(See Now More Than Ever, We’re Keeping Families Together on page 2) At Alley Cat Allies, we believe that all cats are community members—and nobody should feel pressured to choose between caring for cats and caring for themselves. That’s why in this time of great economic uncertainty for so many people, coupled with a well-documented veterinarian shortage, we are more committed than ever to strengthening access to critical resources for cats. And we’re collaborating with some amazing advocates and organizations to keep the ball rolling! It’s all part of our Cats Are Family Too program, which provides no-cost food, veterinary care, and other needed supplies in communities across the country to support people caring for animal companions at home and community cats outdoors. In doing so, we are Keeping Families Together™ (ask any caregiver: community cats are definitely family, too!). With our steadfast supporters by our side, whose generosity and compassion power all we do, Alley Cat Allies is bringing affordable, accessible resources to cats and caregivers when it is most needed. The following is just a small example of our ongoing, lifesaving impact this season. Relief for North Carolina Communities Hard-Hit by Hurricane Helene When Hurricane Helene first tore a devastating path up the U.S. southeast, Alley Cat Allies connected with local organizations rescuing animals amid the chaos and fast-tracked the emergency supplies needed to save lives. But though the disaster has mostly fallen out of headlines, recovery is a long and winding road. Many people from Georgia to North Carolina are still trying to rebuild what was lost. Caring for the cats they love at the same time is now a significant financial challenge. Through Cats Are Family Too, Alley Cat Allies is bolstering the local resources that are a lifeline for cats. In Asheville, North Carolina, we’re teaming up with nonprofit organization Friends2Ferals on a TrapNeuter-Return (TNR) initiative and proudly covering ALLEY CAT ACTION® Alley Cat Allies Newsletter | alleycat.org | Spring 2025 For Alley Cat Allies’ More Than 1.5 Million Supporters and Activists Across the Nation and Around the World A Glimpse at Alley Cat Allies’ Cats Are Family TooTM program Now More Than Ever, We’re Keeping Families Together COMMUNITY CAT Asheville, North Carolina Follow us on social media! /AlleyCatAllies
www.alleycat.org 2 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, SPRING 2025 TAKE ACTION Receive our action alerts and other emails. alleycat.org/SignUp With just a few clicks, you can make a difference in cats’ lives and help transform communities. Here are online resources to help: SAVE A CAT WITH A MOUSE DONATE Support our work with cats and kittens. alleycat.org/Donate QUESTIONS? Looking for assistance with cats? Get the help you need! alleycat.org/GetHelp LEARN Advocate for cats in your community. alleycat.org/CommunityChange (continued from page 1) costs of veterinary services including spay and neuter and vaccination. And, to meet everyday needs, we’re funding a no-cost cat food bank to help caregivers keep cats’ bowls full. “To get this funding from Alley Cat Allies so we can work with different vets every week to help these cats…we can’t even explain how important it is. People have had their lives changed [by Hurricane Helene], and going to a private vet is out of the question,” said Nancy Schneiter, director of Friends2Ferals. “The food is also fantastic because we provide food to a lot of people who are willing to care for the animals and love the animals, but can’t afford the expense.” Georgia Cats Receive Critical Care Down in Georgia, Alley Cat Allies’ work with the veterinarians at Community Cat Clinic in Duluth began at just the right time for three cat siblings. Still working through Hurricane Helene flood damage to their home, the family of Mew, Rowdy, and Ceviche struggled to afford complex emergency treatment for their cats. Cats Are Family Too took that burden off their hands, and covered costs of all three cats’ care. Rowdy, who is so sweet that she melted immediately in the hands of her veterinarians, needed emergency surgery as well as bloodwork, pain management, and more. Ceviche, who came in to be spayed, was discovered to have swollen lymph nodes and anemia. Her surgery had to be put off for further treatment, but took place a few weeks later. Mew just needed neuter surgery and vaccination—and got it right away! “All three kitties are doing well and have a much better outlook now, thanks to Alley Cat Allies,” said Rick DuCharme, managing partner of the Community Cat Clinic. “Your assistance with this family made a world of difference for them, and has a positive impact on our team as well!” Year 25 of Saving Lives in Atlantic County, New Jersey Alley Cat Allies has been on the ground in the county for a quarter of a century, and we’re still finding new and exciting ways to save cats’ lives. Our ongoing TNR and community cat food bank program with the Humane Society of Atlantic County (HSAC) is just our most recent initiative in the area—and has already reached thousands of cats in the span of a couple years! Multiple times a week, cats like Thadius, Chadwick, and Bear are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and Now More Than Ever, We’re Keeping Families Together (continued on next page) ROWDY CEVICHE MEW THADIUS
ALLEY CAT ACTION, SPRING 2025 | 3 www.alleycat.org microchipped at HSAC. If a cat comes in with a medical issue that requires further care, we cover that, too. What’s more, our community cat food bank, the first of its kind in the area, helps more than 800 cats daily. “Together with Alley Cat Allies, we are doing more TNR than ever before and providing a level of support for community cats that is unprecedented in our county. This is life-changing work,” said Steve Dash, executive director of HSAC. Thank You for Making it all Possible These stories are just a small sample of the lifesaving work your generosity makes possible. Learn more at alleycat.org/KeepingFamiliesTogether. Continued from page 2 The story of Blossom, Bud, Bloom, Buttercup, and Bee reflects that of so many young kittens like them. They were born in the balmy early springtime, and their mother, Brook, was present and attentive. Yet, they wound up in an animal shelter. If not for the swift action of Alley Cat Allies and our veterinary allies, they may have been killed shortly after they arrived. Spring marks the beginning of kitten season, the time of year most young kittens are born. During this time, wellmeaning people often find kittens outdoors and bring Leave Them Be™ to Save Lives This Kitten Season them to animal shelters, believing it is the best way to help. In many cases, these shelters lack the right humane programs…and young kittens are killed instead. At the time of writing, the spring siblings are growing up fast and exploring the world around them a little more every day on wobbly legs. But while Alley Cat Allies helped save this little family, their story illuminates the importance of education this time of year. Our Leave Them BeTM campaign is spreading the word: Mother cats are kittens’ best caretakers, and most kittens outdoors don’t need to be rescued. Rather than bring the kittens to a shelter, a caregiver could have provided Brook with regular food, and an outdoor shelter, to help her care for her kittens right where they were. As we bring critical educational resources to more communities this year, we’re counting on our supporters like you to stand with us. Together, we can stop the killing during kitten season. Learn more about Leave Them Be at alleycat.org/LeaveThemBe. Share steps to take to help kittens outdoors at alleycat.org/FoundAKitten. BROOK BLOSSOM BLOOM BUTTERCUP WATCH: Impact Story: Saving Blossom and Her Family
www.alleycat.org 4 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, SPRING 2025 What is a donor-advised fund? A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is an investment account that is used for charitable giving. It is composed of donations made by individuals and administered by a third party. The third party is called the sponsoring organization. A donoradvised fund offers an immediate tax relief and allows you to support your favorite charities immediately or over time. How does a Donor-Advised Fund work? A donor makes an irrevocable gift to a donor-advised fund and receives a tax deduction for the year the gift is made. Once the contribution is made, the donor can make grant recommendations to the charity of their choice. What are the benefits of a Donor-Advised Fund? • Simple to establish • Flexible funding options • Easily accessible • Tax advantage • Typically requires no minimum distribution • Anonymous granting • Investment options How do I give to Alley Cat Allies through a Donor-Advised Fund? You can set up a donor-advised fund through a number of third-party charitable-giving funds such as Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, Raymond James Charitable, Renaissance Charitable Foundation, and National Philanthropic Trust. Our donors like you are the reason Alley Cat Allies can save cats’ lives every day. Learn how you can give at alleycat.org/ WaysToGive. (CFC#10964) (EIN #52-1742079). For more information, call 1-866-309-6207. WAYS TO GIVE DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS VICTORY for Summit County Cats Community cats in Summit County, Ohio, are no longer at risk of being needlessly impounded in a shelter and killed within the same day because they were deemed too “feral.” We invite all advocates who support Puerto Rico’s cats to join us at alleycat.org/PuertoRico. Alley Cat Allies Achieves 2025 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid We’re proud to report that we earned the 2025 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly GuideStar)! The Platinum Seal demonstrates our commitment to transparency and sharing information about our mission, programs, financials, and more. We hope our Platinum Seal gives you confidence that when you donate to us, your generosity is utilized to its fullest potential to protect cats and kittens. Our Impact for Cats in Legislation and Beyond Transforming Communities for Cats Alley Cat Allies’ lawsuit against Summit County, Ohio, and its county-operated animal shelter sparked change in the community by ending the impounding of cats and the needless killing that followed. Now, the door is wide open for humane programs that save cats’ lives and benefit the community, namely TNR. We Won’t Back Down on Protecting Puerto Rico’s Cats For more than a year, Alley Cat Allies has led legal and on-the-ground action to protect the cats of the famous Paseo del Morro and stop the U.S. National Park Service from removing and killing them. Our San Juan Cat Protection Team, made up of TNR experts and veterinarians, has worked day and night on the Paseo to provide food to its longtime resident cats and humanely trap cats who need veterinary care. At the same time, they’ve connected with locals and visitors alike to spread awareness, share educational materials, and speak out as one voice in the cats’ support. BISCUIT Mogadore, Ohio WATCH: Puerto Ricans Tell the U.S. Government: Don’t Kill Community Cats WATCH: Major Alley Cat Allies Victory in Fight to Save Cats in Puerto Rico
ALLEY CAT ACTION, SPRING 2025 | 5 www.alleycat.org 7920 Norfolk Ave., Suite 600 • Bethesda, MD 20814-2525 Tel: 240-482-1980 www.alleycat.org OUR MISSION: To transform and develop communities to protect and improve the lives of cats. ALLEY CAT ACTION, Volume 35, Issue 3, SPRING 2025 © 2025 Alley Cat Allies. All rights reserved. We may make this material available for use by other groups, but none of it may be reproduced in any format without specific written permission from Alley Cat Allies. Alley Cat Allies is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and tax-exempt organization. Alley Cat Allies’ federal employer ID number is 52-1742079, and our CFC number is 10964. All contributions, donations, and gifts are tax deductible, as allowed by law. A Happy Update on a Holiday Kitten Tale Over the holiday season, a tiny kitten we dubbed Blitzen was found abandoned with her siblings. After a long and challenging recovery, she recently found her perfect forever home! We’d like to share this look back on Blitzen’s story from our allies who helped care for her: “When we first met little Blitzen, she was in dire condition. Abandoned in a muck bucket with her siblings, she was battling a severe upper respiratory infection, unable to use her back legs, and semiincontinent. Her future was uncertain, but we refused to give up on her. With months of dedicated care, veterinary treatment, and endless love, she defied the odds. Slowly but surely, she regained strength, learned to move again, and proved that nothing could hold her back. Today, she’s a completely different kitten—running around care-free, full of life, and embracing every moment (even if she’s still a little wobbly)! Now, Blitzen has found her forever home, where she is cherished and adored. Her journey is a testament to resilience, love, and the power of rescue.” Protecting Pookie Earlier this season, we were able to rush Pookie to emergency treatment for wounds to her neck, back, and leg, and she continues to recover in comfort and safety. You SAVED Their LIVES It’s all part of our larger work to improve access to care for cats and kittens, and for their families or caregivers who could not otherwise afford their treatment. Daffodil and Sprout Blossom When these two sweet siblings were abandoned at the most critical period of their kitten growth, we worked with veterinary allies to ensure they had a safe place to bloom into healthy, happy young cats. Their names came easily because they blossomed almost immediately in our care! We can’t wait to find them the perfect adoptive homes where they can put down roots and brighten a new family’s life! POOKIE SPROUT BLOSSOM DAFFODIL BLITZEN Then BLITZEN Now
6 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, SPRING 2025 www.alleycat.org Introducing New Resources Your on-the-ground guide to TNR and more Alley Cat Allies is committed to supporting and guiding the dedicated, dynamic advocates helping cats in their communities. We designed our new, expert resources with you and your hands-on work in mind. Step-by-Step Guide to Trap-Neuter-Return – FIELD EDITION This updated version of our popular TNR guide is durable, spiral-bound, and waterproof. It’s designed to carry with you in the field while caring for community cats and doing TNR! Share The Truth Pocket Guide (En Español) Our new Pocket Guide—now translated into Spanish—places the critical facts about cats at the fingertips of advocates like you! Get these new resources, and more, on our online shop at alleycat.org/Shop. CÓMO AYUDAR A LOS GATOS COMUNITARIOS Also available in Spanish! HOW TO HELP COMMUNITY CATS DIFUNDE LA VERDAD SOBRE LOS GATOS Una Guía de Bolsillo alleycat.org Now available in Spanish! Supporters Inthe Words of Our Our supporters’ generosity, and feedback, mean the world to all of us at Alley Cat Allies! We’d like to acknowledge and appreciate some encouraging anecdotes shared with us so far this year. “I just made a donation to help protect the community cats in Puerto Rico. I just visited there this past weekend and saw all the fantastic efforts that were being made for those wonderful cats.” Redlands, California “We have been fans of yours for nearly 20 years and my daughter looks forward to your calendar each year.” Fairfax, Virginia “I appreciate everything you do for outdoor and community cats. I’ve donated for many years and it’s been a privilege…Thank you for all you do and I will continue to educate people on outdoor, feral and community cats.” Toledo, Ohio “I was involved in rescue/foster work for a number of years & appreciate all that you do for our 4-legged furry felines as I know it is not anywhere near an easy task, especially on the scale of Alley Cat Allies.” Knoxville, Tennessee
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