Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance (RMACA) is dedicated to spaying and neutering feral (wild, unsocialized) and stray cats. Each year thousands of vouchers are issued to good Samaritans who are caring for feral and stray cats. These vouchers are a free ticket, at participating veterinary clinics, to test the cats for Feline Leukemia and FIV (kitty aids), vaccinate, and spay or neuter the cat. Feral cats also have their left ear "tipped." The very tip of the ear is removed which identifies which cats in a colony (a family of 2 or more cats) has been altered. Ear-tipping is extremely helpful in large colonies of cats where there has been inbreeding and many of the cats look alike. It is easier for the colony caretaker to identify new cats coming into the colony that need to be altered and less stressful for the already altered cats. If an altered cat with a tipped ear enters a humane trap a second time, it can be released, rather than go through another trip to the veterinary clinic and being anesthetized again.

RMACA believes that through collaboration we can save more lives. Since 2005 we have been holding quarterly Spay-a-Stray days with our last clinic on February 26, 2007 held in conjunction with Doris Day Animal League's national Spay Day USA event. That day the following happened:

• Cat Care Society allowed RMACA to use their Cat Clinic for a Spay-a-Stray day.
• More than 20 volunteers, including veterinarians and veterinary technicians, donated their time and expertise.
• The Denver Dumb Friends League's Meow Mobile was parked outside Cat Care Society to assist with overflow surgeries.

Through the collaboration of three local animal welfare agencies and more than 20 volunteers, 130 cats were handled that day. One female cat can produce two to three litters each year with an average of 4 to 5 kittens per litter. Multiply that by the 65 female cats that were spayed on Spay-a-Stray day, and all the kittens THEIR kittens would have produced if these cats were NOT spayed and we prevented the unwanted births of more than 1,000 kittens - and that's just in the first year of breeding!

If you need help with feral or stray cats in your neighborhood, call our rescue help-line at 303-623-0765. You can also visit our website at www.rmaca.com. Call our office for more information about our adoptable cats at 303-202-3516.

If Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance is chosen to receive a YourHub.com Grant Award it would be used to sponsor another Spay-a-Stray day to save more lives. Thank you to YourHub.com for your generosity and recognition of the vital work nonprofits provide in your communities.