Kentucky Tornado Rescue Cat Adoptions Open In Salem, Cape Cod

SALEM, MA — The Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem and MSPCA-Angell Memorial on Saturday began accepting applications to adopt the 100 rescue cats brought to New England this week from tornado-ravaged Kentucky.

The cats were flown to Massachusetts on Wednesday with 78 of them taken via three transport vans to the Salem shelter. The remaining were taken to MSPCA-Cape Cod in Centerville.

The cats remained in quarantine for 48 hours and were available for adoption as of Saturday.

The cats range in age from several months to several years old and all had been living in Kentucky Humane Society's shelter prior to the deadly tornadoes.

A Northeast Animal Shelter spokesperson told Patch there is "zero chance that someone's lost pet has been relocated to Massachusetts."

Those interested in adopting one or more of the cats must pre-register before meeting the cats. Potential adopters can register to meet the cats in Salem, or the MSCPA facility closest to them, here.

Some of the cats available can be viewed here and here.

Spots are expected to fill up quickly. Once the inquiry is received, the adopting candidates will be sent an email with the next steps to follow up with an appointment. Those seeking one of these cats should write "Kentucky Cat" when asked the name of the animal for which there is interest.

The ASPCA sponsored the flight that took the cats from Kentucky to Massachusetts.

"Evacuating homeless animals displaced by these devastating tornadoes is a lifesaving aspect of emergency response efforts because it gives the shelter animals a second chance to find loving homes while freeing up critical resources for pets in impacted communities," said Susan Anderson, Director of Disaster Response for the ASPCA National Field Response Team. "We are grateful to MSPCA and Second Chance Animal Services for opening their doors to these animals in need so local animal welfare organizations in Kentucky can focus on supporting displaced pets."

(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.)

More Patch Coverage: Salem's Northeast Animal Shelter Rushes To Aid Of Texas Pets

Salem's Northeast Animal Shelter Helps Rescue South Carolina Dogs

Salem's Northeast Animal Shelter Poised For Hurricane Ida Rescue