August 9, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Photograph by Patricia E. Jones
It’s a funny way to lower the population of stray cats: Capture them, then let them go.
But Alley Cat Allies has proved that notion correct. For 17 years, the Bethesda, Md., nonprofit group has advocated the “trap-neuter-return” method of controlling feral cats around the country.
In short, volunteers capture wild felines, spay or neuter them, vaccinate them, and release them to the back alleys. The cats, born wild, cannot live with humans, so adoption is not an option, says Patricia E. Jones, the group’s spokeswoman. And, she adds, euthanizing a cat only allows a non-sterile cat to take its place and breed. But after the group returns sterile animals to the streets, the number of felines drops — and stays — far below previous levels.
For proof, look to Atlantic City, N.J., where Alley Cat Allies held its eighth annual “Feline Frenzy” in June, with the aim of rounding up as many strays as possible in one weekend. About 135 cats live beneath the famed boardwalk there. That’s half the previous population, which the city tried and failed to reduce for decades by euthanizing cats.
Although it also runs capture-return programs in Washington and New Orleans, Alley Cat Allies considers itself primarily an education group. “We’re not out doing frenzies every weekend,” says Ms. Jones. Instead, it lobbies local governments to adopt trap-neuter-return programs and helps volunteers start local cat-control programs.
Alley Cat Allies runs on an annual budget of $3.7-million, 93 percent of which is support from individuals. Each Feline Frenzy costs between $10,000 and $70,000, and captures up to 1,500 cats.
Here, Meghann Abbott, a veterinary technician; Regina DeLorenzo, a veterinarian; and another volunteer prepare two cats to be spayed or neutered. They are at work inside the Best Friends animal clinic in May’s Landing, N.J., which donated space.
