The recent flooding in Louisiana is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damagesbut some damage is impossible to put a price on. Like the countless number of animals killed during the “1,000-year storm” that dumped an estimated 7.1 trillion gallons of water on Louisiana and caused historic flooding in Baton Rouge and much of southern Louisiana.
Alley Cat Allies now has a team helping with the on-the-ground response to the needs of animal organizations, shelters, and colony caregivers in the area. Since arriving in Louisiana, the team has been working directly with the Humane Society of Louisiana, who received emergency funding from Alley Cat Allies to support direct rescue and care.
The team is also visiting animal shelters across the region to see what is most needed and offer assistance. Shelters visited include the Livingston Parish Animal Shelter (which is temporarily being operated by the Humane Society of Louisiana), the emergency shelter at Lamar Dixon Expo Center, the Denham Springs Shelter, Cara’s House (the shelter for Ascension Parish), and others. The team is also reaching out to community cat caregivers, visiting cat colony locations, and meeting with grassroots organizations to see what can be done to assist them as well.
View exclusive images from their efforts below:
-
- One of many cats at the Livingston Animal Shelter, which continues to take in stranded animals and respond to rescue calls.
-
- More than 80 cats displaced by the floods are now being housed at the Lamar Dixon temporary shelter in Gonzales Parish, where their owners, and hundreds of other people and pets, are temporarily housed.
-
- Wendy Guidry, president of Feral Cat Consortium, is working with Alley Cat Allies to deliver pet food to flood victims, and assist community cat caregivers in accounting for cat colonies, locating surviving cats, and ensuring they have food and shelter.
-
- Approximately 40,000 homes were damaged during the severe flooding.
-
- Representing Alley Cat Allies on the ground in Louisiana after the recent flooding (from left to right): Wendy Guidry of Feral Cat Consortium, Clay Myers of Alley Cat Allies, and Diane Blankenburg of Humane Network
No matter where you live, you can help the animals and people displaced by the devastating floods:
- Donate at alleycat.org/Donate to help Alley Cat Allies continue to provide emergency funds to local boots on the ground activists to save as many cat flood victims as we can.
- Develop a plan in case you need it by reading our disaster readiness and response advice at alleycat.org/DisasterTips.
- Volunteer to foster animals from your local animal shelter, which will make room for animals being transported out of Louisiana and into shelters across the country.
For additional updates regarding Alley Cat Allies’ on-the-ground response to the flooding, we recommend following us at: http://bit.ly/LAFlooding.