Background
Alley Cat Action (ACA) is a non-profit organisation formed to protect feral and domestic cats and to alleviate their suffering.

Objectives
ACA aims to perform the following functions:

1. Capture, sterilisation and re-release of feral cats to established colonies.
2. Monitoring of these colonies to ensure their continued safety and well-being.
3. Prevention of the continued suffering of sick, injured or unwanted cats through euthanasia.
4. Education of the public through an ongoing educational campaign to highlight the plight of feral cats and promote responsible pet ownership to prevent further suffering.

The problem
Abandoned domestic cats and their offspring become feral cats. Feral cats are not wild cats in the true sense of the word. Cats are resourceful and courageous animals and their determination to survive even in the worst circumstances enables them to eke out an existence where other abandoned domestic animals could not. It is a life that is far from ideal, however, particularly in the urban environment.

Feral cats live a precarious existence on the outskirts of human habitation - hotels, hospitals, flats, factories, workshops, tourist resorts, parks, etc. - trying to overcome hunger, thirst, disease, traffic, machinery, extremes of climate and most of all, their fear of the humans upon whom they depend. Each generation becomes more and more fearful as they learn that they are among the most unwanted castoffs of human society.

For safety and security, feral cats often band together in colonies which vary in size, depending on the availability of food, the prevalence of disease, the safety of hiding places and other general living conditions.

Despite the popular belief that feral cats are self-sufficient, independent animals, the truth is that their lives are dominated by constant fears for their safety and the continual search for food.

Because feral cats do not belong to anyone and therefore usually have no-one caring for them, they often become the targets for human cruelty and abuse. Should they become ill or are injured, there is no veterinary care available. They either recover slowly after much suffering or dir from their injury or illness. If a lactating queen becomes sick or is injured, her kittens will starve, die of cold or be killed by predators.

Feral mothers often unwittingly keep their babies in unsafe and unsuitable places, such as storm drains and gutters, where helpless kittens are in danger of being swept away by heavy rainfall.

Within the feral colony, vast numbers of kittens can be produced annually, thus multiplying the problem. These innocent arrivals into a cruel world have all the odds stacked against them and add enormously to the suffering within the colony.

The need for ACA
The magnitude of the feral cat problem requires special attention by a dedicated group of people who focus exclusively on feral cats and on alleviating their plight. In addition to this direct action approach, ACA conducts ongoing educational campaigns promoting responsible pet ownership and the sterilisation of domestic cats.

ACA consists of dedicated volunteers who will carry out a variety of tasks involving the cre of feral cats.

Once located, each feral cat colony must be monitored to establish numbers, general state of health, living conditions, etc. Once this data is on hand, a decision about the future of the colony will be made.

If the living conditions are suitable and all concerned want the cats to remain and if there are dedicated people to feed and care for the cats on an ongoing basis, the cats will be trapped, sedated and sterilised (spayed or neutered), treated for worms and innoculated against disease. They will be returned to the colony under the watchful eye of the Colony caretaker who will feed them daily and check on their continued health and well-being.

If it is decided after careful monitoring that the colony site is unsuitable as a permanent feral cat colony, because the general poor health or rate of injury of the cats, or if their presence is unwanted to the extent that acts of cruelty are imminent, the cats will be humanely trapped and euthanased.

Alley Cat Action will run an ongoing educational campaign to inform the public about the ploght of feral cats and to show what must be done to prevent further suffering. This will be done by means of the distribution of leaflets, publishing press articles, radio talks, displays, etc.

How you can help
Only with your help and support can the aims become reality. Become an ACA member today, knowing that your money will go directly towards preventing the suffering of feral cats.

Here are ten ways you can help:

1. Ten loving fingers to cuddle a little body ...
2. Buy us ten postage stamps
3. Make us ten little blankets for ten little furry bodies
4. Supply ten unwanted items for jumble sale
5. Donate ten tins of cat food
6. Contact ten companies and get the name of their Donations Manager and the correct address
7. Tell ten friends about us and suggest that they become members too
8. Collect ten kitty pictures so that we can make them into cards
9. Supply ten yummy goodies for cake sales
10. Supply ten envelopes

Volunteers are needed for the following:

• Initial monitoring of a feral cat colony (if you have a feral cat colony where you live or work, please provide details)
• To help establish a feeding programme
• To help with education programmes
• To assist with administration, e.g. typing, bookkeeping, photostatting, etc.
• Fund raising