Animal welfare is a tough business. There is a never ending supply of animals, but a limit on the number of volunteers and donations we can secure.  Because our business is hard, it is vital that all animal welfare agencies operating in a community work together.  

Cooperation means sharing things like knowledge and best practices, and sometimes sharing supplies when times get desperate.   

Also of critical importance is the need to work together to create a schedule of events that allows every agency the best possible chance at raising funds and finding good homes for the thousands of animals we collectively care for each year.

I am concerned that this cooperation is not happening in Winnipeg. Just today, the largest animal welfare agency in Manitoba announced a “Free Cat Day” for this coming Friday, November 22.  Also this weekend, are two scheduled Craig Street Cats adoption events for our fostered cats.  

This is the third time within a year that this agency has scheduled a “Free Cat Day” before one of our larger adoption events.  
 
This agency has made no attempt to contact us to inquire about our over-capacity situation or our adoption event schedule. If a phone call was too troublesome, a quick search of our website, Facebook page, or
Twitter account would have informed them that we had an adoption event scheduled for this weekend. 

The continual overlap of their “Free Cat Day” events is becoming harder and harder for me to believe to be coincidental.   

This large agency knows that the no-kill shelters in Winnipeg are struggling. To knowingly schedule a “Free Cat Day” on the same weekend as a no-kill shelter’s large and publicized adoption event, is irresponsible.  

Craig Street Cats is not in a position, financially, to offer our cats for free and we do not agree with the practice of discounting our animals to nothing.  The City of Winnipeg has an over population of cats in part because people consider cats and kittens to be disposable. Offering them for free and using a speedy adoption process with less stringent reference checks, reinforces this mindset and perpetuates the problem. 

A large number of the cats and kittens given away for free this weekend will end up in classified ads or discarded at no-kill shelters as people reconsider their “free purchase.” Simply put, a free item takes a lot less thought to acquire than one that involves a modest investment and a shopping trip that takes longer than 40 minutes.  

If you are considering adopting a cat or kitten this weekend or know someone who is, please urge them to visit a no-kill shelter where cats and kittens are valued and where we depend on the co-operation of Winnipeg’s no-kill donors and supporters for our survival.  

If you are a supporter of an animal welfare agency that conducts “Free Cat Days” please consider contacting them to let them know that such events are not good for reducing the unwanted cat population and in order for you to continue to support them, you need a commitment that they will stop these events and cooperate with local no-kill rescues on future scheduling.

You may also want to respectfully voice your concerns in ways such as social media and in media comment sections.

Information regarding our adoption events this weekend is available at http://www.craigstcats.ca/adoption-events.html

Every Friday you usually see me posting about $5 Friday, trying to impress on our supporters that small gifts given by many people add up to big dollars.  This is very true, but, lately, the small gifts have not been
able to keep up with our need.

It is time for us to do a reality check.  Ideally, monthly income should cover, or come very close to covering, regular monthly expenses.  Fundraising events are then used to create a contingency fund so that when there is a small shortfall or an emergency the fund can be used to make up the difference. 

It costs $20,000 to run CSC for one month.  Over the past few months we have had shortfalls of from $5,000 to $15,000 each month.  The size of our shortfalls has depleted our resources to the point where we have nothing left.

In the short term, we have almost $5,000 worth of bills that must be paid within the next week, and over 700 cats and kittens that are depending on us.  Long term, we must find a way to rebuild our monthly income to meet our ongoing expenses.

So, today I am not asking you to make a small gift for $5 Friday.  I am asking you to help us raise $5,000 to get through the next week.  Every penny will help.  Every dollar is precious.  Every time you share this
post will bring us closer to that goal.

Those of you who have been to our facebook page over the past week will already know about our name the kittens contest.  For those who haven't, two cute, fluffy, white kittens came in from one of our managed colonies. We were stumped for names, so we decided to have a contest to name the boys.  Nineteen names were submitted for the contest, and now the fun begins.  From November 6 to 12 you get to vote for your favourite names.  You may vote as many times as you like, but each vote must be accompanied by a $5 donation.  To vote for a name, just click on its button.

The contest is over, now, and the kittens are named Puff and Cotton.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  You helped us raise almost $200 to care for the boys!