The following is a press release from Bryan County Animal Caregivers:

Oct. 16 Is National Feral Cat Day

Bryan Animal Caregivers join call for humane treatment of feral cats

RICHMOND HILL, GA, October 14, 2009 – Bryan Animal Caregivers will honor National Feral Cat Day (NFCD), October 16, to remind people that Trap-Alter-Return and other humane programs for feral cats are in the best interest of the cats and the community.

 “Feral Cats are members of the domestic cat species, but they cannot be adopted into homes.  They live outdoors in family groups called colonies,” said Nancy Baker.  “Trap-Alter-Return is the best course of action for feral cats, because it ends the breeding cycle and stops behaviors associated with mating.”

National Feral cat Day was launched in 2001 by alley Cat Allies, the national Advocate for feral and stray cats and a recognized authority on Trap-Alter-Return – a program in which cats who live outdoors are humanely trapped and brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, spayed or neutered and vaccinated.  Cats that have undergone the procedure are eartipped – while under anesthesia, a small portion of the left ear is painlessly removed for identification.  Friendly cats and kittens are put up for adoption.

“We applaud Bryan Animal Caregivers for its work to educate their neighbors about the benefits of programs that rely on Trap-Alter-Return and the use of humane deterrents to ensure that people and outdoor cats get alone peacefully,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies.

Robinson noted that scientific evidence as well as decades of hands –on experience show that Trap-Alter-Return is more humane than programs that rely on catch and kill.  It is also more effective, because it stops intact cats who evade capture from breeding and starting the cycle all over again, a phenomenon known as the vacuum effect.

“The cost of catch-and-kill is too high, and not only in terms of dollars,” said Robinson.  “Being killed in an animal shelter is the leading documented cause of death for cats in the United States.”

For more information about National Feral Cat Day, see www.alleycat.org/NFCD .

Bryan Animal Caregivers is a nonprofit organization based in Richmond Hill, GA that supports Trap-Neutered-Return as the best course of action for feral cats.  For more information, please visit us at www.bac.petfinder.com