The new year is filled with opportunities and new beginnings, and that doesn’t begin and end with humans. Animals are also waiting to find a new start in a loving home.

Port City Cat Rescue, based in Bossier City, is a no-kill animal shelter offering a second chance for dozens of potential furry family members. 

Keri Mueller, director, said Port City’s mission is to pull cats from public shelters, lowering euthanasia rates through public adoptions while also reducing the feral population through Trap and Release (TNR) operations.

“We want to take cats from shelters with high kill rates, keep them here at the shelter or in foster homes until they can find loving homes,” she explained. “There is a huge feral problem out there so, we want to lower the number of unwanted cats through TNR to get those cats spayed/neutered.”

Their free-roam shelter allows cats the freedom to play and explore without being stuck in cages. Once the rescue pulls a cat, they are there until they’re adopted, even if that means they’re at the shelter for the rest of their life. 

Volunteers and donations are vital to Port City. Most of the people who help at the rescue are unpaid volunteers with day jobs, meaning the rescue relies on the kindness of others to ensure that their shelter is cleaned daily, cats are cared for and socialized, and adoption events are staffed.

Port City runs on donations with only 30% of its budget coming from adoption fees and the rest in donations and grants. Any money the shelter receives goes to feeding the cats, covering vet bills, and buying cleaning supplies. 

Funding, according to Keri, is the major challenge in running the shelter.

“These guys are expensive, and we only have so much space for them. There are so many that need help, and we need to do as much as we can,” she said.

Fostering, temporarily caring in-home to help protect and socialize an animal, is also a huge need for the shelter. However, Keri noted that for every 99 people who find cats, only one will open their doors to foster a cat. 

“The more people who are able to foster, the more chances we have to save cats and help them find homes,” she said. 

Despite the challenges, costs, time, effort, and heartache, Port City and its volunteers persevere for one simple reason: A love of animals.

“They’re innocent — they don’t deserve to be hurt, neglected, or to have to suffer,” Keri said. “It is a lot of work and can be exhausting and frustrating, but seeing a cat go to its new home or nursing a sick kitten back to health is really rewarding.”

This chance to make a difference is what keeps Port City going. Their effort impacts the community by giving local families a new member of their household or helping someone overcome sadness and loneliness. 

“I’ve seen it help people who were hurting from a lost pet or even a lost loved one,” Keri said. “It is rewarding for the adopter because you can save a life by reducing the number of animals on the streets hurting or being put down.”

Port City is currently seeking foster homes and is open to donations via their website. 

She added that any donations you can provide will go towards a good cause. 

“I want to get the community more interested in us and our mission so we can find these cats good homes and I can continue to save more,” Keri said.