Alison Buckley (center) has been working with cats and dogs for 30 years, helping outdoor strays and working on animal rights issues. She is always there to help any animal in need, but is especially fond of cats.

In 2009, due to the economic downturn, Alison lost her home. She started the painful process of placing all of her rescued cats in new homes. It was a full time job for over a year, posting ads and visiting veterinarian offices in four counties. She was the lone cat lady at many dog adoption events. She refused to send her cats to a shelter.

In the process, she reached out to others in the same situation, to help them find new homes for their pets. It was in the midst of this desperation that she met so many wonderful people and decided this was the direction her life was meant to take. In Dec. 2010, she founded the Tampabay Cat Alliance Inc., and by July 2011 had obtained non-profit 501(c)3 status.

As President of the Tampabay Cat Alliance, Inc., she set strict adoption policies, screening applicants carefully to match them with the right cat, and personally delivering the cat to its new home to assure it is a safe haven. The result is a high success rate with only a few cats returned over 2 years and almost 200 adoptions. Anyone that needs to re-home an adopted cat, for any reason, is assured that their cat will never be taken to a shelter or animal services, and will NEVER be euthanized. She and her volunteer staff work hard for the cats and their owners.

Today she relies on foster homes for these cats. Her goal is to establish her own facility to house and care for them.