The truth is one of our movement’s most powerful tools to save cats and kittens. Misinformation costs millions of cats their lives every year, and Alley Cat Allies works to set the record straight.
From Puerto Rico to Alabama and worldwide, we fight to end cruel and deadly anti-cat policies. These policies all have a common origin: a failure to understand cats and their natural place in the environment and our communities. That’s why we need the voices of compassionate advocates, loud and in unison, to join us and Share the Truth.
Because the truth is…
Cats have lived and thrived outdoors for thousands of years, and it is their natural environment and their home. Today, we call them community cats.
Policies that impound, and inevitably kill, community cats in shelters under the misguided notion that they “belong” indoors are fundamentally flawed, cruel, and ineffective. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only humane and effective approach.
Community cats can live as long and fulfilling of lives in their outdoor homes as indoor cats do in theirs. And, they have equally low rates of disease.
If the cats’ health is a concern, TNR is the primary way community cats receive rabies and FVRCP vaccinations and treatment for any other medical issues.
Cats and people live healthily side-by-side, as we have for thousands of years.
Additionally, vaccinations provided during TNR improve cats’ health and address community health concerns—though cats are extremely unlikely to spread rabies, toxoplasmosis, or any other diseases.
Leading biologists and environmental watchdogs agree that climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and other human-led factors are far and away the top threats to wildlife.
By advocating for TNR programs and policies that curb human activity that is the true threat to ecosystems, we improve the lives of cats, wildlife, and us all.
TNR is the only humane and effective approach to community cats. Through this critical program, cats are humanely trapped, brought to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and eartipped, then are returned to their original outdoor homes to thrive.
Catch and kill in shelters, meanwhile, is an endless cycle of slaughter that does not reduce cat populations nor benefit communities.
For Cats’ Sake, Share the Truth
SHARE our truth cards at alleycat.org/TruthAboutCats.