[va-richmond-general] New "Cats Indoors!" Web Tools & TNR Study

<< forwarded by Larry Lynch     birder6@xxxxxxxx >>  

Dear Cats Indoors! Campaign Supporter: ABC staff have been busy putting
more tools on the Web site so that Cats Indoors! Campaign supporters can
be even more effective. The following are now available at:
http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/catsindoors.htm. 
1. Power Point slide show and Activist Guide: Thanks to a generous grant
from The Pet Care Trust, we've developed a Power Point presentation
(http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/slideshows.htm ) and matching activist
guide, "Conducting A Cats Indoors! Campaign In Your Community." The guide
and slide show give just a few examples of the many activities that
supporters are conducting in their state or community. A second slide
show "Cat Predation on Wildlife, Managed Cat Colonies, and Better
Solutions," is also available. These slide shows can be shown at bird
festivals, Audubon chapter and bird club meetings, nature centers, or
even at public hearings. Please note--each slide show can be viewed
online through your web browser, with low resolution graphics, by
clicking either of the "view" links. In addition, each show can be
downloaded to your hard drive with full resolution graphics. To
subsequently show them requires a Windows operating platform and Power
Point 2000 (sorry, Mac version is not available). Notes appear under each
slide which can be printed to use when giving the presentations to an
audience. If you do not have access to an LCD projector, you can copy the
slide shows onto a CD and take them to a camera shop to be made into a
hard-copy 35 mm slide show. The slide shows are also available on CD from
ABC for $5.00.
2. Downloadable Brochure: The very popular brochure, "Keeping Cats
Indoors Isn't Just For The Birds" is now downloadable from the Web site
(http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/brochure/brochure.htm ), and prints out in
four color pages. Please print the brochure and make as many copies as
you wish for distribution.
3. Frequently Asked Questions About Domestic Cats: These FAQs deal mainly
with the issue of keeping cats indoors and offers links to information on
outdoor cat enclosures (http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/faq.htm ). The FAQs
may be useful in dealing with your cat-owning neighbors, or writing
articles for your local paper or newsletter.
4. Sample Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor are important
tools for educating the public and your elected officials. Under the
"More Resources" button on the Web site, there are two sample letters to
the editor: one on the importance of keeping cats indoors, and one on
trap/neuter/release efforts
http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/letters_to_the_editor.htm). Feel free to use
all or part of these letters. Before you send a letter, be sure to check
the requirements for each publication, because many have limits of 200 or
300 words. If you are reacting to a newspaper article, be sure to submit
your letter within one or two days. Tailor the letter to your local
situation, including species of birds vulnerable to cat predation,
problems caused by cat overpopulation, hazards to the cats themselves,
experiences with cats in your yard, or your own experiences with keeping
your cat happy indoors. Include your home address and phone number so
that the editor can verify that you are the person who submitted the
letter. If your letter gets printed, please send ABC copies, and always
remember to direct people to our Web site for more information.
5. Take the Pledge and Supporter Registration: In an effort to grow the
Cats Indoors! network and serve it more efficiently, we now have a Cats
Indoors! Pledge (http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/pledge/take_the_pledge.htm
) and Supporter Registration
(http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/pledge/registration.htm ) on the Web site.
These tools will enable us to get a better idea of how many people
support keeping cats indoors, and also give us better information on who
our activists are and what they are doing to promote the campaign. Please
take a moment to sign the Pledge and complete the registration form if
you have not given us that information in the past. You will continue to
receive campaign updates.
New TNR Study: Domestic Cat "Colonies" in Natural Areas: A Growing Exotic
Species Threat, by Alice Clarke, PhD and Teresa Pacin of Florida
International University (Natural Areas Journal 22:154-159), compared two
TNR groups from South Florida--Cat Network, a completely volunteer group
operating in Miami-Dade County whose volunteers have fed cats in county
parks for years, and ORCAT at the Ocean Reef Club on North Key Largo,
with an annual budget of $100,000 and a population of approximately 500
stray cats. The Ocean Reef Club is adjacent to Key Largo Hammocks State
Botanical Site, home of the critically endangered Key Largo woodrat and
Key Largo cotton mouse, and migratory birds. The authors encourage land
managers and conservationists to be proactive in dealing with stray and
feral cats in natural areas. Preventing the establishment of cat colonies
is far more effective than trying to remove animals already in place.
Important recommendations include:
* Review existing ordinances relating to feeding and illegal dumping of
exotic species and revise if necessary. 
* Educate agency administrators and local politicians on the importance
of these ordinances.
* Educate natural area staff regarding cat predation on native species,
because in some cases, staff may be feeding the cats or helping others to
feed the cats.
* Educate the media and the public on the conservation value of the
natural area.
* Remove cats promptly, before people start feeding them and the area
becomes an attractive place to dump unwanted pets. Work with local
shelters to establish a range of acceptable options for the cats.
* Work with local humane societies and elected officials to enact
appropriate cat ordinances and to educate the public on keeping cats
indoors.
* Conservationists need to increase their efforts to educate the public
on responsible pet ownership. 
Web Pages and Resolutions: It is truly gratifying to see that so many
organizations have Web pages on keeping cats indoors and impacts to
wildlife from free-roaming cats. Thank you so much for helping to spread
the word. However, some Web sites do not refer people to the Cats
Indoors! Web page for more information. Please link to us and let us know
so that we can link back to you. In addition, a number of groups have
passed resolutions or position statements on free-roaming cats and
managed cat colonies. Please send me a copy of your position statements,
and post them on your Web sites. Resolutions are becoming increasingly
important tools as more and more communities must deal with cat
overpopulation issues.
Thanks as always for all you do, and I hope you're having a great summer!
 Linda
Linda Winter, Director
Cats Indoors!
American Bird Conservancy
1834 Jefferson Place, NW
Washington, DC  20036
phone (202)452-1535
fax (202)452-1534
lwinter@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/catsindoors.htm

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