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32 cats from hurricane affected shelters arrive in Richmond

Posted at 11:20 PM, Sep 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-12 23:22:15-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Thirty-two felines have been safely evacuated to the Richmond SPCA from hurricane affected shelters in Florida and Georgia.

The 12 cats and 20 kittens arrived Tuesday night from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and were immediately checked out by a veterinarian.

Volunteers with Best Friends Animal Society, arranged for their arrival and drove the distance to see to it they were out of harms way.

The cats were transported from two Atlanta, Georgia shelters before arriving in North Carolina and then Richmond.

One set had been taken to Atlanta from Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma but that shelter made other arrangements for the animals when they feared flooding.  The other set came from an Atlanta shelter that was flooded form the storm.

None of the animals had found their forever homes yet.

"We're not taking animals here to the SPCA that were separated from families.  We want to make sure these families can have the best chance possible of getting reconnected," said, Richmond SPCA Chief Executive Officer Robin Starr.

While the Richmond SPCA has worked with other organizations in disaster response, this is the first rescue in conjunction with "Best Friends." It's also the first time they have received cats. The SPCA says often times cats get forgotten about in these emergencies.

The animals will be ready for adoption after they are cleared by a vet and have been spayed and neutered.

For more information call the Richmond SPCA at 804-521-1300.

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