About Us
A California nonprofit dedicated to the cats no one else is reaching — living quietly in the margins of every highway corridor.
Every cat deserves a stable, healthy life
Roadcat Rescue is a California nonprofit dedicated to humanely managing feral cat populations at highway rest stops through Trap-Neuter-Return. We believe every cat deserves a stable, healthy life — even those living in the margins of our highway system, invisible to the world rushing past at 70 miles per hour.
A hidden crisis on the open road
California's highway rest stops are home to hundreds of feral cat colonies — populations of cats who have lived outdoors for generations, never socialized to human contact, and never able to be adopted. These are not lost pets. They are wild animals who have adapted to rest stop life.
But that life is brutal. Hemmed in by fast-moving traffic on all sides, they cannot safely disperse. Without intervention, a single colony of 10 cats can grow to 80–100 in two years. They face dehydration in California's inland heat, predation, disease, and the constant risk of vehicle strike.
Most die before the age of five. Without TNR, the cycle never ends.
Why rest stop cats are uniquely underserved
These animals fall through every crack in the system — by geography, by jurisdiction, by oversight.
Geographic isolation
Urban and suburban TNR organizations serve their local communities. Highway rest stops — often miles from the nearest city — fall outside anyone's service area.
Jurisdictional complexity
Rest stops are state-managed land under Caltrans. Most nonprofits lack the relationships or legal framework to operate on state right-of-way. We're building that framework.
Shelter ineligibility
Traditional animal shelters cannot accept feral cats — animals that have never been socialized cannot be adopted. TNR is the only evidence-based humane solution for these populations.
TNR + colony management + partnership
Our approach has three integrated pillars that work together to create lasting, humane population management rather than a temporary fix.
- Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) — the evidence-based gold standard for feral cat population management, proven in hundreds of communities worldwide.
- Ongoing colony monitoring — each colony gets a dedicated volunteer manager who checks in regularly, provides food and water in extreme weather, and documents population trends.
- Caltrans partnership — we work directly with the California Department of Transportation to operate legally on state right-of-way, ensuring our work is sanctioned, safe, and sustainable.
We don't believe in one-time interventions. A colony TNR'd once, then forgotten, will recover in population as new cats drift in. Colony management is the commitment that makes TNR work long-term.
A note from our founder
"I pulled into a rest stop outside Bakersfield at dusk, somewhere on the 99. There were six cats sitting by the trash cans — not afraid of people, but not friendly either. Just… watching. I asked the attendant if anyone was taking care of them. She shrugged. 'They've always been here.' That answer haunted me. I kept thinking: someone should do something. Eventually I realized I was someone."
Help us reach every corridor
We're launching in 2026 with six target highway corridors. Your support helps us build the infrastructure, relationships, and volunteer network to make it happen.