2015 proved a year of challenges, and triumphs. At year-end some pretty amazing facts and statistics were formulated. No wonder we have so many long days.
Cats Cradle Shelter rescued 525 cats and kittens in 2015 and at the end of December we had completed 524 adoptions. (And NO, our shelter is not empty. We currently have 71 cats and kittens in-house and in foster care still waiting for their forever homes.)
Over half of the cats we took in were pulled from our 3 metro pounds. The rest were either too sick, too injured, or too young (like bottle babies) to go through our local pounds. Cats and kittens arrived from reservations, dumpsters, the occasional shop, barn, tree trunk, boat, or ditch. Many of those who arrived needing immediate medical attention were in trouble on multiple fronts requiring more than one medication or intervention (respiratory infection AND ear infection or an injury AND severe diarrhea). We have even taken a few from other rescues in outlying areas that did not have the resources to give them the medical attention they needed.
It is almost impossible to fathom what our medical expenses totaled up to be. Our medical budget came to $71,487.40 for the year. The basic medical package provided to all residents (spay/neuter, vaccinate, FELV/FIV test, microchip and worming) accounts for about half of that amount. The rest was used to provide dental care, amputations, corrective surgeries, medication, and other care to alleviate suffering in our residents and keep them healthy. It is thanks to YOU, our generous, compassionate, and caring donors; dedicated volunteers; and loving foster families that all of this is made possible. Who would have ever imagined that when we opened the doors to Cats Cradle in 2012, that the number of adoptable cats being euthanized would drop from over 400 in 2011 to ZERO. That’s right…ZERO adoptable cats euthanized for the past 42 months in a row. Without YOU, we could not have had such an impact on these innocent, abandoned, abused, neglected and forsaken creatures! How will we ever thank you?