Since 1990, Alley Cat Allies have been fighting to improve the lives of cats, spreading awareness and supporting advocacy for our feline friends. Their efforts have since grown to over 1 million supporters worldwide. The organization focuses on providing neutering and spaying programs to prevent overpopulation. They also fight to end kill shelters, believing that every cat should have a chance at life despite their inability to be adopted and FurryTail couldn’t agree more.
The Importance of Spay/Neuter Programs
By promoting trap-neuter-release (TNR) practices, Alley Cat Allies are helping cat populations in your local communities to stay at healthy levels. These operations also help reduce the number of cat diseases like cancer or birth complications. The ACA helps perform these measures in several ways from simple TNR programs to more specific actions like pediatric spaying/neutering and time-sensitive programs that reach cat populations before heat, reducing the size of kitten season (When most cats are born).
Pushing for an End to Kill Shelters
One of the ACA’s ultimate goals is to put a stop to kill shelters that don’t provide alternative options for homeless cats (and other animals). Their overabundance leads them to being put down which the ACA, and many other organizations, have a problem with.
The ACA believes that there are more humane ways to solve homelessness for cats and has gone as far as to employ legal advocates to rewrite outdated and inhumane policies in local communities. The ACA’s animal shelter page says “Today, many shelters across the country serve as examples of how shelters can foster policies and programs that save cats’ lives rather than kill them in a needless, endless cycle.”
How to support Alley Cat Allies
The ACA accepts help in many ways. Beyond simple donations, the organization has also created a gift-matching program that is coordinated through your workplace. There are also regular monthly programs to ensure that cats receive help constantly and even a vehicle donation program to help transport animals without the major cost of renting a vehicle or a 3rd-party service.
The ACA states that $0.89 from every dollar goes directly to saving cats, so you can rest assured that you are doing your best to help animals in need. The organization, which primarily needs financial resources over volunteer labor, is also open to stock donations which can help extend the organization’s life longer with dividend earnings.
Conclusion
Unlike most shelters, Alley Cat Allies takes a more high-end approach to helping cats, advocating for them on a legal level and doing their best to rewrite outdated policies. These goals have the potential to completely change how cats are treated across the United States so it’s important to help spread awareness and do our furry best to make sure they get the help they need when tackling such large-scale issues.