Mark your calendars—the 14th annual National Feral Cat Day^® is October 16, 2014, just two months away! This year’s theme is TNR: From the Alley… To Main Street. We are celebrating that TNR is a mainstream approach for community cats and is embraced by communities across the country. There are tons of ways to participate: host a spay/neuter clinic, spend the day educating your neighbors about community cats, hold a TNR event—whatever gets the word out about saving cats’ lives! When you register, you’ll receive a National Feral Cat Day^® 2014 kit to help you organize and promote your event. Sign up by Thursday, September 16, and get a special Bonus Gift for early registration!

Check out the National Feral Cat Day^® website for more info and to register your event.

Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association (KCHA), our Future Five: Shelter Partners to Save Cats’ Lives partner in Charleston, West Virginia, has made incredible strides in their lifesaving efforts. KCHA reported that its daily euthanasia rate has dropped to just one a day in 2014. And thanks to lifesaving initiatives, KCHA has euthanized one-tenth the number of animals in 2014 than it did by this time last year. These incredible improvements are a testament to what is possible when shelters are open to change. All of the five shelter partners are working hard every day to become model shelters that protect animals' lives.

Find out more about The Future Five Shelters’ progress.

We featured Twitter, an affectionate 1-year-old tortoiseshell-tabby female, last month, and she is still anxiously awaiting her forever family! Twitter was found by writer and former child actress Mara Wilson at the Atlantic City Boardwalk, and Alley Cat Allies has been lucky enough to spend time with this chatty cuddler since. As a kitty who loves your undivided attention, Twitter would prefer to be the only animal in your household. Not on the East Coast? No problem! Alley Cat Allies is more than happy to facilitate transportation so that Twitter can make it home.

Find out how you can make Twitter a part of your family, and see other adoptable cats.

The tragic and unprecedented animal cruelty case in Yonkers, New York, shocked the world. Last month, we asked Yonkers residents to voice their support for Mayor Spano’s Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) fund proposal. The TNR proposal was approved in July! This means that $15,000 will be used for TNR efforts in Yonkers—helping countless cats and their caregivers. We applaud the city and are extremely pleased that such a positive change for Yonkers’ cats came out of this devastating incident—and we are still committed to pursuing justice for the cats killed in Yonkers. Thanks to your support, we were able to rally local advocates, and now Yonkers’ community cats have a brighter future.

Learn more about Yonkers’ TNR efforts.

We are honored to have earned the coveted four-star top rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. Only one out of four charities earns all four stars. The ratings are based on a nonprofit’s governance and ethical practices, as well as transparency and accountability—two values we hold in high regard. We are calling for transparency of the animal shelter system, and our Charity Navigator four-star rating affirms that we hold ourselves to the same standards. We deeply appreciate our donors’ generosity, and we use their support responsibly and ethically in our work to save cats’ lives.

Find out more about our four-star Charity Navigator rating.

Want to help your community cats? Our Trap-Neuter-Return Basics Webinar tonight is perfect for newcomers to TNR as well as veterans looking for a refresher course. Register today!