G-8GW6WNVDCH 2301875706914928 A Mission to Save: Inside Rescue Alliance - Animal Posse

Episode 28

A Mission to Save: Inside Rescue Alliance

Published on: 8th August, 2025

In this episode,Dixie sits down with Jonathan from Rescue Alliance, a Louisiana-based nonprofit committed to feline welfare. You'll hear Jonathan's inspiring story of how a single act of cruelty motivated him to start a rescue, and how that small beginning has grown into an organization that has saved hundreds of cats and implemented a wide range of life-saving programs.

Join us as we discuss:

  • The Louisiana Pet Food Bank, which helps families keep their pets instead of surrendering them to shelters.
  • Their disaster animal response efforts, including their work during hurricanes and floods across the Gulf Coast.
  • The compassionate Cats for Vets program, which places adult cats with veterans, providing them with a much-needed companion.

Jonathan also shares what it's like to work in cat rescue—from the emotional highs of a successful adoption to the challenges of dealing with cat hoarding and animal cruelty. He highlights the incredible need for volunteers and fosters, proving that every helping hand makes a huge impact.

Tune in to this powerful conversation and learn how you can become part of the solution for cats in need.

#CatRescue #RescueAlliance #AdoptDontShop #FelineWelfare #animalrescue

If you would like to support us, every single dollar helps our animals directly: https://buymeacoffee.com/uforescue

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About our Channel:

Animal Posse is your go-to place for everything animal rescue! Join us as we share heartwarming stories, crucial insights, and ways to make a difference for animals in need. We're proud to be powered by our 501(c)(3) non-profit, Unwanted Feline Organization, working together to bring animal lovers together and save lives.

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Transcript
Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Today's guest is Jonathan

with Rescue Alliance.

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hi Jonathan.

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How are you

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Jonathan: doing Good, Ms.

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Dixie, how are you doing?

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Dixie: I'm good.

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Thanks for coming on the show.

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I appreciate it.

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Jonathan: It's no problem.

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Dixie: So tell me a

little bit about yourself.

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Jonathan: I'm the director

of Rescue Alliance.

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We started the rescue back in 2019

after realizing that there's very few

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cat Rescue in the state of Louisiana.

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Dixie: And what is your background?

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What drew you to animal welfare and

specifically cat rescue to begin with?

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Jonathan: I was actually working for

Walmart and I witnessed firsthand

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somebody throwing a kitten out of a

moving vehicle in the parking lot.

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At that point I started volunteering

at the animal shelters and then decided

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to actually start a rescue from there

after seeing, how full the shelters were.

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And there just wasn't enough

space or help for the cats.

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Dixie: And did you have

cats as pets before this?

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Jonathan: Yes, I did.

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I.

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And, I saw just how wonderful cats are.

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They're lovable.

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And they deserve the best life and have

an opportunity to find their forever home.

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Dixie: I love your social media.

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I think you have some really good

posts that you put out on social media.

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So that's actually how I found you.

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I do cat rescue as well, and you're

right, there are few people that speak

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up for the cat, so I'm definitely

glad to see that you're around.

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Speaking up for the cats.

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So what kind of programs do

you offer with Rescue Alliance?

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Jonathan: With Rescue Alliance We

we have the Louisiana Pet Food Bank,

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we do disaster animal response and

we've got a Cats for Vets program,

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which helps veterans find a companion

to help 'em through a lot of the

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ones that we placed and everything.

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We've got veterans who are suffer from

PTSD and that companion animal just,

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it makes their life a lot more amazing.

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Dixie: So you said too that you started

this in:

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something that you started with or

how did they come into fruition?

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Jonathan: We started off in 2020 doing the

disaster animal response team at the same

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time as when we started the pet Food bank.

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The Cats Vets Program is a

program we started last year.

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Through the pandemic we realized

that, there was a need for pet food

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and supplies and that the pandemic

is actually what brought the start

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to the Louisiana Pet Food Bank.

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Dixie: That's awesome.

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So tell me about the pet food bank.

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Jonathan: Our pet food bank.

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We provide cat food, dog food, and

other supplies that are donated.

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Our whole purpose is to give people

an option to where, if they're having

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to consider, to surrender their

companion animal, if we can provide

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them with pet food or supplies

to keep their pet at home, then.

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It's a win, not only for the pet

overpopulation problem, but it

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keeps that pet out of a shelter.

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Dixie: Yeah, I totally agree with that.

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So how do you secure your donations

for the pet food and the supplies?

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Jonathan: We actually, we

do Facebook fundraisers.

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We actually accept donations from anyone,

they're able to drop off donations at

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the Pet Smart Gonzales or the PetSmart

on South Mall Drive in Baton Rouge.

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And from there, when people submit

an application we've got one of our

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board members that actually reviews

applications and then from there they

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schedule the appointment for the person

to meet, to get the pet food and supplies.

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We also get a lot of calls from the

Council on Aging with a lot of their

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senior citizens that are actually.

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Just in desperate need and a lot of

the, through the Council of Aging,

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the Council of Aging will actually

do the applications on their behalf.

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Dixie: And do you normally have a good

stock of food for your pet food bank?

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Jonathan: This year has been very low.

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This year, donations altogether are very

low, so we make do with what we can.

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We get torn bags from Walmart.

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And, we try to do as best we can.

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We're not able to help everybody that

we'd like to, we do the best that we can.

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Dixie: So you also mentioned that

you do the disaster response.

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So how is it that you got started

in the disaster response and

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what disasters have you worked?

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Jonathan: We start, we started with

Hurricane Harvey when Hurricane

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Harvey hit we went to the hurricane.

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We had the hurricane that hit

Texas where we actually were right

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in the middle of that hurricane.

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We've had.

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A couple of hurricanes that

hit Louisiana and we've been to

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Florida every year since 2020.

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Dixie: And how is it that

you got involved doing that?

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Jonathan: I actually got involved

with that because, I partner with a

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bunch of organizations in, one of the

organizations that we had partnered

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with actually got us started was the

Animal Disaster Relief Coalition.

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They'd come down here to Louisiana and

we partner with them, and then we'd

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go and we'd meet up with them to, and

going into the disaster areas along

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with a couple of other organizations.

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Is how we got involved in going

and doing disaster relief.

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Helping not only just rescue, but

also bring pet food and supplies

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to disaster stricken areas.

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Dixie: And does that require that you

have any kind of certifications to work

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with them or train specific training?

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I guess

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Jonathan: we've actually, we have

gone through the FEMA training.

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We've also gone through a training

that's available through the

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A-S-P-C-A along with Code three.

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So through all the different organizations

we've taken in to where we even have

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volunteers that are certified in

Swift Water Rescue, along with animal

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cruelty and, so we even partnered

with the Cajun Navys to where whenever

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there's a need, we're there to help.

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Dixie: How many volunteers do you

have that do the disaster response?

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Jonathan: On average we have

anywhere between 10 and 40.

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Dixie: Oh, wow.

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That's wonderful.

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Jonathan: So it's all about

partnership for the pets.

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Is the more that we can come together,

the more help we can provide.

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Dixie: Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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And I saw on your Facebook that you

just did a collection of supplies

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to go to Kerrville, correct?

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Jonathan: Yes.

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We had partnered with Kerrville Pets Alive

and because of Brucey Animal Rescue to do

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a donation drive to get more supplies out

to Kerrville pets live after the flood.

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To where we even had Sunbelt rentals,

actually volunteered their services

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to transport supplies for us.

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Dixie: Do you also take any

animals from the affected area?

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Jonathan: A lot of times we do for

Kerrville we did not, for this recent

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flooding in Kerrville, we did not they

actually had a lot of resources set up

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to handle and so they transported out at

the same time as they, they transported

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out all the animals they had in house.

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That way they could actually

take in strays and animals found.

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Dixie: And how did you make

all these connections with all

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these other animal rescues?

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Jonathan: Honestly, a lot of

it was done through Facebook.

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Whenever there was a

disaster, we would reach out.

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We're actually currently,

are Florida sarc.

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Responders.

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So whenever Florida actually needs a

response, they actually send us emails

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along with, we get emails from the

A-S-P-C-A and along with a lot of the

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other big organizations they send us

requests for volunteers and for services.

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Dixie: If anyone is interested in

getting involved with this, can

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they contact you and you can help

walk 'em through the whole process?

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Jonathan: Yes, they can.

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They actually, can even sign up by going

to our website, animal recovery.org.

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And clicking on the volunteer tab

or they can message us through

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Facebook or reach out to us directly.

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But we're always looking for volunteers.

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We're always looking for

people to do donation drives.

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We've actually got one teenage child

right now who's her summer mission is, to

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collect as much pet food and supplies to

help pets across the state of Louisiana.

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Dixie: Oh, that's wonderful.

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Jonathan: It is, anytime we can get

the youth involved in helping with

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animals, it's a big accomplishment.

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Dixie: So for volunteers,

what is your biggest need for

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volunteers in which program?

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Jonathan: Right now our biggest need

for volunteers, because currently we're

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not working in active disaster, is

we're looking for volunteers in our cat

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care centers, which is gonna be at the

PetSmart in Gonzales and the PetSmart

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on South Mall Drive in Baton Rouge.

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To where they come in, they clean,

give the cats food and water,

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and they socialize with the cats.

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The other thing that we are also

looking for currently right now is

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adoption of volunteers to come and

help with doing adoption events.

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Dixie: So how many volunteers

do you currently have that help

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with that, with the cleaning

and also your adoption events?

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Jonathan: Right now our volunteers

are low, so right now we've got

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about five volunteers for that.

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And we do need many more.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I see with a lot of rescues, that seems

to be the hardest thing is finding

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the people to go do the cleaning

and to actually go do the adoptions.

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People like going to play with

the animals, but they don't like

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necessarily doing the cleaning.

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Jonathan: Oh, yeah.

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Cleaning is the part that it is

the hardest to find volunteers for.

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The great thing about when people do the

volunteers to do the adoption events.

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Is, adoption events are only from 10

o'clock in the morning till two, three

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o'clock in the afternoon on Saturdays.

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And if we got the volunteers to do

it, it would be on Sundays also.

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But it just very rewarding because

you not only get to go there and love

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on the cats the whole time, but you

also get the accomplishment of knowing

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that you helped find this cat at home.

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Dixie: So can you walk us through

the process of you actually

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intaking cats and then getting them

into the petmarts for adoption?

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Jonathan: From the point of the

intake, all of our cats before

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they even go to PetSmart, they're

gonna be spayed or neutered.

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They're gonna be age appropriate

vaccinated and microchip.

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They're completely they

are completely vetted.

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And, in order for 'em to go

with PetSmart it is required

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that they are completely vetted.

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They undergo, all the testing and

that's needed to make sure that

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they're healthy and thriving to where

when they get in the home, it's a lot

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easier for them to become comfortable.

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Dixie: I saw on your website that

Rescue Alliance, you champion

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feline welfare through rescue

adoption and support programs giving

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every cat the chance to thrive.

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Can you elaborate on what

that truly means for a cat?

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Jonathan: Thriving is, we work with

the adopters not only up until the

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time of adoption, but we remain a

resource to where if the adopter has

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questions or concerns, they're able

to call us and we'll do whatever

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we can to answer their questions.

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And provide the best resource to

help, the cat adapt to being happy

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and healthy in their new home.

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So even at the time of adoption,

we even provide a week's worth

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of food to every adopter.

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That way they're able to be weaned

onto a different type of food,

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whether if the adopter doesn't

wanna keep 'em on hill signs diet.

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Dixie: Do you find that all of

the post adoptive support that

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you do helps from, say, having a

cat returned to your organization?

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Jonathan: We do still have.

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Every now and then we do still have, an

adoption that, the adopter has to return.

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We had one just last week to where

the person was actually gonna be

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moving outside of the United States

for work and was told that they

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couldn't take their pet with them.

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So we did accept the cat back into our

care to help find the cat a new home.

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So it's not a true science, but

any way that we can to help.

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We do.

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Dixie: And where do you get

your cats and kittens from?

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Jonathan: We actually we pull from

across the entire state of Louisiana.

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We get cats from as far as away

as Shreveport and Bastrop up in

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north Louisiana, we get cats from

down in Morgan City, Patterson.

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We get cats from

Companion Animal Alliance.

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We even get cats from

Crowley in Lake Charles.

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Dixie: How many come into

your program in a given year?

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Jonathan: On average we bring in

anywhere between five and 700 a year.

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Dixie: Wow.

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All spayed and neutered.

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So imagine how many that number would be

if they weren't spayed or neutered, right?

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Jonathan: Oh, yes.

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When you sit back and you think about

it on average for each litter, that they

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have, it can be anywhere between four on

average, between four and nine kittens.

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And with that being said, we actually

had one mom that we took in who actually

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came with her three litters of kittens

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So in all actuality that

one mom had 26 babies.

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Wow.

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Who came with her

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Dixie: three litters.

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Wow.

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And what were the ages of 'em?

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Jonathan: They were all the way

from 1-year-old down to newborn.

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Dixie: Of course I'm in cat rescue,

so I know how fast they reproduce

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and how young they are when they

reproduce, but that's amazing.

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That many from one mom.

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I've never seen that before.

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Jonathan: It gets worse when

you sit back and think about.

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Those 26, what would happen if those

26 had already started to reproduce it?

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They wouldn't come to us when they did.

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Those 26 would've turned into hundreds,

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Dixie: right exactly.

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Yeah.

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And they can do it as

young as four months.

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Jonathan: Yes.

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And we've taken in a few cats this

month, this year that are like four or

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five months old and already pregnant.

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Dixie: And at that point do

you do the pregnant spays?

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Jonathan: It depends on

how far along they are.

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A lot of times if they're four months

old, , we're not gonna risk it.

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So unfortunately we do.

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But a lot of it all goes down

to how far along they are.

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And how we make that decision on,

because we try not to, but at the

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same time, if they're four months old,

their coping mechanism to become a

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productive parent is limited because

they're still babies themselves.

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Dixie: That's absolutely true.

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And a lot of people don't realize

that when they'll get a cat.

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Throw it out on the street.

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They don't think it can get

pregnant until it's six months old.

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Or some people even think maybe

a year and they don't realize

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that it's babies, having babies.

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And a lot of the times

they don't know what to do.

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Jonathan: We actually, get a lot

of cats that come to us that are

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having a baby right at a year old.

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And even at a year old, we see

a lot of times , they still even

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struggle understanding I'm not

supposed to lay on top of my babies

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or, it's very traumatic work.

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Dixie: You have the issue too, where

a lot of people will contact you

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that they just found newborn kittens?

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And want you to take all the

kittens to be bottle raised.

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Jonathan: We get, probably, on average,

between five and 10 calls a day.

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Dixie: So what is the

advice that you give them?

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Do you normally tell 'em to

put the kittens back outside

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first to see if the mom returns?

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Jonathan: We do.

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We always do recommend setting up a box

with a blanket in an area which that's

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covered in shade with food and water.

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To where it would give the mom an

opportunity to come back and see

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that there's food and water there.

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That way they don't

have to go off hunting.

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And at least give about 24 hours

to see if the mom even comes

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back before pulling them inside.

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Because a lot of times when the mom

leaves the babies in a spot, it's

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because she's going to look for food.

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Dixie: Exactly.

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Yeah, there's this misconception

that the moms stay with them 24

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hours a day, which isn't the case.

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'cause the moms have to eat too.

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Jonathan: Exactly.

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And that's one of the reasons why in a

lot of our cat colonies, we've actually

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we buy houses that have feeding systems.

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To where we'll go and we can actually

pull, pour in about a quarter of a bag

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of food and it's in a little chute and

then it's got the water hooked up to it.

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We find that a lot of times when

we show up to go check on our

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colonies, that a mama cat's moved

into these houses just because

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everything is provided right there.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I'd love to see your setup for that.

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Jonathan: I can get you

some pictures for that.

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And one of the other things

that we also do is we actually

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also have an ultrasound machine.

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We're one of . The small rescues that

we've got access to a portable not

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x-ray machine, a portable ultrasound

machine to where we can actually go

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and look at the moms to and check on

the babies even while in the field.

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Dixie: Oh, that's pretty cool.

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Jonathan: It's been a lot of work.

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We have two ICU units that also have,

that we would have the oxygen and

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everything for, to where it really

helps with, helping them get over

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having upper respiratory infections.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And I can see where that

definitely would help.

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I'm actually working on that myself

'cause I do a lot of bottle feeding.

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And it's hard to find bottle feeders

that's over here anyway, that's for sure.

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Jonathan: Oh, yeah.

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That's actually one of the things that

I actually do a lot of personally is,

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I've got my one little bottle feeder,

now he's just a brown little brat.

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And his name's Hashbrown, but he

was dropped off and had no mom.

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And, we took him in and, we

syringe fed him and now he's just

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a hyper little ball of energy.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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It's rewarding to feed him.

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It's a little bit of a pain

sometimes, but it is very rewarding.

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Jonathan: Oh yeah.

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And we use the foster care.

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We use a little bit more expensive milk,

but to us it's a better quality milk.

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Dixie: With all the kittens

that you intake, how do you keep

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all of their records and stuff

like that straight before they

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go into PetSmart for adoptions.

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Jonathan: We use a software

called PET Established.

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And with PET established, we can record

all their records and we we even do

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their adoptions through PET established.

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So even after adoption, all their

digital records are emailed and

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controlled through their microchip.

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Dixie: And do you let your fosters be

involved in recording their records

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or is that something that you have

a specific person set up to do?

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Jonathan: We actually do let all

of our fosters, are given access

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to go input medical records.

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They can go in there and we allow our

fosters to go and even write their

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biography because who's better to

say, to tell us more about a cat than

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the foster who was taking care of it?

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Dixie: The Fosters always know

the personality, the behavior.

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So they're also the ones that are, best

to say when their animals would do well,

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say with another cat or dog or small

children or anything like that too.

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Jonathan: Yes.

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And we do have a lot of

fosters that do also have dogs.

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So it, with operating over the fosters.

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It allows us to put cats in homes

with dogs to where if somebody wants

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to adopt a cat and they have a dog,

then we can speak more towards that.

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This cat was fostered with dogs and was

okay with it, or if they were not okay

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with it, we can even speak towards that.

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Dixie: Can you explain a little

bit about your Cats for Vets

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program and how that works?

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Jonathan: The Cats for Vets Program

basically what that program is it's a

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:

free program to veterans who served.

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:

They come to us and they're

like, I'm interested in a cat.

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And what we do is we

waive the adoption fee.

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There is no adoption fee for a veteran.

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:

Because a lot of times,

they're coming to us.

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They're on disability or, they need

that extra love and we just wanna

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:

be able to help our veterans by

providing them, a companion animal.

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:

We help 'em with pet food and supplies

just to give them the opportunity to.

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:

I had a fully thriving companion to help

them through a lot of time, was one of

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our clients suffers from PTSD and the cat

that we helped him find was a love magnet.

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:

So the cat required a lot of attention,

so it went to him, and because of

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:

that they perfectly bonded, which his

in intern helped him with his PTSD.

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:

Dixie: Are they requesting more adult cats

or kittens or is it just depend a lot?

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Jonathan: A lot of times with

our cats vets program, it's

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:

been more of the adult cats.

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'Cause they're not looking

for too much hyperactivity.

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They want a well established cat.

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:

One who you know is okay with using

the litter box we have one who actually

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:

got one of our special needs cats who

actually only had one eye and they

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:

bonded and they're best friends now.

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:

Dixie: When they select a cat, do they

tend to select like a single cat or do

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:

they ever do 'em in pairs or to put with

an existing cat that they might have?

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:

Jonathan: We do have a few that

have already had one cat and

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:

they're just looking for more love.

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:

We actually did have a veteran

couple who actually ended up

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:

getting three cats at one time.

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:

And they're just the happiest.

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:

We checked with them.

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:

We make sure that that they don't struggle

with pet food or, we help 'em out their

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:

vaccinations, just to make sure that

you know that everything the cat needs,

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:

they have the opportunity to have.

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:

Dixie: That's great.

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:

And three cats in one home.

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:

That's amazing too, to have them

all adopted at the same time.

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:

Jonathan: And it's a lot of fun to have.

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:

We make the joke and everything.

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:

We can't even call you a cat

lover and everything, so you

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:

got five cats and everything.

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:

But it's all about one, knowing what

you can handle, but for two, knowing

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:

that by providing a cat a home.

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:

You're taking on a best friend.

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:

Dixie: Absolutely, and I always say

to add in pairs, I try to promote

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:

that because honestly I find that

it's no more work to have a pair.

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:

If you add in even numbers, it

doesn't seem to make a difference.

401

:

Jonathan: We've noticed is it's

actually a lot easier to take care of

402

:

the cats when you take them in pairs,

because whereas the average person

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:

goes to work eight to 12 hours a day,

and what happens when you're at work?

404

:

The cats can get lonely.

405

:

The cats can get bored.

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:

When they get bored,

they become mischievous.

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:

So if you adopt 'em out to where your

cat's got more than one cat in the house.

408

:

You're in turn giving them somebody

to have fun and play with Chase

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:

around and keep them company.

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:

Dixie: Yeah, absolutely.

411

:

Do you support any kind of educational

initiatives as well to promote responsible

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:

pet ownership and feline wellbeing?

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:

Jonathan: We actually, do have

what's called the CAT Club.

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:

And the cat club, it's a classroom

course that we actually have that is

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:

the first Tuesday of every month at the

Haven of Ascension here in Gonzales.

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:

And it's about an hour and a half.

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:

But, we teach everything from

bottle feeding to, the proper

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:

care and grooming of cats.

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:

We actually have one of our, board

members actually leads that the CAT club.

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:

Dixie: Yeah.

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:

I just started teaching a bottle feeding

class and it was, I was very happy to

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:

see the amount of people that showed

up and the engagement in the class.

423

:

Jonathan: Oh yeah.

424

:

When we had our bottle of feeding class,

we had three teenage girls come, and

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:

that's, this is when we had just taken

in hash Brown and Hash Brown was still

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:

on the bottle, could fit in your hand.

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:

And so we got to teach these

girls that were between the

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:

age of, what was it, 11 and 14.

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:

On how to properly bottle feed a baby.

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:

And they absolutely loved it to where

they come to volunteer and, and even

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:

when I was bringing Hash Brown to

our adoption events, ' because Hash

432

:

Brown was being bottle fed they'd

show up and they were sitting there

433

:

in PetSmart bottle feeding this baby.

434

:

Dixie: That's great to get

them involved that young.

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:

I know when I had my class.

436

:

Believe it or not, we couldn't

find any bottle babies to bring.

437

:

And I'm like it's not really a problem.

438

:

I'm not gonna complain about that, but

I had to bring a stuffed animal 'cause

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:

we couldn't find any bottle babies.

440

:

But that's a good problem to have, right?

441

:

Jonathan: Yeah.

442

:

It's always a good problem to have

when you can't find bottle babies.

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:

'cause if you don't have bottle babies,

that means that they've all got a mom.

444

:

Dixie: So in, so that's

445

:

Jonathan: a very good problem.

446

:

Dixie: Yeah, I was very surprised.

447

:

I reached out to three different rescues

and I couldn't find bottle babies

448

:

anywhere, and I said, I'm not complaining.

449

:

Jonathan: Oh, yes.

450

:

One of the other things that we also

do is, actually, me and my wife, also

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:

sit on the board for the Louisiana Pet

Overpopulation Advisory Council, and we

452

:

actually meet at the state capitol in the

legislative room, and that's how we help

453

:

provide the animal friendly Louisiana

license plates goes towards issuing

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:

grants to help with spaying and neutering.

455

:

Dixie: That's great.

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:

Jonathan: We've got a meeting coming

up next month at the state capitol.

457

:

Dixie: Okay.

458

:

I didn't know that they had that

going towards grants for spay neuter.

459

:

Jonathan: Oh yes.

460

:

We've been, a part of it now

for I think almost two years.

461

:

I've been going and we meet

at state capital like three,

462

:

two to three times a year.

463

:

And there's a new pet stamp that's coming

out that is also gonna help go towards

464

:

cost the with spaying and neutering.

465

:

Dixie: And how does that work?

466

:

Like how do they determine where it goes?

467

:

Does it go to like parish shelters

or does it go to individual groups?

468

:

Jonathan: Basically when the application

process is opened then from there for

469

:

shelters and rescues across the entire

state of Louisiana, they'll submit an

470

:

application with the financials and

then we actually go and we vote on

471

:

the groups that are gonna get awarded

grants like last year, I think.

472

:

It was 19 grants

473

:

to rescues and shelters across the state.

474

:

Dixie: Oh, that's wonderful.

475

:

Jonathan: And it's all with makes the

animal friendly license plate so vitally

476

:

important that the more people they can

go, they go to the DMV and get their

477

:

animal friendly license plate that is.

478

:

Revenue that actually helps with

pet overpopulation in our state.

479

:

Dixie: Yeah, that's fantastic.

480

:

I've always seen them, but I never knew,

really where the funds went for that.

481

:

Jonathan: Oh, yes.

482

:

That's one of them.

483

:

And that's what we're a part of.

484

:

And, we're steadily trying to grow

it because I think last year we had,

485

:

I think it was almost $20,000 worth

of grants that actually went out.

486

:

Dixie: Yeah, that's great.

487

:

In your experience, what are some

of the most pressing challenges

488

:

facing feline welfare today?

489

:

Jonathan: I think our the most challenging

is when you have individuals who they

490

:

feel that spaying and neutering is wrong.

491

:

They don't understand that by

not spay and neutering, you're

492

:

making an overall critical issue

that we deal with in the state.

493

:

It makes it even worse,

494

:

it leads to cat hoarding situations

where we actually took in 64 cats

495

:

from one house in a course of two

days because that's actually how long

496

:

it took us to catch all the cats.

497

:

Dixie: Wow.

498

:

And were, they weren't spayed or neutered.

499

:

Jonathan: None of them.

500

:

They had ne they had never even been to

a vet, never had a vaccine or anything.

501

:

Dixie: That's a lot of work right there.

502

:

Jonathan: When going unchecked, not

only does it become a big problem,

503

:

it becomes a big expensive problem.

504

:

' they tried, of course, this

lady was in her sixties.

505

:

She was trying her best to provide

the best care, that one little small

506

:

problem that started off as just a few

exploded into an even bigger problem.

507

:

And then it got to the point to where she

was steadily setting up more litter boxes,

508

:

but she was unable to properly clean all

the litter boxes that she was setting up.

509

:

Dixie: Working in cat rescue

can be incredibly rewarding, but

510

:

also emotionally challenging.

511

:

What keeps you motivated?

512

:

Jonathan: Coffee.

513

:

Oh,

514

:

Dixie: coffee and cats, right?

515

:

Jonathan: Yes.

516

:

What keeps me motivated to do it is just

seeing that like last year we did 550

517

:

adoptions as a small rescue, doing 550

adoptions in one year, knowing that all

518

:

those cats are no longer on the street and

reproducing it makes you wanna keep going.

519

:

When you got people from the community

who do their monthly sponsorships that

520

:

you know every little bit that we can

come together knowing that we're helping,

521

:

it's also motivating to keep going.

522

:

Dixie: Looking ahead, what are

your long-term aspirations?

523

:

Jonathan: We are in the process of trying

to reopen another cat rescue center.

524

:

We had one, but the building that we

had just had too many problems with it.

525

:

So we are actively trying to raise

the funds to where we can go ahead

526

:

and open up a new cat rescue center,

which would at the same time allow us

527

:

to take in more and help more, but.

528

:

It's just to expand our services

to be able to offer more

529

:

resources to those in need.

530

:

Dixie: Before we end, do you

have any happy adoption stories

531

:

that you would like to share?

532

:

Jonathan: Yes.

533

:

We had one cat that came to

us and it was a Scottish fold.

534

:

Scottish folds are very sweet,

very, expensive cats to if

535

:

you were to try to buy one.

536

:

And the great thing about this

is we brought this baby in.

537

:

It, it actually it came

to us infested with fleas.

538

:

All of its neck, its

body was all scabbed up.

539

:

So we put this baby into foster home

and the amazing foster fell in love.

540

:

And decided, you know what, this

baby needs to stay here with me.

541

:

So she decided that she was going to

adopt that beautiful Scottish fold.

542

:

Dixie: That's great.

543

:

You gotta love when you have

the foster failures, right?

544

:

Jonathan: Yes.

545

:

That's what's happened to me.

546

:

I've got some of the most

amazing cats of my own.

547

:

Dixie: Yeah, me too..

548

:

I've got a lot of them

actually that were returned.

549

:

For various reasons and they ended

up living their life with me now.

550

:

Jonathan: Oh yes.

551

:

I took in one of, one of my personals

we took from the shelter that actually

552

:

had a drainage tube in his leg.

553

:

And Carlos came to us and he

was very sick and he wasn't

554

:

thriving in the animal shelter.

555

:

And what ended up happening

over the course of the past

556

:

year is he is gotten better.

557

:

He still suffers from on and off

pneumonia, but from where he was

558

:

to where he is now, he is still

much more healthier and happier.

559

:

Dixie: Yeah, and I think that's

an amazing thing too, when you can

560

:

always see the before and afters

to see what an impact you make.

561

:

Jonathan: And then we love

when we get the wobbly cats.

562

:

And, because people think that, oh, wobbly

cats, we took in one, his name was Buddy.

563

:

And we took him in and everybody thought

he was neurological, so we pulled him

564

:

out of PetSmart because we were getting

out there there's a neurological cat, and

565

:

he just had cerebral hypoplasia, but he

turned out to be the most sweet loving.

566

:

Outstanding cat you could ever find.

567

:

He was very demanding

for time and attention.

568

:

It just goes to show that even

in their imperfection sometimes

569

:

they're still the best companions.

570

:

Dixie: Absolutely.

571

:

I have one, and she was

born without any eyes.

572

:

And she is absolutely amazing

the things that this cat does.

573

:

It's amazing to watch her.

574

:

Jonathan: Oh yeah.

575

:

At one of our adopter's house.

576

:

She had actually adopted

out a cat from us.

577

:

A cat that has no eyes.

578

:

At all completely blind.

579

:

And the amazing thing is when I

was over by their house to see

580

:

that this cat maneuvered through

that house as if it had eyes.

581

:

Dixie: Yeah.

582

:

It's amazing to watch 'em.

583

:

That's like mine.

584

:

What she does is she'll go walk into

my bedroom and jump on the bed, and I'm

585

:

like, how do you know the bed's there?

586

:

It's amazing.

587

:

We've seen her chasing flies.

588

:

She does everything.

589

:

Jonathan: Oh yeah.

590

:

Now that's like with the

blind cat and everything.

591

:

It has not a lack vision, but yet

they came running across the room,

592

:

jumped and landed on the cat tree.

593

:

' Dixie: Cause it,

594

:

Jonathan: it memorized

exactly where that tree was.

595

:

Dixie: Before we end, for listeners who

are passionate about feline welfare,

596

:

what is the single most important action

they can take right now to contribute

597

:

to a more compassionate world for cats?

598

:

Jonathan: If you can't foster,

donate, cat rescue, it's rewarding.

599

:

And if you're not able to foster or adopt,

the best way to help is just to donate.

600

:

Dixie: Thank you so much, Jonathan.

601

:

I enjoyed our conversation and I liked

learning about all the programs and

602

:

the great work that you do for cats.

603

:

There's not enough pioneers

for cats in the world, so we

604

:

need to get some more of them.

605

:

So I'm glad that you're out

there working for the cats.

606

:

Jonathan: Oh, yes.

607

:

And we're willing to, if there's somebody

who is interested in starting up and

608

:

everything, we are always, up for

partnering and mentoring to help guide

609

:

on, helping from how to get the 5 0 1 C3

and the processes to go to help become

610

:

more productive and making sure that not

only are you taking in cats, but you're

611

:

taking 'em into a healthy environment

that continues to help 'em thrive.

612

:

Dixie: And I'm so glad that you offered

the help like that too, because I

613

:

know that, sometimes some groups

are a little bit reluctant to share

614

:

information, so it's good that you're

out there willing to be a mentor.

615

:

Jonathan: Oh yes.

616

:

You know the reason why we named it

Rescue Alliance because as a rescue,

617

:

if we can come together and work

together, we can save more cats.

618

:

And for those that do dogs, they can

save more dogs just by working together

619

:

than fighting one against each other.

620

:

Because that energy can be saved

towards getting animals homes.

621

:

Dixie: Absolutely.

622

:

And I hope that this podcast actually

can accomplish that and bring rescues

623

:

together in, in some kind of way.

624

:

If I help one animal, I find that

I'd at least be doing my job.

625

:

Jonathan: Oh, yes.

626

:

And it all boils down to is as you get

to thinking about, even if you help one

627

:

person become an advocate towards animals.

628

:

But you still gotta always think about as

far as with the litters, that one animal

629

:

can reproduce and become 20,000 over time.

630

:

So every cat we can save

is an accomplishment.

631

:

Dixie: Thank you so much.

632

:

I really appreciate it

talking to you this evening.

633

:

Jonathan: Thank you so much for having me.

634

:

Dixie: That's all the time that

we have for today's episode.

635

:

Thank you for listening and

we hope you join us next week.

636

:

If you know somebody that loves animals

as much as I do, please send 'em our way.

637

:

We would love to talk to 'em.

638

:

If you are enjoying our show, please

consider leaving us a donation.

639

:

A hundred percent goes to our animals.

640

:

Suno: Paws in

641

:

the night Claws in the

fight Whiskers twitch and

642

:

tails

643

:

take flight

644

:

They’re calling in Stories to spin

From the wild to the heart within

645

:

Broken wings and hopeful springs

We’re the voices for these things

646

:

animal posse hear the call.

647

:

We stand together.

648

:

Big and small Rescue tales We’ve

got it all Animal posse Saving

649

:

them

650

:

all

651

:

The vet’s got tips The rescuer’s

grit The foster homes where love

652

:

won’t quit From a pup in the rain to

a bird in pain , Every soul’s worth

653

:

the

654

:

strain

655

:

Animal posse

656

:

Hear the call

657

:

We stand together Big

658

:

and small Rescue tales We’ve got

it all Animal posse Saving them all

659

:

Every caller tells a tale, every

howl a whispered wail, we rise up.

660

:

We never

661

:

fail.

662

:

This

663

:

is

664

:

the

665

:

bond

666

:

The holy grail

667

:

Animal posse Hear the call We stand

together Big and small Rescue tales We’ve

668

:

got it all Animal posse Saving them all

669

:

Every caller tells a tale Every howl

a whispered wail We rise up We never

670

:

fail This is the bond The holy grail.

671

:

Song by Suno.ai

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About the Podcast

Animal Posse
A look inside the world of animal rescue
Dive deep into the world of animal rescue with heartwarming stories, expert interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights. From heartwarming adoptions to daring rescues, we'll explore the incredible bond between humans and animals.
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About your host

Profile picture for DIXIE LOUVIERE

DIXIE LOUVIERE

My love for animals has driven me to dedicate the last 20 years to rescue. In 2024, we established a 501c3 nonprofit Unwanted Feline Organization Inc. and are thrilled to be building a cat sanctuary in Washington Parish, Louisiana, where we can offer a haven for cats in need. I thought it would be great for the rescue to have a podcast so Animal Posse was started with the hope of bringing rescues together, getting them more exposure, and finding more animals
homes.