A brighter future for community cats in Las Vegas

Tiger Mama, a striking tabby cat, and Big Mama, a sleek black cat, know every nook, cranny, and sunbeam at the warehouse they call home. For years, the two kitties have been among the familiar feline faces at a warehouse outside Las Vegas, Nevada. The people who work there look out for the cats, making sure they always have food, water, and a safe place to snooze.

Over time, though, workers began noticing more and more cats around the property. They wanted to help the cats continue thriving where they lived. They just needed a way to keep the group from growing larger than they could support.

That's where Kelly came in.

A lifelong animal lover, Kelly recently began volunteering with Heaven Can Wait Animal Society, a Best Friends Network Partner in Las Vegas. The organization had just received a $20,000 Rachael Ray Save Them All Grant from Best Friends. Grants like these are just one of the ways Best Friends is helping shelters nationwide reach no-kill.

The grant helps to support Heaven Can Wait’s Purrvention Project, which aims to spay or neuter and vaccinate cats from neighborhoods in the Las Vegas area with large cat populations.

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“This Rachael Ray Save Them All Grant means that we can save more cats’ lives,” says Rachel Bergen, executive director at Heaven Can Wait Animal Society. “This will help us, and our community, reduce overpopulation and unnecessary euthanasia.”

When Kelly learned about the cats living at the warehouse, she was eager to help. On her very first trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) effort through the Purrvention Project, she trapped eight cats in a single night. TNVR programs humanely trap, spay or neuter, vaccinate, and return cats to their outdoor homes where they can live healthy lives without producing more kittens.

TNVR services had previously been unavailable in the area, making it difficult for cat caregivers to access the resources they needed. Through the Purrvention Project, all eight cats were spayed or neutered and vaccinated, including Big Mama and Tiger Mama.

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Not long afterward, Kelly returned to the warehouse and trapped four more cats for surgery and vaccines. In just a short time, 12 cats received care through the program, helping prevent future litters of kittens.

Just as importantly, the people caring for them now have a path forward for managing the group of kitties they love.

Today, Big Mama and Tiger Mama are back to doing what they've always done: exploring favorite hiding spots, stretching out in sunny patches, and keeping watch over their warehouse home.

The difference is that neither cat will be raising any more kittens.

Kelly plans to continue trapping until every cat at the property has been spayed or neutered. That means the beloved kitties who call the warehouse home can continue enjoying life in the place they know best. And the warehouse workers can rest a little easier knowing the cats they love will continue thriving there for years to come.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.