I was in Sardinia last week, and as I drove along the highway, I caught a glimpse of tan fur. I did a U-turn and discovered two dogs who were sitting in a pull-off area. They ran away the moment the car door opened. However, poking about in the bushes, I found a saucepan, a water bowl, and a makeshift doghouse. I left food and a note with my contact information. The woman who was feeding them e-mailed me, and I was able to persuade her to arrange for the dogs to be trapped and neutered with PETA's help.

Thirty minutes later, I was walking down a dirt path and heard a plaintive meow. Here we go again, I thought: a stray cat. But no, not one cat—instead there were six, eight, 10 …! In all, there were 22 cats. One was clearly nursing, all were as thin as pencils, at least two had injured eyes, and some were missing large patches of hair. The whole lot of them were living under a large bush. 

Although they were so desperate to eat that they came within a foot of me, they were wary and wouldn't let me touch them. I contacted PETA's U.K. affiliate, and it was able to track down some wonderful local activists. All 10 adult cats and 12 kittens were trapped and are now at the local animal shelter, being given veterinary care and sterilized. Longtime member Maria Blanton has made a generous donation toward the cost of caring for all 22 animals. You can help animals just like these rescued cats and kittens right now—just click here!

Located right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Sardinia is teeming with stray and abandoned animals. Whenever you go abroad, please be sure to keep your eyes peeled for animals in need. If you see one, check with your hotel concierge about local animal protection groups, veterinarians, and animal shelters. Plan ahead by looking up local groups and veterinarians online before you embark on your trip, and keep their phone numbers handy. If you get stuck, contact PETA's closest affiliate.

PETA helps animals all over the world—including neglected dogs left chained up in rising floodwaters in Pakistan, bullocks and donkeys trying to eke out an existence at garbage dumps in India, and homeless cats living under trailers in some of the most impoverished counties right here in the U.S.—and we'd love to have your help. 

Help animals now by supporting PETA's rescue work!

June is "Adopt a Shelter Cat" Month, and I implore anyone who has the time, resources, energy and love to devote to a cat to consider opening their hearts and homes to a feline (or two!) in need. Shelters are overflowing with cats of every stripe—from frisky kittens to loyal "lap cats."

(c) Kencredible

As The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights points out, this is because breeders insist on cranking out more litters, pet shop owners know that they can make a buck by selling kittens and too many people don't consider the consequences of not having their cats (or the ones they've been feeding by the back door) spayed or neutered. 

On any given day, the number of stray and surrendered cats who pass through animal shelters' doors far exceeds that of the people who are qualified and willing to give them homes. This leaves shelters in the heartbreaking position of having to euthanize many cats in order to accommodate the newcomers.

Adopting is important, but in the end, it's like trying to bail out a sinking ship with a teaspoon. We can bail for all we're worth, but the ship is going to go down anyway unless we plug the hole in the bottom. Preventing more cats and dogs from ending up homeless in the first place, by passing mandatory spay/neuter legislation and restricting breeding, is the solution.

Read the entire article on Huffington Post. 

Ding-dong, the wicked bill is dead. The Utah state Senate killed the so-called “feral cat bill,” which would have allowed people to shoot on sight any cats, dogs, birds, rats, mice, pigs and other animals they thought could potentially be feral or otherwise considered a “nuisance.”

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It sounds like a prank from The Onion, but House Bill 210, proposed by Rep. Curtis Oda, was the real deal, gunning for open season on abandoned and stray animals (although Stephen Colbert did do a side-splitting piece on it).

Rep. Mike Noel, who supported the bill, said it wasn’t a matter of if stray cats were coming for his cows, but when. Okay, if Utah’s homeless cats are tough enough to take down a cow, then we have been looking at the issue of homeland security all wrong.

Written by Michelle Sherrow