Alexandria Welcomes 50 Cats From Overwhelmed Texas Shelters

ALEXANDRIA, VA — On Saturday, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria brought in 50 cats from overwhelmed Texas animal shelters in areas still recovering from February's winter storms and power outages.

Millions lost power as the independent electric grid in Texas experienced issues during below-average temperatures and winter weather. Among the lingering effects of the winter outages is the strain on animal shelters. According to AWLA, the Texas shelters are seeing a surge in surrendered pets.

The animals come from eight animal shelters in Texas. By transferring animals to Virginia, these shelters can better address the continued needs of homeless animals.

"We received a request from the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) national network asking if shelters were able to take in homeless animals, to make room for Texas shelters to care for the influx of animals they were seeing," said AWLA Executive Director Stella Hanly in a statement. "We knew the plans were still coming together, but we also knew we had to help."

It took less than two weeks for the entire effort for AWLA to connect with the Texas shelter liaison, work with other local shelters and rescues that could take in cats, find volunteers, and prepare the transport van. Two AWLA volunteers offered to make the 14-hour round trip drive to and from Tennessee to meet with a Human Animal Support Services representative to pick up the cats. Another AWLA volunteer, a retired naval engineer, created a removable rig for the AWLA’s vans so it could hold travel crates for up to 50 cats. Before that, AWLA did not have vehicles equipped with fixed cages for that many animals.

Transport volunteer Kerin Ord pointed out the resiliency of the cats after the return trip of more than seven hours.

"Seeing cats in their condos at the AWLA, kittens playing with toys, many cats just reaching out for pats and attention," said Ord. "They seemed to realize that all was good from here on, and with the resilience of animals, had quickly gotten over their long journey."

Of the 50 cats transported, 30 were picked up from local shelters and rescues, including Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Loudoun County Animal Services, Four Paws Rescue and Helping Homeless Felines.

The remaining 20 will be available for adoption from AWLA. Those adoptable cats range from 6 months old to 5 years old and will undergo general and veterinary evaluation before being available for adoption.

In addition to the cat transport, AWLA took in 40 dogs, working with True & Faithful Rescue Mission to assist under-resourced shelters in Florida and Texas. The dogs of varying ages and breeds will also be available for adoption once they undergo medical and behavioral assessments.

Virtual and in-person adoption appointments are available at AWLA's shelter. For more information, visit alexandriaanimals.org/animals-for-adoption.