Kentucky Cats Arrive In Salem As Staffers Help Storm-Ravaged Shelters

SALEM, MA — Twenty-six more cats from storm-ravaged Kentucky will soon be up for adoption in Massachusetts after two staff members from the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem traveled south to help relieve workers at overwhelmed shelters.

The Shelter said the devastating flooding in Kentucky this summer placed an even greater burden on shelter workers who were already reaching their limit with capacity issues.

"We knew that even outside of a crisis like this, animal care professionals across the country had already been experiencing compassion fatigue and burnout at levels not seen in years, so we wanted to do whatever we could to help them," the Northeast Animal Shelter said.

The Northeast employees assisted the Kentucky Humane Society in preparing the cats so that they could be brought to Massachusetts to find forever homes.

The ASPCA funded the efforts of the MSPCA and Northeast Animal Shelter in Kentucky and arranged for a transport van to relocate the cats.

More information on the cats and when they will be ready for adoption can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)