MSI Press Blog

One of the most impressive cat advocacy and assistance organizations, Alley Cat Allies , may be far less known than their ability to help those who are casting about for help -- or for cats languishing or being killed in shelters. They are a wealth of information, connections, and guides to resources.  They also truly advocate, especially on behalf of cats in kill shelters. It is so unfortunate that many pet owners who can no longer care for their cats for reasons of health, finances, regulations, and the like often turn to shelters, assuming that their cat will be re-homed. All too often that does not happen, but, rather, the cat is euthanized. SPCA, for example, euthanizes, yet most people I know do not think that they do. People tend not to check out shelters in detail but operate on hope and assumption as if it were fact. Alley Cat advocacy is so needed for these situations. The following is from their "about us" page, but all their pages are equally rich. If you love cat

(photo of Murjan ) All too often, when pet owners die, their pets end up trotting over the rainbow bridge behind them. Not by desire but because kin and neighbors turn the pets into kill shelters, and, indeed, like many other older animals, they are euthanized. It is important, therefore, that people include their pets in their post-mortem plans (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, or simple agreements with family members) and make sure their kin are ready to follow through. Following through does not include dumping pets at shelters that will kill them. No-kill shelters can be an option, but not IMHO the best one. Imagine being caged for most of your life. My daughter has promised to take my cats. She has several cats of her own and takes good care of them. I can rest easy that my cats will have a good home when I can no longer give them one. We have a cat angel in our town. She brings in the street cats and finds homes for them. It is amazing how many people will adopt a neighbor'

  The New York City Animal Care Centers suggest adopting a shelter pet for Valentine's Day. There is now an adopted shelter pet in the White House. How many households would it take, following suit, to empty the shelters? Often, shelter pets come from people who are too ill to continue to care for them or who have died. They are housebroken, domesticated, socialized, and usually loving. What a good companion that might be! Personally, I (MSI Press managing editor -- I am generally the one who writes our blog posts) "adopt" my pets from the street. Five of my current 6 cats were feral rescues, just picked up and brought in. As far as I know, none were abandoned but had been born "in the wild" and had scrapped for food. They did not know a kind touch, and vets wrote FERAL in big red letters across their charts. That is mainly because the cats hissed at them and either scratched or bit them or both. It takes some effort and TIME (not days and weeks, but months and