They Dared to Care
MRFRS began in 1992 as a few caring souls who decided to come to the aid of the 300+ free-roaming cats barely surviving along the Newburyport, Massachusetts waterfront. The effort our founders launched was one of the first in the nation to use Trap-Neuter-Return to improve the lives of free-roaming cats.Once all of the cats had been trapped and fixed, we fed them twice a day at waterfront feeding stations and monitored them for illness, injury, and any new additions.
Those cats that showed an ability to be socialized were taken into foster care and adopters found. Thanks to that work, the final cat in the waterfront colonies, “Zorro,” passed away of old age in 2009.
Since our inception, MRFRS has assisted over 145,000 cats — placing over 25,000 cats and kittens into homes, spaying or neutering over 15,000 feral cats at our TNR clinics, and over 75,000 cats on our Catmobile.
Our programs include:
Adoption Program: a no-kill adoption center in Salisbury, MA housing up to 60 cats and kittens
Feral Program: assistance with feral TNR (trap, vaccinate, neuter, and release) program
Sunday Spay/Neuter Clinics: monthly spay/neuter clinics for feral cats
The Catmobile: a low-cost spay/neuter vehicle covering the North Shore, Central MA, Metrowest and Merrimack River Valley areas.
Foster Program: cats and kittens in need of TLC before adoption
FARS Program: assistance with veterinary care costs for owned cats
The Captain Courageous Fund: assistance for injured feral cats
The Bridge Program: provides emergency boarding for cats whose owners are in perilous circumstances
Catmobile & Spay/Neuter Resource Information: refers dog and cat owners across the state to low-cost spay/neuter services
Want to learn more? Download MRFRS's 2021 Annual Report
