A cat recovery center will be opened in Marysville, California by FieldHaven Feline Center, and will be named The Alley Cat Allies® Recovery Center, thanks to funding from Alley Cat Allies. The center will help feline victims of the Camp Fire who are being rescued from the burn areas.
The Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center will be located at 620 9th Street in Marysville, and open from 9:00am to 6:00pm, seven days a week. The two organizations will also establish a mobile Transfer Station in Paradise, California. Call 916-434-6022 or visit FieldHaven’s Facebook page for location and more details. All animals received will be scanned for microchips and held for several hours at the transfer station so their families have an opportunity to reunite with them before the animals are moved to the more substantial Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center in Marysville.
In November the Camp Fire destroyed over 14,000 homes in the towns of Paradise, Magalia, and surrounding areas. People had to flee for their lives or were not home at the time, and in most cases had no time to search for their animals. In the weeks following the fire, over 1,000 cats were rescued, but it is estimated there are hundreds of cats still in need of rescue.
U.S. Army Spc. Joaquin Carrasco of the California Army National Guard conducts search and debris clearing operations, Nov. 17, 2018, in Paradise, California. Image credit California National Guard, CC BY-SA 3.0.
“As we’ve seen so often, the weeks after a disaster slips from the headlines are very challenging for rescue organizations such as our friends at FieldHaven,” said Alley Cat Allies president and founder, Becky Robinson. “It’s important that they’re able to open this new, critical recovery center and transfer station so residents can recover their animals. We appreciate their ongoing dedication to save animals and reunite them with their owners and caregivers.”
FieldHaven will operate The Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center as a shelter for cats who are continuing to be rescued from the burn areas. Trappers who rescue cats and are not able to immediately identify the owner can bring the cats to the recovery center. They will be sheltered and receive any necessary medical attention. A widespread network of volunteers will work to reunite the cats with their families.
“By opening The Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center in Marysville, we have a location that’s out of the disaster zone yet close enough to locations such as Paradise and throughout Butte County that it will be convenient for pet owners to come to the center and reunite with lost pets,” said Joy Smith, executive director, FieldHaven Feline Center. “Additionally, our temporary transfer station for cats in Paradise will be even closer to affected residents, and we encourage them to check for their cats there before making the drive to Marysville.”
Alley Cat Allies, the global engine of change for cats, has been providing expert guidance and assistance for FieldHaven and other organizations in California as the area responds to multiple wildfire disasters.
FieldHaven operated an evacuation center for cats in Sutter County for over three weeks starting on the day of the fire. That facility was closed on Nov. 30. Since then, FieldHaven has been working with individuals and groups, assisting in reuniting trapped cats with their family. With the announced closure of the emergency pet shelters in Butte County early next month, there is a need for ongoing support.
Robinson and Smith pointed out that while much of the work thus far has concentrated on finding lost pets and returning them to their family, they will also prioritize meeting the needs of community cats. Community cats, sometimes called feral cats, are unowned and live in their outdoor homes.
“Untold numbers of community cats have been displaced or injured by the fires,” Robinson said. “We will work to find them and ensure they will receive medical treatment and ongoing care into the future.”
Featured image: Soldiers from the California Army National Guard conduct search and debris clearing operations, Nov. 17, 2018, in Paradise, California. Image credit California National Guard, CC BY-SA 3.0.
