The Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS) began in 1992 as a few caring souls who decided to come to the aid of the 300+ free-roaming cats barely surviving along the Newburyport, Massachusetts waterfront. The effort our founders launched was one of the first in the nation to use Trap-Neuter-Return to improve the lives of free-roaming cats. Once all of the cats had been trapped and fixed, they were fed twice a day at waterfront feeding stations and monitored for illness, injury, and any new additions. Those cats that showed an ability to be socialized were taken into foster care and adopters found. Thanks to that work, the final cat in the waterfront colonies, "Zorro," passed away of old age in 2009.
Our Vision: A compassionate world where all cats live happy and healthy lives.
Mission: To improve the lives of all cats and provide support and education for the people who care about them.
Our programs include:- Adoption Program: a no-kill adoption center in Salisbury, MA
- Feral Program: assistance with feral TNR (trap, vaccinate, neuter, and release) program
- Sunday Spay/Neuter Clinics: monthly spay/neuter clinics for feral cats
- The Catmobile: a low-cost mobile spay/neuter clinic covering Merrimack Valley, plus Eastern and Central MA and Southern NH
- Foster Program: cats and kittens in need of TLC before adoption
- Feline Assistance Resources & Support (FARS) Program: assistance with veterinary care costs for owned cats
- The Captain Courageous Fund: assistance for injured feral cats
Since our inception, the MRFRS has assisted over 136,000 cats — placing over 23,000 cats and kittens into homes, spaying or neutering over 14,000 feral cats at our TNR clinics, and over 68,000 cats on our Catmobile. To learn more about MRFRS and our effective, life-saving programs, visit
www.mrfrs.org.