Police Officers Rally Around Their Resident Community Cat
It takes a village, as they say, to make lifesaving change that sticks and is sustainable. Building a community that truly values and protects cats’ lives takes the combined and connected effort of everyone, from local advocates to animal protection organizations, veterinarians, law enforcement, and public officials.
That’s why Alley Cat Allies celebrates, educates, and supports the people from all walks of life who show compassion and take action for cats. Sometimes, the commitment it takes to make wider change begins with love for just one cat.
Police officers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, have been looking after and caring for community cat Sheba for quite some time. All our team needed to do was step in to kick off the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) process!
Some of the officers who care for Sheba every day came to see her off and wish her the best for her upcoming spay. After some heartfelt (temporary) goodbyes, Sheba was on her way to our ongoing TNR initiative with the Humane Society of Atlantic County, which spays and neuters upwards of 50 cats each week. What’s more, the initiative provides no-cost cat food for hundreds more cats like Sheba at the same timeframe!
Once her surgery was complete and she had a day to recover, Sheba was returned to her outdoor home. A quick slide up of the trap door, and the tabby was back in her community. She had a nice meal and a nap in her own outdoor shelter to look forward to. And with a group of officers who adore her, that will continue to be her every day!
Anyone can care for community cats and carry out TNR. Our TNR Guide is here to help.
We’re On Our Way to 7,000 Cats Spayed and Neutered in Atlantic County
We’ve nearly reached a stellar milestone: 7,000 cats and kittens helped through our TNR initiative in Atlantic County, New Jersey! Coconut and Wave are just two of the newest kittens to benefit from the program.
Their story shows the true success of Leave Them Be—meaning allowing mother cats to raise their kittens in their outdoor home. Coconut and Wave stayed with their mother, and now that they’re old enough, they’ve been placed together in a foster home. At the same time, their mother was spayed, vaccinated, eartipped, and returned outdoors.
This access to care makes a lifesaving difference for cats, and it’s all thanks to our supporters like you!
Fern and Siblings Find Forever Homes One After Another
Alley Cat Allies is expanding education to Leave Them Be when people find kittens outdoors. At the same time, we’re developing resources that save kittens’ lives when they do end up impounded in shelters without the right policies or resources in place to care for them.
This far-too-common occurrence was the case for Fern and her siblings, Twig, Figgy, and Maple. Working with veterinary allies, we could rescue the little family from a Maryland shelter and provide them with critical medical care.
And, of course, loving and skilled socialization has helped them grow into bold little future rulers of their households. Calico Fern was the first to be adopted.
The best part of Fern’s next chapter? She’s going home with a family who adopted a kitten we saved last year: Dior, the dapper tuxedo! We look forward to updates on their adventures.
Ready to be the brand new start for a cat or a kitten? Meet all of our adoptable animals at alleycat.org/Adopt.
An Update on Cricket and His Carpal Laxity Treatment
If you’ve been following his story, you know Cricket was rescued along with more than 90 cats and kittens from a small property in Alabama. Alley Cat Allies funded medical care for many of these cats—Cricket included! And for the past weeks, he’s been with our team for some much-needed care.
The first order of business was getting Cricket’s stomach under control, as he had been suffering from chronic diarrhea. It was a stubborn issue that took some ingenuity to treat, but we work with incredible veterinarians who know their stuff!
Now that we’ve resolved his tummy trouble, we’re pivoting to therapy for the carpal laxity affecting Cricket’s wrists. We’re going to do all we can to help, but rest assured: Cricket isn’t in pain and is the sweetest and most joyful cat! He purrs endlessly, plays hard, and we know he’ll make the right family so happy when he’s ready to be adopted.