Alley Cat Allies President and Founder Becky Robinson has been on the ground in Mayfield, Kentucky, this week to lead the launch of a new community-wide effort to improve the lives of cats in Mayfield, a town still recovering from the historic tornadoes in December 2021.
Our new initiative is bringing high-volume spay and neuter and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to Mayfield and the entire county, where there is a gap in lifesaving services for cats. Our objective is to lead with humane education, outreach, and close community collaboration that will protect cats through tornado recovery and far into the future.
“In my time on the ground in Mayfield, I have seen incredible participation from the community in helping their local catseven after devastating tornadoes,” says Becky. “It proves Mayfield is a strong community that overwhelmingly cares about its cats and wants the best for them. Now, Alley Cat Allies is identifying key areas to provide targeted training that will turn that compassion and drive into a full-fledged, lifesaving program for cats.”
A Bold and Grand Vision
Leaders in Mayfield have a bold and grand vision of a better community with the right safety nets for cats, as well as accessible and affordable veterinary care. Alley Cat Allies is helping them lay the groundwork to achieve that visionand it starts with a major low-cost, high-quality, and high-volume spay and neuter initiative.
This week, Becky led a 30-hour spay day with Mayfield Veterinary Clinic, a recipient of Alley Cat Allies’ emergency funding. The effort was covered by news media from throughout the region, including Nashville, Louisville, Paducah, and Missouri.
Caregivers from around the area brought community cats in to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped for identificationat no cost to them. The cats were then returned to their outdoor homes, where they will thrive without the stresses of mating and pregnancy. These steps are at the core of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), which effectively and humanely addresses the community cat population by ending the breeding cycle and improving the lives of cats.
The spay day reached several dozen cats and kittens and stands as a blueprint for future low-cost spay and neuter clinics through the new program in Mayfield.
Connecting a Community
Though the high-volume spay and neuter clinic ran smoothly like a machine, it was an emotional day for all involved.
The tornado that tore through Mayfield took lives and left entire stretches of homes and businesses flattened. Two months later, residents are still picking up the pieces and seeking help for their families, which include the cats they care for.
With all they are going through, many of those who attended the spay day expressed overwhelming gratitude for the accessible spay and neuter at their fingertips. Furthermore, there is an outpouring of interest from the community to volunteer in future efforts that will help their neighbors care for their neighborhood cats.
Alley Cat Allies continues to organize the grassroots effort in this motivated community to lay the foundation for positive, far-reaching change for cats. As the community rebuilds from disaster, we are building new and innovative infrastructure for animals that will bring more people together in the name of saving lives.