Take Action!

1. Find out about city ordinances pertaining to “animals at large” and the legalities of maintaining cat colonies on private and public land. If there is a law against the practice, work to get it changed.

2. Talk with Animal Control Service representatives in your area. Find out if they are willing to work with you. The Director can be a very powerful ally.

3. Stay in contact with local shelters and animal welfare groups.

4. Keep track of your local Audubon Society. If they are proponents of ABC’s Cats Indoors! program, your felines are at considerable risk. Your area, no matter how advanced in TNR activity, is a target. It is just a matter of time. The National Audubon Society advocates Cats Indoors! and urges all chapters to adopt their anti-cat program.

5. If you currently care for feral cat colonies, keep records. Be vigilant about noticing any feline newcomers and have them spayed or neutered immediately. If there are no organized TNR groups in your area, start one. Yahoo! Groups lists a number of supportive online feral cat organizations that offer practical advice and prompt responses to TNR inquiries.

6. Watch for letters to the editor, opinion pieces, editorials, and articles about feral cats and proposed “solutions“. ABC often initiates their propaganda campaign through the press. If you notice anti-cat sentiments, respond with a polite, informative letter to the editor. Keep it short and to the point.

7. Find out where your local officials stand on these issues. In many instances, they have not yet formed an opinion. Educate them before ABC influences them.

8. Talk to your veterinarian about offering discounts or free spay/neuter services to feral cat caretakers. Keep records of the numbers of animals you have taken “out of reproduction“.