A Health & Safety Update

If you’ve been watching the news (and seriously, who’s not glued to the news lately) you are well aware of the evolving response to the COVID-19 outbreak here in Massachusetts.

Here at MRFRS, we take this situation very seriously and we are doing our best to ensure everyone involved with our shelter and spay/neuter services is able to take all the necessary precautions that will allow them to stay healthy while still giving our cats the attention and care they need.

How are we doing this?

As of Tuesday, the shelter is closed to the public (including adoptions). MRFRS is still there for the kitties in our care and for emergency local intakes through our Animal Control Officer. The staff is checking the phone and messages multiple times a day.

The adoption center is being looked after by the staff (this includes all cleaning and cat care) and cat care volunteers have been asked to stay home for the time being. Many of the kitties have been moved to foster care to make this task easier for the skeleton crew to undertake.

MRFRS is not accepting donations of linens, towels or blankets at this time. 

Non-essential staff, committee members and admin volunteers have been asked to work from home and meetings that would normally be held in person are being postponed or held virtually.

All orientations, clinics, and events have been postponed until further notice. We are exploring virtual options to help the MRFRS community come together for education, fundraising, and camaraderie. (More on that in the next article!)

The Catmobile has reduced the number of patients it admits at any given location. This is so proper social distancing rules can be observed.

We’re supporting hygienic practices in the shelter and the offices by providing plenty of hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap and, of course, we’re encouraging anyone who is not feeling well to stay home.

We cannot express how grateful we are to our incredibly hardworking staff and volunteers, foster homes and the entire cat-loving community for banding together and supporting MRFRS throughout this epidemic and caring so lovingly for the cats and kittens in our care.

If there are questions about our precautionary measures or you and your cat need emergency assistance, we are here for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact MRFRS by emailing info@mrfrs.org or calling 978-462-0760.