This feature comes from our Fall 2014 Alley Cat Action newsletter. Receive a print version, delivered to your home on a quarterly basis, when you donate $20 or more.
Southern Souls Animal League
Thanks to your support, Alley Cat Allies is helping the small but fierce nonprofit Southern Souls Animal League in Barbour County, Alabama. Barbour County is the third-largest county in the state, yet there is no animal shelter or animal control. Jo Vaughn and her two partners in the nonprofit are Good Samaritans who have been caring for community cats in Barbour for years, and last October they decided to form an organization. They launched Southern Souls Animal League (SSAL), pledging to take care of cats and dogs in their area. So far it’s been a great success, but not without its obstacles. The closest spay and neuter clinic is 50 miles awaybut that hasn’t stopped SSAL. And with Alley Cat Allies’ help, 69 cats were spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped in August alone! Vaughn says community members are thrilled that the cats are being helped, noting that not too long ago, she was able to trap 30 cats in one trailer park. The cats are beloved members of a community that their colonies, happier and healthier than ever! Your support allows Alley Cat Allies to partner with such inspiring organizations. Thank you for helping us spread lifesaving programs, like Trap-Neuter-Return, to every corner of the country!
Stephanie, Glen Burnie Cat
This past September, children weren’t the only ones heading to schoola beautiful little cat named Stephanie found her way into Richard Henry Lee Elementary School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. A tortie with tiny white toes, Stephanie was hardly a threat, yet the school evacuated children and called animal control. The publicity around this eventwhich went nationalgave Alley Cat Allies an opportunity to talk about shelter policies and the need for lifesaving programs for cats on both local and national platforms. Our president, Becky Robinson, published an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun on Sept. 4, 2014. Luckily, Stephanie was caught after hiding for four days in the school. Thanks to her fame, her life was spared at the shelter. She has been safely transferred to Alley Cat Allies’ Feral Friends Network member Rude Ranch Animal Rescue. There, Stephanie is receiving veterinary care, including spay surgery and vaccinations. She will be placed in a loving home. But many cats like her are not so lucky. Thanks to your support we can continue to fight to make every single community a safe place for cats.
Detroit, Oregon, Ordinance
Because of your support, Alley Cat Allies is able to secure safe communities for cats coast to coast. Every cat’s life counts! In order to make our vision a reality, we work with public officials who often reach out to us for guidance on implementing positive ordinances and policies for cats. Recently Shari Flanders, mayor of Detroit, Oregon, contacted Alley Cat Allies with interest in instituting a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) ordinance. Our Staff Attorney Liz Holtz was happy to draft an ordinance for the town, which permits a TNR program in order to stabilize and eventually reduce cat populations, benefit public health, improve the quality life for residents, and ensure lifesaving programs for cats. The ordinance passed! That’s 430+ municipalities and counting! Add Detroit, Oregon, to the roster of communities we are changing with your help.