Interview! Merritt Clifton, Journalist and Founder, Animals 24-7 News It would be challenging to find someone with more experience in the animal welfare field than award-winning writer Merritt Clifton. From his childhood ambition to "starting a kitty farm" to taking census of homeless cats during his family's travels, he's dedicated his life and work to humane outcomes for all animals. He was an early proponent of spay/neuter in the 70's when, he notes, "cats were basically a friendly outdoor animal or 'easily tamed wildlife." He documented the rise of high volume spay/neuter programs, which had their original start in South Africa and England and spoke at the first "no kill" conference in the mid 90's. He makes a fascinating case why he's not 100% pleased with the term "community cat." For more information please visit animals24-7.org.