By JENNIFER MCMILLAN
Founder, Cats of Salt Spring Rescue Society
Last week I spoke with an individual who supported the “trap neuter return” (TNR) activities of the Cats of Salt Spring Rescue Society in 2021.
This gentleman wishes to continue his sponsorship of our efforts to manage the community cat population on Salt Spring Island and has made an extremely generous offer: He will match donations received as part of this campaign up to $2,500. This means that if other individuals donate $2,500, we could raise $5,000 in support of our TNR activities. We could not be more thrilled. Think of all the cats we will be able to help!
TNR activities are essential for managing the community / feral cat population here on our island. TNR is a cost-effective and humane way of stabilizing community cat populations and, in fact, reducing them over time, as the spayed or neutered cats are no longer reproducing. In addition, unwanted behaviours such as fighting and spraying are significantly reduced when all cats in a colony are spayed or neutered. We ensure that all cats released back into the community are not only spayed or neutered but are also vaccinated and treated for fleas and parasites. All cats are released to a responsible caretaker, who feeds and monitors the cats’ wellbeing, contacting us if there are any issues that arise.
Cats of Salt Spring Rescue Society does not receive funding from any organization or government. We rely solely on donations and monies that we fundraise (e.g., through our bottle drives, burger events) to support our community TNR program. We are a volunteer-run, foster-based organization, relying solely on donations from the public and fundraising events to sustain our programs and operations. We do not have any overhead or staffing costs, meaning that all funds received go directly toward assisting cats in our community.
We are very proud to highlight our accomplishments for the first 11 months of 2022:
• Total number of cats and kittens assisted by our rescue: 114
• Cats surrendered to us by owners: 29
• Stray cats / trapped cats or kittens born in care: 80
• Owned cats brought to us for medical assistance: 5
The outcomes for these cats and kittens were outstanding, as summarized below:
• Number of cats / kittens adopted: 63
• Cats released through our TNR program to responsible caretakers / feeders: 21
• Cats placed in lifetime foster (for medical care): 5
• Cats / kittens currently in foster: 20
• Owned cats provided with medical assistance: 5
Please help us support the management of community cat colonies here on Salt Spring. Working together, we can make a difference . . . one cat at a time.
Contributions to Cats of Salt Spring Rescue Society can be made in several ways:
1. Cheques can be mailed to us at the following address:
Cats of Salt Spring Rescue Society
PO Box 837 Ganges
Salt Spring Island, B.C.
V8K 2W3
2. Contributions can be made through e-transfer to our email address – info@catsofsaltspring.com or by using our phone number: 236-508-2287.
3. Contributions can be made through PayPal via our website. Please note that PayPal does take an administrative fee on all contributions made.
While we are a registered B.C. society, we are not yet registered as a charitable organization by Revenue Canada (this application is currently in progress). We are therefore unable to issue charitable receipts. However, we offer our profound gratitude for your support!