In the City of Los Angeles, where the human population reaches nearly 4 million, it’s estimated that there are somewhere between 1 to 3 million feral cats. The need for these cats to not only be humanely controlled but also treated with compassion is dire.
Christi Metropole realized this back in 1997 after she rescued a cat of her own from a homeless situation. This, as well as other experiences at that time, introduced her to the surplus of homeless and needy cats in the Los Angeles area and the lack of resources available to help. She knew she had to do something to help the felines in need.
Metropole founded Stray Cat Alliance in 2000. From the start, the nonprofit has aimed to educate and empower communities to advocate for every cat’s right to be safe, healthy and valued. One of the first initiatives the organization took on was opening a phone hotline as a resource for people wanting to help community cats.
“Right away, the phone was ringing off the hook,” says Metropole. “Hundreds of people were calling in wanting to help community cats, but they didn’t know how. We had to acquire a group of volunteers to provide support and resources over the phone.”
The hotline still exists today, but it’s now answered by trained staff and volunteers. This is one of the many programs Stray Cat Alliance offers that makes them the go-to source for community cats in Los Angeles and beyond.
Stray Cat Alliance has many other programs today that are helping them work toward their mission, including Safe at Home, which is geared toward saving kittens, who are most often killed in shelters, by finding, supporting, and educating foster care givers to take care of them, as well as supplying food and medical care. Learn more about their foster program.
Stray Cat Alliance’s Care for Community Cats program conducts targeted trap-neuter-return (TNR) in South Los Angeles neighborhoods, supports trapping efforts, and provides guidance to members of the community who may be interested in TNR. Apply to become a trap-neuter-return volunteer.
Return to Home for Community Cats, another of Stray Cat Alliance’s programs, helps to spay/neuter, vaccinate, give medical care to, and microchip cats and then safely return them to their community. This program helped make it possible for Long Beach Animal Care Services to hit no-kill status for the first time in 2020.
Stray Cat Alliance also has an Adopt + Foster program, which helps cats find temporary and forever homes for hundreds of kittens and cats.
“The work we do at Stray Cat Alliance is so rewarding. For me, it’s just the love for cats, being able to provide them with medical care, a safe place to lay their head at night, a loving home for the rest of their lives, and supporting our community who want to help, too,” says Tiffany Palazzini, Stray Cat Alliance’s Social Media and Partnerships Manager.
Nearly a year ago, Nathan the Cat Lady, one of Catalyst Pet’s ambassadors, introduced us to Stray Cat Alliance and the important work they are doing. Nathan Kehn is a proud partner with Stray Cat Alliance and launched Nathan’s Foster program, providing support and resources to help get even more Stray Cat Alliance cats and kittens into foster homes until they find their forever home. After the introduction from Nathan, Catalyst Pet and Stray Cat Alliance decided to partner together.
“Partnerships like Catalyst Pet are such an integral part of the lifesaving of what we do for kittens and cats,” Palazzini says. “Litter is such a necessity, and we’re so grateful for what Catalyst does—it helps us during a critical time of lifesaving.”
“We love working with and supporting nonprofits like Stray Cat Alliance because they’re on the ground, helping cats in their community every single day,” says Jonah Levine, Catalyst’s product manager.
To learn more about Stray Cat Alliance and the work they do, check out their website & follow them on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & TikTok.
