Alley Cat Allies Joins Montgomery County Cat Coalition

BETHESDA, MD – March 16, 2016 – Alley Cat Allies has joined a Montgomery County, Md., coalition that is focused on saving the lives of its community cats, and will continue to offer its leadership as the coalition works toward initiating a county-wide Trap-Neuter-Return program. The Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition is a new initiative organized by the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (MCASAC) to help to support, encourage, and carry out spay & neuter and vaccinations for cats through Trap-Neuter-Return to protect and stabilize cat populations. The cats are also microchipped.

As the only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats, Alley Cat Allies offered its expertise on TNR and other techniques during a kick-off meeting on March 9.

“We congratulate Montgomery County Animal Services on taking TNR to the next level with its new Community Cat Coalition,” said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies. “We’ve been working closely with MCASAC to develop life-saving protocols for community cats, and are proud to help with their continued progress on implementing programs to effectively and humanely address Montgomery County’s needs.”

At the kick-off meeting, Rebekah DeHaven, senior attorney and associate director of humane law and policy for Alley Cat Allies, participated in a panel discussion with MCASAC shelter officials and other animal protection organizations, including Washington Humane Society. Panelists informed local residents of what is being done on a national and local level to address the needs of its community cats, and how to get involved. DeHaven explained how shelters across the country are implementing lifesaving programs such as TNR.

MCASAC is one of hundreds of shelters dedicated to effectively and humanely addressing their communities’ needs. To learn more visit, www.alleycat.org.

Trap-Neuter-Return is a humane and effective approach to save the lives of stray and community cats. Cats that are brought in to the shelter are spayed or neutered, and “eartipped” (a small portion of their ear is removed while the cats are anesthetized). Trap-Neuter-Return is proven to stop the breeding cycle of cats – litters of kittens are no longer born – and stabilize the size of cat colonies. It also improves their lives. By ending the behaviors associated with mating, it answers the needs of the community.