How did Stray Cat Alliance get its start?
Stray Cat Alliance started 21 years ago with one homeless kitten named Chloe. One cat needed care and support in a time when none was easily found. One cat was the catalyst of over 150,000+ lives saved over two decades. Today, we are still going strong and saving more lives than ever before. Every cat we save is a reminder of a time when cats and kittens were overlooked and is a recommitment to our mission of ensuring every cat is safe, healthy, and valued.
Where and how does the rescue get involved when saving a cat?
Stray Cat Alliance has many programs that focus on lifesaving. One of the most successful programs is Safe at Home. Safe at Home empowers community members to serve as foster care givers, playing an integral part in saving animal lives. At the South Los Angeles shelter, Stray Cat Alliance community engagement counselors intercept people, before kittens and cats are impounded, and mentor and support them as fosters, providing training on all aspects from bottle feeding through adoption. We also supply all food and medical care. This is one of the few programs of its kind in the United States. It shouldn’t be. We would like to expand to as many communities as we can.
That is amazing. What is a typical day like working with the rescue?
Stray Cat Alliance is an incredible lifesaving team, from cat care, through the clinic, to our admin and program staff. Each day is full of hard work, dedication and lots of love that helps us achieve our lifesaving goals. We are very grateful for our donors, supporters, fosters and volunteers, too!
How do you define success as a non-profit?
Success is being able to save a furry life everyday and finding them a forever home.
Yes, love that! Does your work with Stray Cat help you in other areas of your life?
You learn so much about rescue, spay/neuter, cat care and medical care while working at Stray Cat Alliance. It's wonderful to be able to provide this experience, knowledge, and support to friends and family.
What is the hardest part of your job with Stray Cat Alliance?
Refraining from wanting to take home every cat and kitten that we save!
That would be hard! Can you tell us more about the process behind adoption and fostering?
Stray Cat Alliance Adoption Program:
Stray Cat Alliance's adoption program provides foster and forever homes for cats and kittens found on the streets through their Trap / Neuter / Return (TNR) program, impounded at the shelter, or from hotline requests for support when cats are faced with being taken to shelters or abandonment. Many cats from their other programs feed into their adoption program. Each cat and kitten receives veterinary care (spay/neuter, vaccines, testing, check-ups, microchips) until a permanent, loving home is secured.
Stray Cat Alliance Foster Program:
Whether your home is small or large, you live alone or have other animals, we have cats and kittens who need your help and will thrive under your care. We rescue nearly two thousand cats and kittens every year and rely on our fosters to help us care for them until they’re adopted. The more fosters we have, the more lives we can save.
Website page for adopting and fostering with Stray Cat Alliance: https://straycatalliance.org/adopt-and-foster/
Do you have a favorite story or moment from the rescue?
We recently rescued the cutest 8 week old kitten who we named John Belushi. He was on IV fluids, antibiotics and in oxygen for sever upper respiratory infection and pneumonia. After several weeks of critical care with our team, our litte fur-angel made a full recovery. He began walking, eating and breathing on his own. We never gave up on believing in little John Belushi. That is our lifesaving mission.
Any additional success stories we can share?
THIS STORY REALLY WARMS OUR PAWS! 💜
A big-hearted ❤️ community member went to the local shelter looking for help and guidance with two kittens that he found.
He had zero kitten supplies and purchased cat food from the closest store in order to put a little food in their bellies.
We told him that we would provide him with supplies and food if he was willing to foster the kittens 😻 until they are adopted, so he wouldn’t have to worry about purchasing supplies.
This is a photo of the community member holding our @CatalystPet donation because it is lightweight, and he was already carrying a few other cat supplies home on the bus. We asked him if the donations were too heavy for him to take, and he said, "He would manage!" What a sweetheart!
He was so grateful for our help and left confident that the kitties would be cared for with our support. We are never not amazed by how resilient and kind our community members can be. They go above and beyond to seek help for the kittens and cats, and we are very grateful to help!
Mellow & Alaska 😻 are available for adoption! Apply to Adopt from Stray Cat Alliance: https://bit.ly/adopt-sm
This is why your generous donations to Stray Cat Alliance are so important. Please consider donating from our Amazon or Chewy wish lists:
Amazon: https://a.co/a3MAeMQ
Chewy: https://bit.ly/3lcKhy6
Donate to our current lifesaving campaign, Kiss a Kitten this Season: https://bit.ly/kissakitten-ig23
That makes us smile! We can’t wait to see you in person at Jackalope Pasadena!
Where to see more of Stray Cat Alliance:
Website | straycatalliance.org
Instagram | @straycatalliance
