Feral Food Bank

The Spay Austin Coalition is proud to become an official partner of the Kyle,TX  Petco’s “We are Family Too” program through the Austin Feral Cat Food Bank, our umbrella organization.

Feral Cats are abandoned pet cats. They were domesticated and then humans let them down, not even providing vet care and spaying/neutering. Many feral cats living together are called a “colony”. Feral colonies exist in a place where there is a natural resource for them, whether that is shelter, water, food, or all of the above. Once a colony forms, they begin to propagate. Since gestation is ONLY 66 days, a cat can have up to 4 litters per year. These kittens will probably grow up having no contact with human beings and therefore will be wild. Unfortunately, when one pair of kittens starts propagating, they can produce up to 382 cats by year three and 12,680 by year five (if all of the litters survive and propagate themselves). Luckily, if the wild kittens are trapped and tamed at approximately 5 weeks old, they can become wonderful trusting animal companions and NOT continue this terrible cycle.

In 2003 a loose knit group of volunteers began a targeted neighborhood TNR (trap, neuter, release) effort that officially became the Spay Austin Coalition in 2005. In that time we have expanded all over the city, even to neighboring towns, and have seen increasing cooperation between animal welfare groups in Austin culminating in the ASPCA’s Mission Orange grant in 2008. As the economy forces feral feeders to make tough choices, the Austin Feral Cat Food Bank is the next step in Austin’s comprehensive approach to reducing the number of homeless animals and helping the people who care for them.

The PETCO Foundation, in conjunction with PETCO, is building a nationwide network of pet food banks by placing pet food collection bins in PETCO stores across the country. In partnership with local food banks, all food donated to the PETCO Foundation Pet Food Bank program will be distributed to local pet parents struggling to feed their pets.

“Today, more than ever, pets are part of the family; and we don’t believe anyone should have to go through the pain of giving them up because of financial distress,” said Paul Jolly, the PETCO Foundation’s Executive Director. “With PETCO stores across the country visited every day by people who love and care for pets, we saw a huge opportunity to help prevent people from having to make such a heart-wrenching choice.”

For more information on how you can help or benefit from the Austin Feral Cat Food Bank, please contact Missey at misseyferalfood@spayaustin.com.