Mt. Rainier, MD— Alley Cat Rescue traveled down to Houston, Texas after Hurricane Harvey hit the area to help with rescue efforts. Shelters in the area were in desperate need of help and ACR was there to assist. ACR rescued 40 cats that were in local shelters to free up space for cats displaced by the hurricane, donated supplies to the shelters and sorted through mountains of donated supplies. ACR was also involved in on-the-ground rescues. A team paddle-boarded through the devastation to rescue people and pets left behind. Although this situation was tragic, the team met many inspirational people and animals.

In total, 17 cats were brought back to ACR headquarters in Brentwood, Maryland while others were brought to the Los Angeles office. The cats were named after towns in Texas such as Austin, Amarillo and Idalou. The work didn’t end when the team returned to Maryland though. Some of the cats needed extra care, such as Amarillo, who staff members nursed back to health. He went from a weak kitten to an outgoing and rambunctious personality. 

Since then, all but one Harvey cat have been adopted. Autumn is still looking for a home and would love to be adopted in time for the holidays! Autumn is ACR’s energetic and adventurous tortie girl. She loves to play but will come up for pets and cuddles when she is tired and wants some love. She loves to climb on ACR’s newly installed cat bridge and show off her skills. If you are interested in adopting Autumn fill out on online inquiry form.
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About Alley Cat Rescue: ACR is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of all cats: domestic, stray, abandoned, and feral. ACR advocates for humane nonlethal control of feral cats. ACR has been awarded the Independent Charities of Americas “Best in America” Seal of Approval, and our newsletter has won several awards from the Cat Writers’ Association. For more information, please visit our website www.saveacat.org.          ###

Mt. Rainier, MD—On October 13, 2017 Alley Cat Rescue, An Alliance for Cat Protection, released a petition demanding an end to community cat bounty hunting in Banana Shire, Queensland. The government of Banana Shire has recently announced a bounty for the scalps of dead community cats. Alley Cat Rescue vehemently opposes encouraging individuals to kill community cats and is working to reverse this inhumane and ineffective bounty.
 
Our petition has reached over 105,000 signatures and counting. Almost 11,000 of these signatures are from Australians themselves. Many Australians have commented that they support trap-neuter-return and concerned about the safety of their pet cat if the cat gets outside. Property owners need to give hunters permission to hunt on their property but cats do not understand property lines and can wander into a hunter’s territory.

Alley Cat Rescue President, Louise Holton says, “Alley Cat Rescue wants to help Australian groups work on humane solutions to cat overpopulation which are far more effective than killing community cats.”

Cat overpopulation is an important issue in Australia that needs to be addressed but a barbaric bounty for the scalps of dead cats is not the answer. A study released this year in Animals entitled “Trap-Neuter-Return Activities in Urban Stray Cat Colonies in Australia” found that TNR coupled with adoptions of friendly community cats significantly reduced the number of community cats while also increasing the welfare of the animals. Another study in Tasmania found that culling community cats actually led to an increase in their population. They stated that this was probably due to new individuals taking over the area after dominant cats were removed. The Australian Veterinary Association is also critical of culling stating, “Control of cats may be extremely costly and result in only temporary predation relief for native animals and birds. Currently available technologies (trapping, shooting and poisoning) are unlikely to achieve eradication. In fact, this can only be achieved within predator-proof enclosures and on islands.”

For more information on Alley Cat Rescue's work please visit: http://www.saveacat.org/ and to sign our petition please visit: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/938/259/677/demand-an-end-to-community-cat-bounty-hunting-in-australia/
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About Alley Cat Rescue: ACR is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of all cats: domestic, stray, abandoned, and feral. ACR advocates for humane nonlethal control of feral cats. ACR has been awarded the Independent Charities of Americas “Best in America” Seal of Approval, and our newsletter has won several awards from the Cat Writers’ Association. For more information, please visit our website www.saveacat.org.          ###