Clear Creek Cat Rescue is a nonprofit that rescues and rehomes stray and injured cats. The organization, which works in Southcentral Alaska, recently received an $8,000 grant from the Petco Foundation to support their efforts.
Since 2009, Clear Creek Cat Rescue has rehabilitated and rehomed over 2000 cats. In 2015, the organization rescued almost 500 cats and kittens.
Kelleigh Orthmann is the president of Clear Creek Cat Rescue.
“We’re a group of volunteers in southcentral Alaska dedicated to rescuing cats and kittens and rehabilitating them, as needed, and finding forever homes for them,” says Orthmann.
This summer, Orthmann applied for the Petco Foundation’s Life Savings Grant. Clear Creek Cat Rescue received an award of $8,000 from the foundation in November.
Orthmann says the funds will go towards cat rescue, rehabilitation and medical care.
“It’ll all go for spaying and neutering, for vaccinations, microchips. A lot of it will go for general veterinary care,” says Orthmann.
Microchips, says Orthmann, are basically an internal collar for pets.
“It’s like a little rice shaped device that’s injected into their neck, and the owner’s name and number will be recorded. If they ever end up at a shelter or at a vet office they can be scanned and then their owner’s called and hopefully they’ll be reunited with their families,” says Orthmann.
So far she estimates that they have returned somewhere between 50 and 75 lost cats to their owners using microchips.
Clear Creek Cat Rescue is a solo nonprofit, but they also work closely with other cat rescue groups in the Southern Kenai Peninsula, as well as the Matsu Shelter in Wasilla.
