The Alley Cat Allies and ARL teams after our amazing October 25 food distribution.
Picture more than 5,400 pounds of cat food given out at no cost to caregivers to help 739 cats, and all within a few hours. That is a massive achievement that will have an even bigger impact for the cats of a community—and it’s what Alley Cat Allies accomplished on October 25 in our second cat food distribution with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL)!
Alley Cat Allies and ARL have launched a collaboration to provide invaluable resources to cats and their caregivers in the greater Des Moines area. All told, Alley Cat Allies has covered the costs of 26,000 pounds of cat food to be given out at no cost through a series of distribution events—the first of which occurred on October 11 in honor of our Global Cat Day®.
Two sweet cats at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa
As part of our Keeping Families TogetherTM program, the work will encompass not just access to food and other supplies, but also access to care for both indoor cats and community cats – unowned cats who live outdoors. In early November, an Alley Cat Allies grant will fund a vaccine and wellness clinic for owned and community cats, as well as spay and neuter, Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and more no-cost cat food.
On October 25, we were thrilled to see an even longer line of caregivers than at our October 11 event—word had gotten out about this critical resource for cats through media coverage. The Alley Cat Allies team had the privilege to speak with many of the people receiving food and learn about and meet the cats who will enjoy meals through this invaluable resource. Alley Cat Allies’ educational resources were also available to attendees.
Loading up a Des Moines caregiver’s car with cat food, costs covered by Alley Cat Allies.
It is our honor to spread the critical work of our Keeping Families Together program, which is about providing no-cost, accessible resources for cats in a time of financial insecurity. Cats are family, too, and our goal is to ensure people do not feel pressured to relinquish their animal companions to shelters or to stop feeding community cats in their area.
Since we created the program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Keeping Families Together has provided food, supplies, and veterinary care for owned and community cats across the country, including in Florida, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
A Des Moines community cat who will soon enjoy a meal through our food distribution.
Our vaccine and wellness clinic, spay and neuter, and another cat food distribution in Des Moines will take place November 7-8. We will share stories and updates, so stay connected with us on alleycat.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Alley Cat Allies supporters like you power our Keeping Families Together program and all of our lifesaving work. Your gift today will help us protect and provide for more cats and kittens.