by TerrieLynn Bach
This past year, 2024, marks a decade of community service work assisting cats and the people who love and care for them. Founded in 2014 by Eileen (Haag) McHugh and TerrieLynn Bach, Bastrop C.A.T.S. started with no funding and only a few volunteers who believed in our mission.
In those early days, we saw a huge need in our community to humanely reduce the great numbers of homeless, and often sick, kittens born on our streets, under houses and sheds, and in drainage ditches. We want to help kittens –and adult cats– in dangerous situations, killed by wildlife, cruel humans, or cars, or brought to the Bastrop County Animal Shelter, malnourished, sick, or dying. Based on research by Alley Cat Allies, a community cannot foster or adopt their way out of the overpopulation of cats. TNR is the humane way to go!
With the help of private donors funding the filing fees, we filed the necessary paperwork for the IRS and the State of Texas to become a 501(c)3 incorporated non-profit.
Eileen so generously put up the initial deposit to open our bank account.
And so, Bastrop Cats Anonymous TNR Society, Inc.–Bastrop C.A.T.S.– was born, a remedy to solve a community situation.
Eileen and TerrieLynn both learned new skills in moving Bastrop C.A.T.S. from a handful of volunteers and no money to successful fundraising and grant writing. Slowly, we were able to build our funds and develop resources for TNR Clinics and veterinary care. As a result, our two biggest fundraisers each year have become Kitty Bingo and Amplify Austin. Plus we receive grants from a variety of resources, both private and corporate.
In 2018, Martha Granger decided she wanted to coordinate our TNR Program, and, with her skills, we expanded our clinic and veterinary resources. Martha’s skills and hard work really accelerated the growth of Bastrop C.A.T.S. She remains our TNR Coordinator to this day. Bastrop C.A.T.S. now has four non-profit TNR clinics and three private veterinary clinics we partner with every month, where we spay/neuter and vaccinate an average of 100 cats per month.
The following year, 2019, Launa Johnson started helping with our Facebook page and gradually moved into becoming our kitten and rescue coordinator. Launa also now has taken the role of Fundraiser Extraordinaire. She has grown our sponsorships for Kitty Bingo and set up small fundraisers at local businesses such as Consuela stores and local businesses.
Because of Launa’s skills and action, this past summer, for the first time, we were able to arrange five transports of a total of 95 kittens and cats to the northwest and Kansas rescues, where they actually have a shortage of adoptable cats and kittens! Due to Launa’s efforts, Bastrop C.A.T.S. was able to get a total of about 300 cats and kittens off the streets and to rescues for local and national adoption.
Now for the sad news. Recently, due to life changes including a move out of the state, Eileen resigned as Executive Director from Bastrop C.A.T.S. All of us are sad to lose one of our founders. Without Eileen, we could never have started or grown Bastrop C.A.T.S. through those early years. Her skills as administrator, bookkeeper, and grant writer plus her knowledge and research abilities were an integral part of building Bastrop C.A.T.S. into the community service non-profit we are today.
All of us at Bastrop C.A.T.S. appreciate the many hours, skills, and love Eileen freely gave to assisting the community cats of Bastrop County. It is with many thanks from all of us that we wish her well in her future endeavors!
Since we started 10 years ago, Bastrop C.A.T.S. has spay/neutered and vaccinated over 7,500 community cats! In 2024 we were able to do 1,118 cats (as of 12/23/24) and counting! We still have a few TNR clinics left this year.
Bastrop C.A.T.S. is 100% volunteer powered. We need your help! There is no way we can ever replace Eileen; she wore a lot of hats in all she did for Bastrop C.A.T.S. While we have been able to fill a few of the many roles Eileen held, we do need more volunteers to continue our mission assisting the community, feral, and stray cats in Bastrop County to have better lives.
We need you! Many people think we only need fosters and donors, but that’s not all. We need people with many skill sets. So if you love cats and want cats and kittens to have better lives in our community, and you have any of these skills, we need you!
Do you have a garage, carport, bar, or shed? We need you!
We need a place to temporarily house overnight cats going to TNR clinic transport the next day. If you can also transport those cats the next morning, it’s a bonus, but if you can only overnight them, even that helps so much.
The cats are in traps. You would be responsible for feeding the cats the night before, changing the puppy pad or cardboard in the trap if it gets soiled, and being available to the transporter early in the morning for pick up.
We can help with supplies and we will show you what to do!
Do you have a vehicle and like playing chauffeur? We need you!
We need transport volunteers with a vehicle to transport cats in traps to TNR clinics and pick up and bring cats back to Bastrop.
You can do only one way or transport both ways– whatever works for you and your schedule!
We can show you how to protect your vehicle’s interior.
Do you spend too much time scrolling on your phone? Do you enjoy making digital content or even writing? We need you!
We need volunteers with computer and social media skills. If you have skills in posting on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, you are the perfect person to help with our social media.
If you have marketing, creating content, or graphics skills, the cats need you!
If you like to write articles and stories about cats, we can use your skills for our newsletter content.
All of these options can be done without leaving your home.
If you have any of these skills or availabilities, we need you! If you would like to join our awesome Cat Volunteers Team, please contact us at TerrieLynn@BastropCats.org or TNR@BastropCats.org
Wishing all of you a blessed and prosperous new year! Together may we continue to save the lives of community cats! Meow!