sweet owen + volunteers
Met-A-Cat RESCUE BY WHITNEY PRATHER DUVALL
Met a cat? Want to? Anya Johnson, an Owen County native and student at Georgetown College, was looking to do just that when she started MetA-Cat Rescue. Realizing Owen County had no resources for cats, Anya set about coming up with a solution. She is passionate, knowledgeable, and driven—all traits necessary to successfully tackle the overpopulation of unwanted felines. “Before Met-A-Cat Rescue was born, it was me—a high school student at the time—and my family taking in cats and getting them fixed and adopted,” Anya said. Since her rescue’s inception, more than 500 cats have passed through her home alone. Having garnered some assistance from other kind-hearted cat folks, Anya made Met-A-Cat Rescue official in 2020, becoming a 501c3 non-profit organization. According to its website, the rescue seeks to place cats in homes, rehome cats as needed, and create a spay and neuter program to address the local unwanted cat population. By working with foster homes, the rescue is able to reduce the costs associated with housing cats in a brick and mortar shelter. Having the cats placed in foster homes provides them with plenty of handling and affection, preparing them for life in their forever home. Since becoming official in 2020, Anya and her volunteers have placed more than 200 cats in forever homes. “We really try to get a feel for each
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sweetowenmag.com + winter 2021
p OWEN COUNTY NATIVE ANYA JOHNSON, a student at Georgetown College, began Met-A-Cat Rescue last year after caring for feral cats and kittens out of her family’s home during her high school career. Today, Met-A-Cat Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit organization that seeks to place cats in homes, rehome cats as needed, and create a spay and neuter program to address the local unwanted cat population. — All photos by Whitney Prather Duvall
cat we take in,” Anya said. “Every cat has a different personality, and the last thing we want is to rehome one without understanding that personality and making sure the new owner is aware of that.” Sometimes, Anya said, a personality issue is due to an underlying cause. Met-A-Cat volunteers try and get to the root of that cause, and no cat is adopted without being fully vetted. This includes shots and being
spayed or neutered. To aid in rehoming efforts, Met-ACat Rescue has partnered with northern Kentucky pet stores, including Feeders Supply and Pet Supplies Plus in Independence and Cold Spring, to host adoption events. Another challenge of being the sole, local cat resource is providing a home for each as they wait to be adopted. Anya and Met-A-Cat volunteers shoulder the burden of what
