Mother cat with litter of newborns

The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats.

MT. RAINIER, Md. (PRWEB)
March 07, 2022

Alley Cat Rescue, Inc. announced today the start of the Feral Fix Challenge, an annual global event that brings veterinarians and communities together to save cats’ lives. The Challenge invites veterinarians to get involved with trap-neuter-return (TNR) by providing low-cost or free spay/neuter and rabies vaccination for free-roaming cats. Now in its eleventh year, the year-long Challenge has resulted in the spay or neuter of over 175,000 cats by more than 1,500 veterinary participants. Vets in all of the following countries have participated in the campaign: the USA, Antigua, Canada, Croatia, Israel, India, Japan, and Nicaragua have also taken part in the Challenge.

It is estimated that around 500,000 cats are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year, many of whom are newborn kittens or unsocialized free-roaming cats. The two go hand in hand, as 80% of kittens entering shelters each year are born to free-roaming cats. Both groups often require a significant investment of time and resources beyond a shelter’s ability before they are adoptable. The influx of kittens during the spring and summer months, also known as Kitten Season, stretches shelters to the breaking point, leading to euthanasia of healthy cats and kittens simply to make room for each day’s new arrivals.

“The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats,” said Louise Holton, Alley Cat Rescue president and founder. “This process is the only way to reduce the population of outdoor cats; killing them, bedsides being inhumane, simply does not work as studies show new cats will enter vacated areas and breed until the number of cats there is back to the same level as before or even higher.”

Vets can sign up to participate at http://www.saveacat.org/the-feral-fix.html and pledge to provide free or low-cost spay/neuter services to as many free-roaming cats as is feasible for their individual practices.

Individuals are also encouraged to visit this page, or send an Email to debbie@saveacat.org to request Alley Cat Rescue send their vet an invitation to participate, or for a sample invitation if they prefer to invite their vet personally.

Alley Cat Rescue is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of all cats: domestic, stray, abandoned, and feral. ACR advocates for humane nonlethal control of feral cats. For more information, visit their website http://www.saveacat.org.

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