BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christine Southworth
Marcia Brisbois
Sheila Kelly
ABOUT R.E.A.L. CRUZAN CATS
IT STARTED WITH
A CAT NAMED COCO.
Before there was an organization, there was a community cat on a beach in St. Croix—and a friendship that made the island's cats personal.
2014
MEET COCO.
On her first visit to St. Croix in November 2014, Christine Southworth met Coco, a beautiful Cruzan Siamese who lived around Cottages by the Sea. Coco became her companion on that trip and many that followed—sharing meals, visiting her room and spending evenings together on the beach.
Coco made St. Croix's community cats personal.
2015–2016
ONE CAT NEEDED A RIDE NORTH.
On a later trip, Christine asked a volunteer at The Blue Mutt in Christiansted how she could help. The answer was simple: escort an animal to the States.
In March 2015, her first passenger was Mickey, a rescued cat who had been cared for by Liz Castro and Jill Cook. The plan was simple: Christine would escort Mickey from St. Croix to an organization on the mainland that would find him a home.
It didn't quite go according to plan.
A Massachusetts blizzard stranded Christine and Mickey overnight in Miami. The next morning, Mickey had disappeared from their hotel room. After a frantic search, Christine discovered that he had climbed inside the box spring.
Mickey was eventually extracted, they made it back to the airport, and the two finally arrived home in Massachusetts. Then came another surprise: the organization that had planned to take Mickey backed out.
Through Mickey and Jill, Christine began to understand both the extraordinary work already being done for St. Croix's cats and what was missing: an organization dedicated specifically to helping them. With experience running a nonprofit arts organization, Christine knew how to build the organizational structure. R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats was incorporated on August 12, 2016 and applied for federal nonprofit status.
The name R.E.A.L. originally represented Rescue · Education · Adoption · Love. Ten years later, our methods have evolved—but the commitment behind those words remains.
SEPTEMBER 2017
THEN CAME MARIA.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands. Between the storms, pilot and animal rescuer Sali Gear coordinated an extraordinary airlift of shelter animals from the islands to Virginia. Christine flew to Virginia and rented a van, expecting to bring 14 St. Croix cats north.
52CATS HEADED HOME IN THE VAN.
The cats filled nearly every available space—hard carriers stacked three high, several rows across and the full depth of the van. One cat, Theo, was dropped off with his adopter in Newark. The rest continued toward Lexington, Massachusetts.
There was just one problem: RCC did not have anywhere prepared for more than fifty cats.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
PEOPLE SHOWED UP.
Christine turned to Facebook and asked for help. By the time the van arrived around midnight, friends, neighbors and people she had never met had transformed space in her home into emergency cat housing. They brought cages, food, litter, bowls and blankets.
Cape Ann Animal Aid met the van and took 27 cats into its care. Foster families stepped forward. Veterinarian Dr. Kevin Fallon, veterinary technician Jody Gay and Melinda Fallon helped monitor and treat the cats.
Every morning, after Christine had worked late into the night administering medications and caring for the cats, neighbors returned to feed them, change litter and begin again.
52 CATS.
ONE VAN.
ONE VAN.
A community that answered the call.
Among the people caring for the hundreds of animals arriving in Virginia was United Airlines pilot Krista Daley. She and Christine met in the middle of that chaos. Nearly a decade later, Krista remains a longtime RCC volunteer and one of the lifelong friendships that grew out of those extraordinary days.
WHAT TEN YEARS TAUGHT US
THE CATS TAUGHT US WHAT WORKS.
RCC rescued and adopted hundreds of cats in those early years. Every individual life mattered—and still does.
But as the years passed, something became increasingly clear:
ST. CROIX COULD NOT ADOPT ITS WAY OUT OF CAT OVERPOPULATION.
For every kitten transported to a new home, more were being born. Rescue was essential for the cat in front of us—but prevention was the only way to change what happened to the next generation.
So RCC evolved.
Today our primary focus is TNVR and humane population management, supported by Food for Ferals, veterinary care, managed colonies and our Distributed Sanctuary model. We continue to rescue orphaned kittens, injured cats and special cases when intervention is truly necessary.
THE GOAL ISN'T TO RESCUE MORE CATS.
IT'S FOR FEWER CATS TO NEED RESCUING.
SEE OUR IMPACT
THE PEOPLE BEHIND RCC
A SMALL TEAM. AN ISLAND-WIDE MISSION.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Christine Southworth
ON-ISLAND CORE TEAM
Nancy Dash
Margi Erway
Sheila Kelly
Renee Petrillo
Michael Puceta
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER
CHRISTINE SOUTHWORTH
Christine is a multimedia composer, musician and video artist based in Lexington, Massachusetts, and Executive Director of R.E.A.L. Cruzan Cats. She works closely with RCC's St. Croix team while coordinating much of the organization's foster, adoption and mainland transportation network—earning her unofficial role as RCC's “kitten taxi dispatcher.”
With Pearl, one of Christine's own foster fails.
VETERINARY CARE
OUR VETERINARY TEAM & PARTNERS.
VETERINARIAN OF RECORDDR. MICHELLE MEHALICK
VETERINARY PARTNERS
Dr. Stacia Jung · Paws 4 Peace Veterinary
Dr. Kasey Canton & Dr. Ariel Baumann · Progressive Veterinary
St. Croix Animal Welfare Center Clinic
Dr. Ashley Mazza
VETERINARY TECHNICIANS
Heather Drake
Stephany De Jesus
RCC works with veterinary professionals across St. Croix to provide TNVR, routine care and treatment for cats who need medical intervention.
FROM 2017 TO TODAY
SANCTUARY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING PEOPLE CREATE TOGETHER.
After Hurricane Maria, dozens of people each did one manageable thing—and together they created safety for more than fifty cats almost overnight. Today, that same idea lives at the heart of RCC's Distributed Sanctuary model.
A caregiver feeds a colony. A volunteer sets a trap. A veterinarian gives us a surgery day. A homeowner provides safe space. A foster opens a spare room. A traveler carries a kitten. A donor pays a medical bill.
NO ONE PERSON HAS TO SOLVE ST. CROIX'S CAT PROBLEM.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE SHOW UP?
St. Croix Animal Welfare Center
Progressive Veterinary Hospital
Paws 4 Peace Veterinary Clinic