neuter-Return
nonlethal care to improve
(TNR).
• TNR outdoor cats to reduce local populations. ACR can show
you how!
#10472
MERRIFIELD, VA.
301-277-5595
PERMIT NO. 1679
PAID Mt. Rainier, MD 20712
U.S. POSTAGE PO Box 585
NONPROFIT ORG Alley Cat Rescue