ALAMOSA — Since 2013, a local, devoted non-profit organization named Cats Alive! has been helping cats in the San Luis Valley — all kinds of cats in all kinds of situations.
For more than a decade, a small cadre of three women with a deep affinity for cats has provided support and services at all times of the day that few — if any — other group provides. But now, like many causes, Cats Alive! has encountered hard times and the non-profit is in desperate need of donations.
“We have a terrible backlog,” says Marge Hauer-Brown, who is based in Alamosa. “Especially with trapping and getting cats vaccinated or parents and kittens fixed. We have one person who has been waiting for our help for a very long time.”
If the owner is physically able to trap their cat on their own, Cats Alive! will teach them how it should be done. If that’s not possible, Hauer-Brown or one of her colleagues will trap the cat themselves so the owner can then transport him or her to the vet.
Sometimes, when funds are available and the owner is unable to pay, Cats Alive! will pay for part or all the vet bill. And, in some cases, Hauer-Brown or one of the other volunteers in Monte Vista or Antonito will drive the owner and their cat to the Monte Vista Animal Clinic on the west side of Monte Vista with whom they have a working relationship.
When the owner realizes they can no longer provide care, Cats Alive! will help them surrender the cat to the Dumb Friends League.
Cats Alive! also responds to calls from people who may be worried about a cat or a small group of cats in their area. In that case, one of the volunteers from Cats Alive! will go to the neighborhood, set the traps, and take the cats to the vet themselves where they will be vaccinated and fixed.
Afterwards, Hauer-Brown or the others will take the cats home and foster them for a few days until they’re healed. During that time, they then decide what is the next best step.
“The cats will let you know when they want to go back to their home. They know their territory and where they can find food and water. When that happens, as long as we know that someone is looking out for them and feeding them, we’ll put them back on the street,” she says.
Cats Alive! also fosters kittens until they’re ready to go to a shelter, including what Hauer-Brown calls “bottle babies.”
“Yvette [the volunteer-based in Monte Vista] takes the bottle babies when they’re too young to eat on their own. It’s her specialty. And that’s hard work. She has to feed them every two or three hours and keep them warm. She’s so, so good at that.”
Sometimes, while healing in one of the volunteer’s homes, it becomes clear that the cat is tame and probably once belonged to a family. In that case, they will foster the cat until they can find a no-kill shelter, usually on the Front Range, where they stand a chance of being adopted.
Hauer-Brown recalls one such case with a cat she named Lady Gray. “The vet thought she was at least 10 years old, and she was so beautiful. When the vet spayed her, they found a mummified kitty in her uterus. If she hadn’t gotten help when she did, she probably would have died.”
Hauer-Brown brought her home to make sure she healed fully. Once there, Lady Gray really calmed down. So, she contacted a shelter on the Front Range who said they had someone who wants to work with older cats.
Hauer-Brown is currently fostering two brothers she calls the Brothers Grimm. “They’re sweethearts and purr every time I walk in the room and meow at me because ‘it’s feeding time!’ A little bit of you falls in love with them but you can’t keep them forever. So, you foster them until you find a shelter.”
But all these extraordinary, much-needed services cost money. Cats Alive! needs more traps, especially good ones with “a removable back.” Yvette needs milk replacement for kittens. The non-profit needs donations to their Angel Fund, which is established at the Monte Vista Animal Clinic and pays for vaccines, spays, and neuters. They also need cat food for about 30 cat colonies that people care for across the valley, many of whom live on fixed incomes and care for cats out of the love in their hearts.
For ten years, Cats Alive! has taken on a big job with countless successes. And, frankly, without their help, there is no telling what kind of fate would befall many of the felines young and old. As Hauer-Brown puts it, they love doing what they do, and they know it’s good for the community as well as the cats. They’re just in desperate need of help and are hoping that the community gives them the support needed to do what they do for another ten years and beyond.
People can contribute to the Angels Fund, either directly to the clinic or by sending a check to Cats Alive! PO Box 84, Alamosa, Colorado 81101. She just asks it to be noted if the money should go to Angels Fund or cat food for the colony cats. And if people want to donate cat food, they’ll take that, too, just “please no Meow Mix or Kit-n-Kaboodle.”
For more information, call (719)298-7028.
