In a year like this one, it can be difficult to find things to be thankful for.  Let's be honest, this has been a truly terrible year for just about everyone.  Sickness, contagion, job loss, economic shut down, violence, hatred, and many other nasty things have been going on, throughout the year.

And yet, just this weekend . . .

• A beautiful, young couple brought in a car load of cat litter.  
• A 10 year old collected money, instead of birthday gifts, and donated it to the cats.  
• A junior volunteer held a Thanksgiving pumpkin sale, and donated the proceeds to the cats.  
• A foster family held a garage sale, and donated the proceeds to the cats.
• Generous bakers donated thousands of tarts to raise money for the cats.
• Supporters bought thousands of tarts, and gave extra, all to help the cats.

That's just this weekend, and it's not over yet.  Throughout this long, difficult year you have given us many things to be thankful for, but the one thing we are most thankful for is YOU!

• You make it possible to continue our work with the cats.
• You keep our doors open.
• You provide food, litter, supplies.
• You pay the vet bills.
• You are amazing.

Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

​I sincerely hope that this finds all of you safe and well.

Some of you may already know that I have spent the past month under quarantine, with 'probable' COVID-19 -- that is, I have many symptoms, but the test came back negative.  Symptoms are ongoing, but gradually improving.  Once I am symptom free for 24 hours, quarantine will end.  Running CSC from my bed and living room has been a challenge.  Our amazing staff and volunteers have taken up the slack at the adoption centre, to keep it running as smoothly as possible, and I am incredibly grateful for their dedication to cats.

Of course, there are many things that they can't do.  Keeping track of our financial status and communicating with our supporters fall into that category.  Sadly, I have been too ill to keep up with those responsibilities, and this is taking its toll on CSC.  As my health improves, I have been going over our situation, and things are not looking good, right now.

This week's Throne Speech, and the following address from Prime Minister Trudeau, along with the mask directive and gathering limits set by the province, have brought several things into clearer focus.  While we had originally hoped (way back in March) that the world would be well on its way toward a healthier, more normal day to day existence by now, the opposite is true.  It is now clear that any hope of returning to pre-pandemic operations this year is gone.  With this in mind, the following precautions are extended until the end of this year:

• Access to the adoption centre for adoption and fostering is by appointment only.  No more than 2 people per appointment, in order to maintain appropriate distancing.  Please call the adoption centre at 204 421-1919 to make an appointment.  More information can be found under the Adopt and Foster tabs at the top of this page.
• Our gift shop is open from 11 to 5 Wednesday through Sunday.  No appointment is necessary, but visitors may be asked to wait outside until appropriate distancing is possible.
• Donations of money, food, litter, and supplies may be dropped off between 11 and 5 daily.  No appointment is necessary, but you may be asked to wait outside until appropriate distancing is possible.
• No one will be allowed through the door if they are not wearing a mask that fully covers their nose, mouth, and chin.  There will be no exceptions.  Those who arrive without a mask may purchase either a disposable or reusable mask, and put it on before entry.
• Immediately on entry, all visitors must use the hand sanitizer provided at the front desk.  There will be no exceptions.
• All trap/neuter/return programs, colony manager training, community trapper program and training, neonatal kitten program and training, volunteer orientation, and school volunteer participation are cancelled until January, at the earliest.
• Intake is restricted to kittens from colonies already managed by trained CSC colony managers, and sick or injured adult cats from those colonies.  Emergency cases may be considered, if there is space available in an existing, appropriate foster home.
• Group gatherings and events are cancelled through to the end of the year.  This means that our Feral Cat Day events, December craft show, Christmas open house, and other gatherings are cancelled.  Cindy has committed to running the Christmas bake sale on a pre-order basis.

These measures are intended to help keep our staff, volunteers, and visitors safe and well.  Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated.

Cancelling events, limiting access, and restricting the number of guests allowed on site at any one time have all affected the financial health of CSC.  Since March, cancelled or restricted events have meant a loss of over $100,000 desperately needed to care for the cats.  Cancellation of fall and winter events will have a similar effect.  For the first time in our history, we are asking foster families to provide food and litter for the cats they are fostering.  Originally this was to limit the number of visits to the adoption centre.  Now, it is helping us survive.

In March we asked for your help surviving what we thought would be 5 or 6 months of shut down and restrictions.  It seems we were wrong about how long the world would be turned upside down, and we have to ask again. The cats need your support now, more than ever.  Please don't let them down.

Please click here for a complete list of ways to send financial support.

Thank you.

Craig Street Cats' largest project in 2018 was the River Bank Cats.  A large colony, estimated to hold over 100 cats and kittens.  Our work with this colony was featured on an episode of Dr. Keri: Prairie Vet, but a half hour television program can't really give you an idea of what goes into the management of a colony this size.

Since CSC took over management of the colony, many important things have happened.  First and foremost, volunteer community trappers have committed to feeding the cats every day, regardless of weather, hardship, or confrontation.  Bitter cold, torrential downpour, blazing heat, driving snow, icy trail, slippery mud, illness, injury, threats from irate people -- none of these obstacles have stopped these heroes from making sure the cats are fed.

These same community trappers have given up a considerable chunk of their personal time to trap the cats, bring them in for surgery and vaccinations, and then return the cats to the river bank.  In total, 63 cats and kittens have been pulled from the colony.  32 adult cats spayed or neutered, and vaccinated; 31 kittens placed in our adoption program.

So far this year, only 2 kittens have been sighted.  With any luck, they will be trapped and placed for adoption soon, and their mother spayed, vaccinated and returned to the colony.
Let's stop and think about that for a moment. 

If CSC had not stepped in to manage this colony, those 32 adult cats and 31 kittens would have continued to reproduce.  Statistically, only 8 of the kittens would have survived long enough to mate, but that would make a total of 40 breeding adults, producing at least 2 litters of kittens this year.  If half of the cats were female, that would be at least 200 kittens born to the colony this year.  150 of them would have died before 3 months of age.  50 breeding adults might have been added to the colony.  Next year, over 400 kittens would have been born to the colony, with 100 of them joining the breeding population.  With no vaccinations, all of the cats would have been subject to viral infections like distemper and rabies.  The numbers would have continued to climb, until the natural food supply was exhausted.  Then starvation would have set in.  The cats, being territorial, would have remained at the colony site, and continued to breed.  It would not have been pretty.

It's that  magical time of year.  Adoptions are ramping up for spring, and kitten season has not yet hit with its full, devastating force.  Staff and volunteers are able to get the adoption centre sparkling in time for opening, every day.  The number of cats at our adoption centre is going down.  Cages are being folded up and moved to storage.  Deep cleaning and organizing are getting done.  The adoption centre hasn't looked this good in years.

And yet . . .

Anticipation of the full brunt of what is coming has us all working feverishly to prepare.  Kitten season has started.  Soon we will be trying to find space for hundreds of tiny critters that have nowhere else to go.  Adding to this sense of impending doom is the flood forecast.  With flood waters expected to force many from their homes, we anticipate many calls begging for help with stranded cats.  Our staff and volunteers are doing their very best to make sure that we can help as many as possible, but we need your help, too.  You are the key to saving hundreds of lives this spring.

How can you help?

• Donate money:  saving lives costs a lot of money.  Veterinary care, rent, utilities, trained staff, food, supplies -- these all cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
• Hold your own fundraising event for the cats:  garage sale, bake sale, pot luck, casual day, barbeque . . .
• Come to / participate in an event:  Plant sale, May 11; Whisker Walk, June 9 (whiskerwalk.ca for more details)
• Donate supplies:  cat food, clumping cat litter, paper towels, disposable gloves, wood stove pellets, garbage bags, postage stamps, office supplies.  Every item donated means dollars that can be reallocated to saving more lives.
• Foster:  foster homes save lives.  Keeping kittens out of the shelter environment until they have been well vaccinated helps keep them healthy by preventing exposure to deadly viruses.  The flood forecast makes having foster homes ready and waiting all the more important.
• Adopt:  every adoption helps save another life.
• Volunteer:  get involved at the adoption centre, help with fundraising, answer phones, drive for pick ups, help at information booths -- there are many ways to help!

*****************

Most needed RIGHT NOW:

• KMR kitten formula
• High quality kitten kibble (please check labels -- no food colouring!)
• Canned cat food:  Friskies paté, turkey & giblets, chicken, chefs' dinner, and poultry platter are best tolerated by the most cats
• Wood stove pellets (used as litter in cages)
• snuggle safe heating pucks (Amazon.ca)
• Money (vet bills, medical supplies, etc.)

You are the deciding factor in everything that happens at Craig Street Cats.  Your support saves lives.

I just finished watching a news piece about how hard it is for Manitoba dog rescues to keep up with the number of dogs in this province.  I do not want to cast shade on dog rescues.  They work hard and do good work, but while I was watching that news piece, I was struck by the notion that neither the reporter, nor the rescue people have any idea what overwhelming numbers really are.

People involved in cat rescue and community cat programs can tell you, in great detail, exactly what constitutes "overwhelming numbers".  Here are ours:
​

• 100,000+  Number of cats living on Winnipeg streets
• 300,000+  Number of kittens born on Winnipeg streets this year
• 225,000+  Number of kittens dying on Winnipeg streets this year
• ~8,000    Number of kittens 'rescued' this year
• 18,000+   Number of cats and kittens that will die over the winter
• 50,000+   Number of kittens that survive winter to join the breeding population next year
• 12,000+   Number of cats we've had to turn away so far this year.  12,000 cats that are still on the streets and reproducing.  That number will likely hit 20,000 before the end of the year.

More overwhelming numbers:

• $25,000+ owed to vet for services rendered (thank you, Dr. Keri, for your incredible patience)
• $20,000  needed to cover cost of recent distemper outbreak
• $20,000  outstanding bills that must be paid
• $60,000  ANNUAL COST OF CARING FOR CATS THAT ARE DUMPED ON US, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION (tossed in the door, left in the parking lot, thrown into dumpster, etc.)
• $30,000   monthly cost to continue in operation
• $21,000   average monthly income, from all sources

These are truly overwhelming numbers.  If you'd like to help conquer them, please make a donation.  Here's what your dollars can buy:

• $10:  vaccinate 1 cat against distemper (feline parvovirus) and upper respiratory infections
• $25:  feed one cat for one month
• $30:  intake cost for one cat or kitten (initial vaccination, deworming, flea / earmite treatment)
• $85:  spay or neuter one cat
• $100:  feed and house one cat for one month
• $100:  feed a litter of 5 bottle babies for 1 week
• $100:  provide a complete kitten series of FVRCP vaccinations for 1 kitten
• $200:  feed and house a mother cat and her kittens for one month
• $500:  feed a litter of 5 bottle babies for 1 month
• $1,000:  pay our Hydro bill for 1 month

craigstreetcats.ca/donate.html
Thank you.