Alley Cat Allies sent the following letter to the mayor of the Village of Sleepy Hollow, New York, condemning the comments of a Village Trustee related to drowning cats in the Hudson River. Nothing is amusing or acceptable about suggestions to enact cruelty against cats, who are sentient beings and feel pain.
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Dear Mayor Rutyna,
On behalf of Alley Cat Allies and our supporters in and around Sleepy Hollow, I am writing in response to recent disturbing comments about drowning cats and to urge your support of an effective Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program for cats in the Village.
Alley Cat Allies is the leader of the global movement to protect cats and kittens. Founded in 1990, we work toward a world where every cat is valued and every community and shelter has policies and programs to defend them. Alley Cat Allies regularly works with lawmakers, animal shelters, and the public to change attitudes and advance lifesaving laws and policies that best serve the interests of cats.
Like many, Alley Cat Allies was shocked and dismayed by a Village Trustee’s comments related to drowning cats in the Hudson River. Nothing is amusing or acceptable about suggestions to enact cruelty against cats, who are sentient beings and feel pain. Additionally, some residents may feel emboldened to undertake such criminal actions when the words are conveyed by a Village Trustee, and his apology fails to adequately address the heinousness of the suggestion.
We hope Sleepy Hollow will take this opportunity to embrace lifesaving policies for cats instead: particularly TNR. TNR is the only humane and effective approach to community cats, or unowned cats who live outdoors. Through the TNR process, community cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and returned to their outdoor homes.
Scientific studies show that TNR ends the breeding cycle, meaning no new kittens are born outdoors, and improves cats’ health. Behavior associated with mating, including yowling, spraying, and fighting, cease. TNR also reduces shelter intake and killing and calls to animal services, which saves cats’ lives and taxpayer dollars.
Any policy to remove or eradicate community cats is not only inhumane but ineffective. While removal may temporarily reduce the number of community cats, the population quickly rebounds as surviving cats move in to take advantage of the newly available food and shelter. This phenomenon known as the Vacuum Effect has been scientifically observed in many species.
Alley Cat Allies offers our decades of expertise and support in establishing an effective TNR program for your community’s cats. We’ve helped hundreds of communities implement successful TNR programs and policies and would be happy to assist the Village of Sleepy Hollow. We hope to hear from you soon.