CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands Feb. 13, 2018 Alley Cat Allies, the global engine of change for cats, has provided a grant of $5,000 to the Lucky Paws Foundation of St. Thomas for food, supplies and Trap-Neuter-Return work with cats on the island. Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated this community in September, leaving countless animals abandoned and/or lost. Critical recovery work to care for the island’s cats continues to this day.
“The Lucky Paws Foundation is making amazing progress finding and caring for cats impacted by the hurricanes,” said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies. “Their work has been incredibly difficult due to disruptions of supply lines and communications, so Alley Cat Allies is happy to do what we can to enable them to continue their life-saving efforts.”
During the storms, many residents evacuated, leaving pets behind to fend for themselves. Resources were already scarce, and the hurricane made it nearly impossible for shipments of life-saving pet food and supplies to reach the island. Lucky Paws Foundation was already caring for 400 community cats who live in the outdoors throughout St. Thomas, and that number spiked after the storms. Every one of the organization’s 40 feeding stations, called cat cafes for their unique architecture and painting, were completely destroyed.
“We’re so thankful to Alley Cat Allies for their support, not only with this generous grant, but for the ongoing expertise and encouragement they continue to give,” Holodenschi said.
Lucky Paws Foundation and its president, Dellia Holodenschi, have been conducting systematic TNR on St. Thomas for ten years, during which time they have managed to spay/neuter 4,000 owned and community cats.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only humane and effective approach to outdoor cat populations. It is good public policy because it reduces shelter intake and “euthanasia” numbers. This reduces calls of concern to animal control agencies, which saves taxpayer dollars in the process. Scientific studies show that TNR immediately ends the cycle of breeding and stabilizes the population of cats, improves the lives of community cats and improves their relationships with people who live near them. Thousands of communities such as St. Thomas conduct TNR, and that number continues to grow because of the success of these programs.
###
About Alley Cat Allies
Alley Cat Allies, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is the global engine of change for cats. We protect and improve cats’ lives through our innovative, cutting-edge programs. We are seen around the world as a champion for the humane treatment of all cats. Founded in 1990, today Alley Cat Allies has more than 650,000 supporters and helps tens of thousands of individuals, communities and organizations save and improve the lives of millions of cats and kittens worldwide. Its website is www.alleycat.org, and Alley Cat Allies is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube.
Media Contact:
[email protected] or by phone at 240-482-2597, or 240-482-1980