One hundred cats from Kentucky have landed in Massachusetts in an effort to free up shelters for the influx of pets displaced by the deadly tornadoes that ravaged central and southern states on the night of December 10th. More than 70 people were killed during the outbreak, while homes and businesses across eight states have been reduced to ruins.
Not only have families lost their human loved ones, but many have also been separated from their pets. Over the following weeks and months, many of these lost fur babies will find themselves in the care of shelters and rescues.
To make room for these lost souls, The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stepped up to help evacuate 100 of the cats housed at the Kentucky Humane Society before the tornadoes struck. Working in conjunction with the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, MA, and the ASPCA, the flight of cats, has left KY and landed safe and sound at the Bedford Airport in Massachusetts.
Stepping Up
The Kentucky Humane Society in Louisville is the largest adoption agency in the state, meaning there’s a high quantity of animals in their care. With the deadly tornadoes tearing apart lives and towns, they need all the space they can get for the animals bound to fill their kennels and cages in the coming days.
Mike Keiley, Director of Adoption Centers and Programs at the MSPCA, knew Kentucky animal rescues were going to need some help, so as he told Boston.com, “As soon as I heard the news on Saturday morning about the tornado, the first call I made was to our partners and said, ‘we are available to help.'”
Cats on the MOVE! 🚐
100 felines from @kyhumane will be in #Massachusetts on Wednesday—and we’ll update you on their arrival time.
Special thanks to the @ASPCA’s disaster response teams who have assisted with the evacuation! https://t.co/wodAjdRjri pic.twitter.com/Cs0mBhUPGy
— MSPCA-Angell (@MspcaAngell) December 13, 2021
Between the MSCPA and the Northeast Animal Shelter, Mike knew they could “take a full plane of cats, “knowing that would probably be really meaningful in terms of size and species, and we started coordinating immediately after that.”
Flying Out
On the morning of the flight, Kentucky Humane Society staff prepared each of the cats and kittens for travel, ensuring they were all fed and loaded into clean and secure carriers before heading out from the shelter.
A short clip from this morning of the kitties waiting to be loaded into the @ASPCA transport plane! The cats have all arrived safely & @MspcaAngell was standing by to greet them & ready them for transport to their Cape Cod adoption center & @NEAnimalShelter in Salem. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/TE9bEhVlfY
— KY Humane Society (@kyhumane) December 15, 2021
Arriving at the Atlantic Airport at 3 a.m., KHS shared:
“Our team unloaded all the cat carriers from the transport van, checked each cat’s carrier to ensure it was still clean and had ice cubes for hydration and each cat was then carefully loaded into the airplane by ASPCA team member Monique!”
Around 8 a.m., the cats were airborne on a flight made possible thanks to support from the ASPCA.
“The ASPCA’s priority is to provide local agencies—including the Kentucky Humane Society—with the critical support and resources they need to help animals and pet owners during this difficult time,” said Susan Anderson, Director of Disaster Response for the ASPCA National Field Response team.”
“In emergency situations like this, evacuations are often not an option, making the impact of these deadly and unprecedented tornadoes that much more devastating.”
Now, thanks to the cooperation and support of these life-saving animal rescue groups, the cats have landed!
Settling In
Staff and volunteers from the MSPCA were on hand at the Bedford Airport to meet the feline flight. According to ABC 6 in Salem, twenty-two cats were taken to the Cape Cod branch of the MSPCA while the rest were transported to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem.
For now, the cats are settling in for a 48-hour quarantine period to assess their conditions. Some of the Kentucky cats could be available for adoption by this weekend or early next week. Both the MSPCA and NEAS plan on offering adoption discounts to help these evacuees find their forever homes.
“Our hope is to get them quickly settled,” Keiley explained to Boston.com. “Get them quickly into homes so they can be home for the holidays and have a wonderful place to be rather than all the stress that they’re enduring right now.”
If you’re in Massachusetts and looking to adopt a cat, get in touch with the MSCPA or NEAS to find the kitty darling meant to be part of your family. You can also donate to the Northeast Animal Shelter via Facebook.
H/T: www.boston.com
Feature Image: Kentucky Humane Society/Facebook