PETsMART Charities Awards Grant to Feral Friends Local Feline Rescue Group Supports Commitment to No-Kill Alternatives

Feral Friends, a Metroplex-based organization dedicated to the rescue of abandoned, unwanted and abused cats, has been awarded a $25,000 grant from PETsMART Charities, a national foundation that raises and distributes funds to deserving animal welfare groups. "We have a long-standing relationship with PETsMART and are thrilled that their foundation has chosen to further support our efforts," said Feral Friends spokesperson Susan Kilgore. The North Dallas PETsMART at Coit and Campbell is home to the Feral Friends adoption center; adoptable cats and kittens are available daily, and trained Feral Friends adoption counselors are on hand every weekend. The grant presentation was made to Kilgore by PETsMART district manager Aubra Palmer at the Coit and Campbell store on Thursday afternoon. Palmer expressed particular satisfaction that grant money raised in the area would stay in-state to benefit a local organization that relies on volunteers. "Our organization is almost entirely volunteer," said Kilgore. "It can cost as much as $125 in vet care for each healthy, adoptable cat we rescue, and more than $250 per month for cat litter and food at our adoption site." Additional costs can arise owing to the Feral Friends commitment to never euthanize an animal unless it is suffering and has no reasonable chance of recovery. "We've set up a special needs fund to help offset the cost of veterinary care for these sick, injured or disabled cats," said Kilgore. And the new "Race to Reduce Litters," a spay/neuter program for Metroplex ferals, has exceeded all early expectations, but carries a cost that Kilgore admits is "astronomical" for a non-profit organization. "It costs us about $50 for each feral female cat we trap, spay, vaccinate and release, and $50 for each humane trap we purchase. And then there are the extra transportation and relocation costs involved, when needed," said Kilgore. The Race to Reduce Litters is the centerpiece of the Feral Friends grant. National and local feral cat studies indicate there are about 350,000 feral cats in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and according to SpayUSA.org, in just four years a single unspayed female cat, her mate and their offspring can produce more than 2,100 kittens. "That means that the nearly 4,000 cats we've rescued since our founding in 1998 could have produced as many as four million kittens," said Kilgore. "Though we're proud of the number of cats and kittens we've already rescued, we can do more. This grant will help make that happen," said Kilgore. PETsMART Charities is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, established by PETsMART Inc. with the mission of ending unnecessary euthanasia of adoptable companion animals as a means of controlling pet overpopulation. PETsMART Charities fulfills its mission through adoption programs, sponsorships of fundraising events for partnering shelters and grant assistance. Feral Friends is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization staffed and managed primarily by volunteers. Feral Friends maintains a network of feral caregivers throughout Dallas/Fort Worth which offers support and donates supplies to its members who in turn offer support and assistance to feral cats that rely on humans for their survival. ### More information about Feral Friends is available at http://www.feralfriends.org/ © 2002, Michael E. Doherty, Jr. for Feral Friends