A longtime PETA supporter in New York is dedicated to rescuing cats from the cruel streets. She has adopted several cats into her loving home and arranged for dying feral cats, including cats who had been hit by cars or were suffering from terminal diseases, to be euthanized.

Her most recent rescue resulted from a trip to the local shopping mall. She saw something moving near a Dumpster, and when she stopped to investigate, she discovered a sickly looking cat who was walking through broken glass and trash, desperately searching for scraps of food. The weak and frail cat's ribs were protruding, her eyes were oozing pus, and she was crawling with parasites.

The woman called PETA, and while she retrieved a humane live trap and a can of cat food from her car, we set up an appointment with a local veterinarian who is always happy to help the supporter and PETA. Just hours after the sick, starving feline was first spotted, the animal was mercifully euthanized, surrounded by caring people.

This determined animal advocate has saved countless cats from unimaginable suffering simply by always making the time to help. If you see an animal in need, please never be silent. 

A cat was found in the back of someone's garage, emaciated, anemic, and suffering in the final stages of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which attacks cats' immune systems much like HIV does in humans. Several people in the neighborhood had been feeding her and noticed that she was eating less and losing weight, but no one had bothered to take her to a veterinarian.

PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department gave the cat a merciful release from her suffering, but countless other stray and feral cats—and even cats who have homes but are allowed to roam outdoors—suffer agonizing deaths after contracting FIV, feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), and other contagious and fatal diseases.

These diseases are incurable and almost always deadly, and they are easily transmitted from one cat to another, often through saliva or feces. (Catfights are the prime mechanism for the transmission of these illnesses.) Infected cats may not show symptoms for years and may even test negative for the diseases initially, only to test positive later. If you let your cat roam outdoors, he or she is at risk of contracting these diseases and contaminating other cats (including the other felines in your home) before you even know he or she is sick.

Please protect your cat from these terrible diseases as well as the many other dangers cats face outdoors, such as traffic, cruel people, poisons, attacks by animals, parasite infestations, and weather extremes. Keep your cats indoors and allow him or her out only on a leash and harness (with you at the other end of it, of course) or into a securely fenced yard while under your constant watchful eye.

This cat was hit by a car

Shamanic Shift|cc by 2.0

And if you see a cat hanging around your neighborhood, don't assume that someone else is taking care of him or her. Instead of leaving the cat to take his or her chances on the streets, take the animal to a shelter, where he or she will have a chance at finding a loving home with people who care enough to keep the cat safe indoors.