By Kaley Kaczynski, Director of Community Resources

Every year in October, Animal Friends joins the rest of the nation in a lifesaving celebration on National Feral Cat Day. The purpose of this special day is to raise awareness about the many challenges feral cats face, the importance of trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) and to recognize those who work hard to protect them.

In the fall of 2001, Alley Cat Allies celebrated 10 years of community cat advocacy and started the first annual National Feral Cat Day. With thousands of veterinary clinics and shelters across the world now engaging in this celebration, the day received a name change to Global Cat Day. The significance of this change shows how advocacy for our feline friends is growing.

Feral cats, or community cats as we now call them, face challenges all over the world. Many people still consider them a nuisance. In many parts of the world and even in our own communities in western Pennsylvania, feral cats face threats of being shot, poisoned or even trapped and euthanized. Though they live mostly in the shadows of the outdoors, feral cat populations continue to grow and the challenges they face continue. We need to emphasize that continued TNVR and advocacy efforts are what keeps them healthy and safe.

Here at Animal Friends, we support community cats in a variety of ways. Throughout the year, we offer trap rentals, one-on-one TNVR training and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries. Every October, we join the celebration of Global Cat Day by offering discounted surgery packages, winter shelter building kits and free straw for caretakers of outdoor animals. We encourage anyone interested in protecting community cats to join this celebration or reach out to our Clinic Services team to get involved.

Want to be a part of the solution? Visit us at ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org/CommunityCats to learn more!