Alley Cat Allies provides humane assistance to address cat population in Cayman Islands

Today marks Global Cat Day in which advocates worldwide join Alley Cat Allies, an advocacy organization for cats, to protect cats and kittens. This year’s theme is Cats Are Community.¹

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“Cats are our family, friends, and neighbors, and our unique relationship with them spans thousands of years, across all borders and every language,” said Coryn Julien, director of communications for Alley Cat Allies, in an organizational release.¹ “But even with so much history together, cats still need people to stand up for them against cruelty and other threats to their lives. On Global Cat Day, we call on everyone around the world to become cat advocates and defend cats as we should defend all members of our community.”

To address Global Cat Day and further its mission, Alley Cat Allies has announced in a respective release that is has launched a humane, nonlethal program to manage the community cat population in the Cayman Islands.² In this area, the Department of Environment and Department of Agriculture have instilled an invasive species plan for feral cats which ultimately leads to euthanasia if they do not belong to any owner as these animals are believed to be threatening local wildlife populations.³

According to the Cayman Islands government,³ the invasive species plan consists of various stages, with the first being to microchip all companion cats in the target area at no cost and gather information on the cat and its owner. Next, is widespread trapping of feral cats, mainly in ecologically sensitive areas and source populations that would quickly migrate. Traps are regularly monitored, and triggered traps are replaced. Collected cats are kept in a safe area and checked for microchips and if a cat has a microchip, it is checked against the companion cat database and immediately returned to the owner. Cats without a microchip are euthanatized via injection by a veterinarian.

To help prevent this from occurring, starting today Alley Cat Allies is teaming up with Cayman Islands Humane Society to provide on-the-ground spaying and neutering surgery for up to 100 cats on Grand Cayman Island and distribute hundreds of pounds of cat food to caregivers in need of assistance.²

Alley Cat Allies notes that along with being cruel, killing cats to help protect other species is fruitless and not long lasting because of a phenomenon known as the Vacuum Effect. This means that removing feral cat populations opens a habitat for a surge of new cats, either from neighboring territories or born from survivors. Each time cats are removed, the population will rebound leading to a costly, endless cycle of trapping and killing.⁴

References

1. Global Cat Day from Alley Cat Allies is Oct 16, 2023. News release. Alley Cat Allies. August 22, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.alleycat.org/global-cat-day-from-alley-cat-allies-is-oct-16-2023
2. On October 16 - Global Cat Day - Alley Cat Allies makes a stand to prevent cats from being killed on Caribbean Islands. News release. Alley Cat Allies. October 16, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/on-october-16---global-cat-day---alley-cat-allies-makes-a-stand-to-prevent-cats-from-being-killed-on-caribbean-islands-301956597.html
3. Feral cat control in the Cayman Islands: Frequently asked questions. Cayman Islands Government Department of Environment. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://doe.ky/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Feral-Cat-FAQ.pdf
4. The vacuum effect: why catch and kill doesn’t work. Alley Cat Allies. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.themeowmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/TheVacuumEffectWhyCatchAndKillDoesntWork.pdf