(See We Provided 1.1+ Million Meals to Community Cats on page 2) ALLEY CAT ACTION® Alley Cat Allies Newsletter | alleycat.org | Winter 2026 For Alley Cat Allies’ More Than 1.7 Million Supporters and Activists Across the Nation and Around the World Follow us on social media! /AlleyCatAllies Throughout 2025, Alley Cat Allies’ Cats Are Family, TooTM— Keeping Families TogetherTM program provided over 1.1 million meals to community cats across the country. In today’s challenging times, when so many people face financial hardship and struggle to afford their own meals, let alone their cats’, we helped ease the pressure. COMMUNITY CAT Granite Shoals, Texas Community cats and their caregivers are particularly underserved by animal food banks. Together, we’re changing that at a pivotal time. Our community cat food bank in Atlantic County, New Jersey, alone helps caregivers provide meals to more than 800 community cats each day. 250+ Cats Fed in a Single Texas Food Bank Event Alley Cat Allies’ lifesaving work for cats never takes a holiday! Days before Christmas, our one-day Community Cat Food Bank in Granite Shoals, Texas, provided no-cost wet and dry cat food to more than 250 community cats. We Provided 1.1+ MILLION MEALS to Community Cats COMMUNITY CAT FOOD BANK Granite Shoals, Texas WATCH: VICTORY: A Glimpse at A Year of Incredible, Lifesaving Impact for Cats
www.alleycat.org 2 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2026 RACCOON Our team was on the ground to hand out the food personally, and meet cats like Gizmo and Raccoon, who would enjoy those holiday meals. Each caregiver who came to our food bank also received a bundle of Alley Cat Allies’ expert educational materials. But our action is never confined to a single day. Alley Cat Allies has been working collaboratively in Granite Shoals for years on behalf of cats. It all began in 2023, when community cats and TrapNeuter-Return (TNR) were targeted by threatening rhetoric from the former city manager and a wildlife committee. Our team strongly condemned the disturbing comments calling for the killing of the cats. And, together with Granite Shoals advocates, organizations, and law enforcement, we championed the only humane and effective policy: TNR. Guided by our expertise, Granite Shoals went on to implement a TNR program—both in practice and in law! In March of 2024, the city updated its animal ordinance with heavy input from Alley Cat Allies to include language that protects TNR and community cats. True change only happens when we bring a community together to GIZMO (continued from page 1) implement evidence-based humane programs and expand resources that protect and improve cats’ lives in the long term. It’s only because of our supporters like you that we can bring this change about—and we’re just getting started! COMMUNITY CAT FOOD BANK Granite Shoals, Texas We Provided 1.1+ MILLION MEALS to Community Cats WATCH: Providing Meals to 250 Community Cats in One Day
ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2026 | 3 www.alleycat.org ASH Introducing the 1st COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE TNR Law In 2025, Alley Cat Allies drafted and named the first comprehensive statewide law to protect Trap-NeuterReturn (TNR). And we led sponsors to champion the legislation alongside us. We’ve called it The Ash Law. If it passes in Maryland this year, it will create a historic precedent in protecting community cats across the country. The Ash Law takes protections for TNR further than any other state legislation. It not only establishes TNR as the law of the land, but it also prevents Maryland jurisdictions from prohibiting or restricting TNR efforts through local laws. No other state-level laws take that crucial step. Alley Cat Allies is hard at work to bring The Ash Law to the finish line. Let’s make history, Maryland! The Story Behind The Ash Law Ash, a community cat, lived peacefully in Riverdale, Maryland, with her feline family. In 2016, when she was 4 years old, she gave birth to six kittens. But, due to a single call to animal control, the entire little family was impounded. Ash spent her last day in a cage at a shelter. Within 24 hours, she and her newborn kittens were killed. Piluco, her colony member, avoided the same fate out of sheer luck. Instead, he was neutered, vaccinated, eartipped, and returned to his outdoor home through TNR. But Piluco’s TNR was carried out in a vacuum of official humane programs in his county. He is still here today (and a golden 16 years old) DESPITE a lethal policy that took the lives of so many cats like him—like Ash. While Ash’s story exposes the consequences of cruel policies that treat cats’ lives as disposable, Piluco’s illustrates what is possible when TNR is embraced. In their honor, Alley Cat Allies drafted, named, and championed The Ash Law, to ensure that every community cat has a chance to live the full life he or she deserves. PILUCO WATCH: Introducing Ash’s Law: The First-Ever Statewide TNR Law!
www.alleycat.org 4 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2026 Gabby’s Amazing Transformation Alley Cat Allies’ latest TNR collaboration with the Humane Society of Atlantic County has reached over 6,000 cats with lifesaving veterinary care and nutritious wet food at no cost to caregivers. When tiny tabby Gabby needed emergency treatment for an upper respiratory infection impairing her eyesight, we could immediately provide it! After convalescing in foster care, Gabby then returned to the clinic once more—this time, for her spay surgery. That was the last step before she was officially adopted! Saving “Wobbly Kitten” Celeste At just 8 weeks old, Celeste was discovered alone, underweight, and dehydrated. It was clear she had been recently abandoned, and that she needed immediate treatment to survive. Alley Cat Allies provided the access to care Celeste needed to get back on her paws—though that looks a bit different than your average kitten! Celeste has Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH), a condition that affects her coordination and balance, and gives her a signature “wobbly” walk. Luckily, Celeste’s new family didn’t miss a beat. They already had a cat with CH and knew just how to create a space where Celeste could feel stable and comfortable. It was the perfect match! You SAVED Their LIVES CELESTE In her new home GABBY Before GABBY After BELL Saving Sweet Bell Abandoning a cat is cruelty. Alley Cat Allies covered the costs of medical treatment for Bell, a two-year-old tortoiseshell cat who was dumped in a cardboard box outside by her former owner. We helped ensure that Bell received the care she needed to recover from her ordeal and start again. Charges are being pursued against the person who abandoned her. We will remain involved in the case and provide our expert support.
ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2026 | 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 36, Issue 2, WINTER 2026 © 2026 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. Kitten Protection Guide COMMUNITY CAT How to protect young kittens in every community Kitten Protection Guide NEW RESOURCE: Inside, you’ll discover: • A guide to neonatal kitten healthcare • What to do if you find a kitten outdoors • How to be a neonatal kitten caregiver • How to determine a kitten’s age • And more! Access the Kitten Protection Guide at alleycat.org/Shop More Ways to Give Visit alleycat.org/WaysToGive or scan the QR code: GEORGE Alley Cat Allies has the most driven and dedicated donors. After all, many of them have been protecting cats as long as we have! Though Karen, one of our donors, rescued her first cat 48 years ago, she began helping community cats in particular in 1990: the same year Alley Cat Allies was founded. “Along the way, I could always count on Alley Cat Allies for advice,” she said. “You are the heroes.” To this day, Karen considers caring for these cats to be an incredibly rewarding experience—and one that inspires her to continue giving to Alley Cat Allies. She said she admires how “Alley Cat Allies has fought valiantly for years to explain the value of the concept [of TNR] to local and civic authorities, most of whom wanted to [kill] all of the community cats.” We at Alley Cat Allies thank Karen and all of our amazing donors for their compassion, action, generosity, and support! Learn how you can give today at alleycat.org/ Donate. To make the greatest lifesaving impact for cats, consider a bequest or other planned gift at alleycat.org/PlannedGiving (CFC#10964) (EIN #52-1742079). For more information, call 866-309-6207. PROFILE IN GENEROSITY: KAREN V LUCY Minneapolis, Minnesota Every gift, no matter what form, is invaluable in Alley Cat Allies’ mission to protect and improve cats’ lives. From a planned gift to choosing your impact through our Cat-A-Log, give your way at our new and improved Ways To Give webpage!
6 | ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2026 www.alleycat.org 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 FIND LOCAL RESOURCES FOR CATS Alley Cat Allies’ Community Resource Tool™ is here to help you find support in your community. GetHelp.alleycat.org. LEARN Advocate for cats in your community. alleycat.org/CommunityChange in Legislation and Beyond IMPACT Our APRIL A Swift Arrest, Thanks to Our Reward In late 2025, Alley Cat Allies offered a $10,000 reward for prosecution and conviction in the case of a kitten strangled to death in San Antonio. The response from the public was immediate and inspiring—and an arrest was just as swift. It only took a week for the reward to achieve the breakthrough. Alley Cat Allies is committed to supporting the prosecution in this case as it moves forward this year. Ryan Berlanga arrested by the San Antonio Police Department Stopping Dangerous Laws in Creston, Ohio Communities often consider feeding ban schemes under the misguided notion that community cats will simply “go away” if advocates are prevented from feeding them. Alley Cat Allies tells lawmakers what they need to know: Feeding bans are cruel, and they have been proven ineffective. If education isn’t enough, we rally people to make their voices heard and put the pressure on. In late 2025, because advocates spoke out with us, the Village of Creston, Ohio, did not move forward with a feeding TIMBER Three More States Banned Cat Declawing Our movement to Keep Cats’ Claws On Their Paws is getting stronger every day! In 2025, Massachusetts, California, and Rhode Island all passed statewide bans on cat declawing. Alley Cat Allies provided key education and testimony to officials and rallied advocates to support all three bills. To keep up the momentum of these victories, we have our finger on the pulse of antideclawing legislation across the country this year. Bans are being considered in Michigan, Washington, and Puerto Rico so far, and we plan to champion each one. We’ll keep you updated every step of the way! ban and other cruel measures. This was a lifesaving victory for cats across the community!
www.alleycat.orgRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjU4NDQzNg==