stray cats

Winter Weather Tips to Help Community Cats

Feline Health| 13 Comments

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Community cats (feral and stray cats) are pretty resilient, but they can definitely use help getting through the cold winter months. “Cats live and thrive outdoors in all kinds of climates,” said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies. “But a little extra help during the winter months can go a long way for protecting community cats.”

The following tips to make outdoor life more comfortable for community cats are offered courtesy of Alley Cat Allies:Continue Reading

Review: Alley Cat Rescue’s Guide to Managing Community Cats

Books| 6 Comments

Alley-Cat-Rescues-Guide-to-Managing-Community-Cats

There is a lot of misinformation in the media about feral and stray cats, often also called community cats. Feral cats are descendants of a domesticated cat that have returned to the wild. Feral cats are born in the wild, as opposed to stray cats, who are usually cats who have been lost or abandoned.

Community cats have gotten a bad rep via misguided and uninformed campaigns by wildlife and environmental organizations claiming that these cats are a threat to wildlife. In Alley Cat Rescue’s Guide to Managing Community Cats, Louise Holton debunks myths and misinformation about community cats,Continue Reading

Review: My Street Cats by Raphaella Bilski

Books| 5 Comments

my-street-cats

Street cats, usually referred to as community cats or feral cats in this country, are very much a part of most communities, even though many people may not even notice them. These cats tend to live in alleys, hide in shrubbery or storm drains, and generally shy away from human contact. The number of community cats nationwide is estimated to be about 60 million. Considering that the estimated number of pet cats in the US is between 75 and 90 million, I find that number shockingly high.

Thankfully, there are caring individuals who do what they can to feed and provide basic health care for these cats. Continue Reading

Faulty science spreads lies about cats and their impact on wildlife

Feline Lifestyle| 22 Comments

Alley_Cat_Allies_Smithsonian_Petition

For the past week, the mainstream press has widely reported on a paper in which professional wildlife biologists associated with the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claim that domesticated cats kill as many as 3.7 billion birds and more than 15 billion small mammals each year in the United States. The authors of the paper tried to assess the behavior of “owned” and “un-owned” cats, which would include feral, free roaming and indoor/outdoor cats.

This  paper was authored by researchers with an anti-cat track record, who arrived at their conclusions by picking and choosing data that supported their point of view. To make matters worse, they cite a researcher who was convicted for trying to poison cats.Continue Reading