Dear friends,
I hope you are having a safe and healthy holiday season.
Laura and I are well. We did not expect to spend nearly our entire first year as a married couple in a pandemic, but we are both triple vaccinated, practicing social distancing, and wearing our masks.
Our cats have been a source of comfort, inspiration, and joy for us as well as providing lots of much needed distraction. We are currently fostering two sets of three kittens, one set in our bathroom and one set in our bedroom. They will likely be with us through the holiday season, so be sure to check out their cuteness on our social media feeds. And you know that we have two cat colonies, one in our backyard and one further up the street with combined populations of 20+ regulars and occasional visitors.
This holiday season, we want to honor the good folx who take care of community cats around the region. We have about 25 of them in our ongoing Cat Food Drive project. For the holidays, we are asking our friends and cat-loving neighbors to help us collect enough gift cards for each of the humans, or to consider adopting a colony for a month. Or both! You can contribute a card of any value and we have lots of suggestions. You can chip in to help us buy cards. You can also find their cat food wish lists at our website.
As of December 7, we have 9 caretakers adopted —> 16 remain ungifted. Click to pitch in now.
These caretakers are mostly elders, living on fixed incomes that they stretch to care for these cats. Some are veterans. The eldest is 95 (yes) and the youngest are in their mid-20’s. They do this tremendous day to day work caring for the the cats needs with limited supports. One caretaker, Rich, hand fed a colony cat for months until dental surgery could be scheduled. Another, Roy, shares his Meals on Wheels with the cats when his food supply runs low. Mike in Robinson honors a pledge to his dying daughter to keep caring for her cat colonies. Marie maintains countless colonies and still makes herself available to help others get started. There are good people doing good work.
Gift cards can be sent or dropped at our home 1439 W. North Avenue 15233 or sent my email to pghcatladies@gmail.com.
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Our own colony has had a difficult year – their home and feeding station were destroyed, among other challenges – but we’ve rebuilt and worked on a longterm solution. We built them a fort out of bales of straw and put up a Christmas tree and stockings alongside their insulated shelters.
We also continue to foster kittens through Pittsburgh CAT. We’ve fostered 24 kittens since 2018 and put together a collage to show you how they’ve grown and flourished. We currently have six kittens, two sets of three, all recuperating from illness. But we know as caretakers of colony cats that our little foster kittens are so lucky.
Thank you for your support!
Sue and Laura
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