When government agents move in on a feral cat colony, volunteer caretakers are overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness. When they are ordered to stop the feeding and care of their feline friends they experience intense heartache. Caretakers then learn that their cats will be captured and taken to a shelter where they will likely be killed. For many, it is their first experience with a horrible injustice and the raw power of the state.

In America we still have the right to fight back. The Feline Resistance! has been organized to assist colony caretakers who seek to protect their cats from misguided government action.

There are several ways to neutralize the power of local, state and federal agents. First, few elected officials want to be identified as “cat killers.” Indeed, actions taken against free-roaming felines are often conducted in secret. So exposure is a tactic that can be helpful even if it only delays the action. In a public relations battle, it is important to recruit a journalist or free-lance writer who knows how to communicate effectively. A well written story with dramatic photographs is likely to weaken the resolve of the government aggressors and generate support from local cat lovers.

It should be noted that an exposure campaign works best before the decision has been made to capture and kill. For this reason, it is necessary to learn from local officials their feelings towards free-roaming cats. Caretakers can gather this type of intelligence by communicating with animal control officials and feline advocacy groups.

As a result of the ABC propaganda campaign, defenders of feral cats might discover that a number of government officials are uninterested in the facts regarding the effectiveness of trap-neuter-release (TNR). In these cases, a conventional media exposure campaign may have a limited effect.