The Kitty helping Berea felines

Picture by Andy McDonald - Volunteers for The Kitty hope to rescue cats like Tux, who was saved from Windswept and nursed back to health. Through the assistance of local cat lovers, Tux was spayed then and placed in her happy home at the Berea Welcome Center.

It takes just a little bit of help to do a lot of good, and that's just what some local animal lovers are hoping to accomplish with The Kitty, Inc, a non-profit organization recently established to help Berea's cats in need.

Berea resident Pamela Corley was part of a group that founded The Kitty as an entity that supports people who help homeless and feral cats. Corley notes that since the Madison County Animal Shelter is focused on the effort to contain dogs, and since the local humane society has concentrated on a campaign to encourage animal spaying and neutering in the county, there is a need to focus on animal rescue - saving strays and places them in new homes.

While many residents are willing to rescue cats, they are often stretched to the limits of their resources. Corley says The Kitty will support the work of the humane society and animal shelter, but it is also being developed with the additional goal of supporting animal rescue efforts in the community through fund raising, raising public awareness about animals in need, or directing people to available resources.

"People can't bring us their cats, but we will help them figure out what to do," Corley says.
The Kitty is accepting donations of funds (which are tax deductible) to help rescue efforts, and the organization is also accepting donations of supplies that can help make the job of cat rescue less taxing for those who do it. Donations of cat and dog food, kitty litter, cat toys, beds, ear mite medicine, worm medicine, and many other items are all needed, because they can all add up to a big expense.

"We want to support families who do rescue by addressing the problem in a very basic way. We're looking to make it so that it's not an overwhelming job."

Raising awareness about the need for spaying and neutering will also be a primary objective, whether it's by staging community events, such as the upcoming cat art auction Cats Who Paint, or going to schools to educate younger citizens about the problems of animal overpopulation.

Corley added that stray cats shouldn't be dealt with as a nuisance or annoyance. Instead, they should be treated as creatures that sometimes suffer as a result of bad decisions made by the people who own them. Failing to spay or neuter a cat, then allowing them to create unwanted animals, is one of the biggest problems people need to learn about, Corley says.

"We don't see cats as the problem," Corley says. "We see cats as being in trouble and suffering and we want to help. So cats aren't the problem, but in this case, people can be."

Another unique approach that is being considered, according to Corley, is catching feral cats in Berea, having them spayed or neutered, then releasing them back to where they came from. In that way, Corley says, feral cats can still live without creating more cats.

"We're looking at these problems and there are some solutions out there," Corley says.

To find out how to support The Kitty, write:

The Kitty, Inc.
114 Main Street
Berea, KY 40403

Or contact Pamela Corley at 986-4434
Mary Jo Thomas at 986-7995 or Betsy Thewes at 986-3747.

Written by Andy McDonald