ARL offering $20,000 donation match for Community Cat Program

This past week the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s (ARL) Field Services Department rescued an eight-week-old community kitten who was living under a shipping container at a construction site in Charlestown.

ARL’s Community Cat Program focuses on this particularly vulnerable group of animals in Massachusetts.

Community cats are feral, stray and abandoned cats who live outdoors in harsh elements.

ARL has seen a dramatic rise in the number of community cats who need help in recent years and is offering a $20,000 donation match challenge to allow the organization to help even more community cats and kittens.

A resident at an apartment building overlooking the construction site at 75 Alford Avenue (Ryan Playground) in Charlestown contacted ARL’s Field Services Department after witnessing the kitten coming in and out from underneath a shipping container placed on the site.

With the help of Boston’s Park and Recreation Department, ARL was able to gain access to the site and began the trapping process.

It took two days, and in the end the kitten overcame her fear and gave in to her hunger. She emerged from underneath the shipping container and into an awaiting humane cat trap.

The kitten, now named Ally, was transported to ARL’s Boston Animal Care & Adoption Center to undergo veterinary care.

The kitten is in excellent health, is undersocialized but friendly, and she will likely be made available for adoption in the coming weeks.

Community Cat Program Match

With an estimated 700,000 community cats in Massachusetts, 70,000 in Boston alone, these animals live in harsh conditions and without proper care are at-risk for illness and injury.

ARL’s Community Cat Program was launched in 2017 and is the only large animal welfare organization in Massachusetts with a dedicated agent working exclusively with community cats and kittens.

In 2024 the program saw a record number of community cats, nearly 2,000, and the organization has found loving homes for more than 2,700 community cats and kittens over the past five years.

After identifying a community cat colony, ARL formulates a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) plan, to evaluate, vaccinate and spay/neuter cats from the colony.

TNR is one of the most humane and effective ways to stop the cycle of homelessness among cats. Cats that are truly feral are returned to the colony, while those suitable as pets are adopted into homes.

ARL receives no government grants or funding and relies solely on the generosity of individuals to ensure these vulnerable animals receive the care they need and deserve.

Through June 30, any donation towards ARL’s Community Cat Program will be matched, dollar-for-dollar to help twice as many community cats in need.

Those interested can visit https://www.arlboston.org/services/community-cat-services/ to help ARL continue this important work.