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The Melrose Project
It all started with a Facebook message…as so many stories do. A woman named Staci was asking for help for a senior cat who was living outside in a small, rural town called Melrose, located in eastern NM. Staci moved to Melrose 5 years earlier, and from day one she saw a senior cat named Peaches living outside. Staci and her neighbor Patsy became concerned for Peaches as she wasn’t doing very well, and they hoped we could take Peaches into our care. We saw pictures of Peaches and knew she needed our help, but before we could respond, Staci shared another photograph of a kitten whose eyes were bulging out. Let’s just say, it hit us right where it hurt, and we knew in that moment, we were helping both cats. Arrangements were made, and Peaches and the kitten traveled to Albuquerque. Upon picking up the cats, we learned there were other cats on the property who needed help.
So, we planned a trip to Melrose to assess the situation and meet Staci and Pasty. On arrival we realized this would be a huge undertaking. There were many cats and kittens roaming outside, and many of the kittens had awful eye infections, which are a common in large outdoor colonies. Even as a senior cat rescue, we knew we weren’t leaving without a few “eye bulging” kittens in tow.
Since we’ve never done Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) we weren’t sure how we were going to spay/neuter ALL of these cats. Melrose is a small community, and the local vets couldn’t handle a colony this big. Fortunately, we learned about two upcoming spay/neuter clinics in Roswell. All we had to do was get traps and supplies, drive to Melrose, trap the cats, drive them to Roswell (an hour and a half away), get the cats fixed, and then drive them back to Melrose, no problem! *insert nervous laughter here*
With careful planning (thank you Anna), great volunteers (thank you Anna, Patsy, and Staci), and some collaboration the TNR work started. The first spay/neuter clinic was hosted by Wild Blue Cats (WBC), and they helped us fix 16 cats! The second clinic was hosted by the Colorado Animal Welfare League (CAWL), and they helped us fix 32 cats! We are so grateful for WBCs and CAWL for allowing us so many spaces at their clinics.
In total we’ve helped 76 cats so far! Some of the cats have been fixed and returned to the property, some of the cats and kittens went to other rescue groups, and some of the cats and kittens are at JSCR awaiting adoption. In case you’re wondering, yes, many of the kittens needed eye removal surgery, so JSCR now has a “Pirate Kitten Club”, but they are all doing well! There are still more cats who need our assistance at the Melrose property, and we will continue until every cat gets the care they need. While we continue to focus on saving seniors, the cats of Melrose touched our hearts, and we are humbled to be a part of helping these very deserving cats.
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