ALLEY CAT ACTION, WINTER 2025 | 3 www.alleycat.org When the Palisades fire, Eaton fire, and other wildfires erupted in Los Angeles in January, bolstered by whipping winds, our Rapid Response Team rushed out to save cats’ lives. In the chaos of a disaster’s beginnings, finding your footing and delivering effective, lifesaving support takes skill, fluidity, creativity, and determination. Our more than 30 years of disaster response experience served our team well: we swiftly connected with advocates and veterinarians on the ground and were bringing cats to emergency veterinary care within hours of arriving. Additionally, we brought in cat food, microchip scanners, and animal oxygen masks, among other supplies to help with rescue efforts. Because of our supporters like you, we could provide critical treatment for cats and kittens (plus a dog, and even a turtle) when it mattered most. Even through the horrors of this disaster, we were overwhelmed and inspired by your generosity and dedication, the tenacity of the advocates with us on the ground, and the survivor’s spirit of the cats and kittens who had had their lives uprooted in an instant. We’d like to tell some of those cats’ stories. Socks Upon landing in Los Angeles, our Rapid Response Team almost immediately headed over to the Palms & Paws Veterinary Center in Santa Monica to meet cats and kittens who had been evacuated from the Palisades and Eaton fires. Socks’s family, who had lost their home in the devastation, entrusted Socks to rescuers who could ensure her long-term care. When asked if we could cover the costs of Socks’s veterinary examination and any needed care, our answer was a resounding yes. It was what we were there to do. Despite all Socks had been through, she was in good spirits and “making biscuits” at the clinic shortly after her examination. We’re proud to say that she is still safe and sound in foster care, and will be cared for as long as she needs. Toulouse Our Rapid Response Team responded to a 2 a.m. emergency call to evacuate Siamese cat Toulouse, and ten other cats and kittens, from a building threatened by the expanding Palisades fire. The moment we met Toulouse, it was clear she needed far more than a comfortable carrier, a fast ride out of danger, and a checkup: she needed urgent treatment for a preexisting and significant spinal injury. Alley Cat Allies funded all of her examinations and treatment— and our late nights and refusal to compromise on her care paid off. Toulouse was rolling around happily on her new bed in a foster home within hours of her rescue and continues to recover in comfort today. She will be monitored and safe from here on out. Saving Cats’ Lives Through the Los Angeles Fires The Alley Cat Allies Rapid Response Team was on the ground within a day SOCKS Then SOCKS Now WATCH: Socks: California Wildfires Rescue
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