Cats

The NAIA Trust supports:

  • Responsible cat ownership
  • The breeding and showing of purebred cats
  • Voluntary spay/neuter and identification of pets by educated owners acting in the best interests of their cats
  • A reasoned approach to control of feral & free roaming cats.

We believe that coercive legislation aimed at breeders threatens the extinction of pedigreed cat breeds, that cat licensing laws are an almost universally ignored tax on cat ownership that solve nothing, and that cat “leash” laws are frequently used as a basis for unpopular and inhumane trap-and-kill policies.

Purebred cat owners, breeders, exhibitors, and clubs are the backbone of cat rescue and education efforts and advances in feline medicine. Responsible breeding of purebred cats provides a wealth of companionship with intrinsic psychological and medical value to the owner. Millions of people worldwide can reap the benefits of this effort and enjoy the beauty, health, and predictable personality traits characteristic of their chosen breed. Cat shows provide information on cat care, standards of comparison, and a venue to support rescue efforts. Many cat clubs also provide funding for research that provides veterinary advances and benefit all cats through donations of their show proceeds. Other projects funded by cat club and cat fancy donations benefit random-bred, homeless cats via donations to local shelters and to trap-neuter-return projects.

Feral cat management requires consideration of many variables. Depending on location, local wildlife, feasibility and resources, feral cat management may be best accomplished by the establishment of Trap, Test, Vaccinate, Alter & Return programs (TTVAR). The NAIA Trust also recognizes that feral cats may pose problems in some areas that require thoughtful intervention and that permanent removal of the feral cats from the specific environment may be a necessary alternative. However, the NAIA Trust opposes mass round ups of cats, and recognizes that a certain reservoir of feral cats aids in rodent reduction and prevention of rodent-borne diseases. The Black Plague during Europe’s Middle Ages was caused in large measure by overzealous eradication of the feral and free roaming cat population.

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