NOTL Cats is a 100 per cent volunteer-driven non-profit rescue group of people who help to support spay and neuter, vaccination, microchip and emergency veterinarian care for cats and kittens. But they need help to finance all they accomplish.
To do that, they are holding a special bake and yard sale Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Typically, we do not do a fundraiser this late in the summer,” said volunteer Tanya Rice. “We usually concentrate on spring and December, but due to the overwhelming fact that we are at our maximum capacity between the shelter itself, and our foster homes, we really need another fundraiser.”
NOTL Cats has 29 kittens and four adult females in care, and one cat is expected to give birth at any time.
There are four ways to support NOTL Cats: adoption, fostering, volunteering and donations, she explains.
Virgil Pet Valu has committed to partnering with the rescue organization to find homes for kittens and cats. Lately, volunteers have been bringing felines to the store on rotating Saturdays and Sundays for a meet and greet with customers.
“Through some of that community initiative we have had some very successful adoptions,” said Rice. In fact, a lovely couple from NOTL just adopted Peter and Penelope last night. It’s really nice, from a foster point of view, to see that the kittens we foster are staying in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
Coincidentally, “when we were at Pet Valu on Sunday with some of the kittens, this gentleman came in and I thought, ‘ohh he looks really familiar,’” said Rice. “Well, he adopted one of our fosters last year, and he said, ‘Look, here’s Juno and he’s thriving, and he’s such a good boy.’ This is what makes fostering very rewarding.”
Rice explained that post-COVID still complicates the adoption process, because of cat and kitten abandonment. “We’re always looking for fosters who don’t want the lifetime commitment of owning a pet, but may just want companionship, or they have the space in their home.”
To be eligible to foster, a volunteer from NOTL Cats completes a quick visual home inspection to ensure there is adequate space for the cat, and that it is a safe site. “NOTL Cats provides the foster with all the supplies they need, from a litter box and toys, to a cat climber and food. A volunteer will drive to the vet if there’s a medical issue, or if it’s time for it to be spayed, neutered, vaccinated, etcetera, unless as a foster you’re also willing to do that.”
“We’re just looking for caring, compassionate people who have an open heart and open mind and an open home to foster,” said Rice.
Complete a contact form on the NOTL Cats website expressing interest in fostering, volunteering or adopting, and one of the volunteers will email the appropriate application.
The Bake and Yard Sale fundraiser will be held just behind Crossroads Public School, at 456 Line 2 Road.
“Our volunteers and our foster parents are contributing baked goods, and friends, family and neighbours have searched their homes or cottages this summer, and have donated items to the yard sale,” said Rice.
Some of the wonderful baking includes homemade jams, honey loaf, butter tarts, date squares, brownies, banana bread and freshly made scones.
“One of the things that we’re going to be very excited about is Christmas in September. We’re going to have a couple of tables just dedicated to seasonal items,” said Rice.
She asks that early birds wait until 9 a.m. to arrive, as they will be addressing the needs of cats and kittens prior to starting.
Rice reminds people to spay and neuter their animals, not only to reduce the colony of abandoned cats that populate and add to the number of homeless cats, which have become a world-wide pandemic post-COVID but also to reduce the risk of pets contracting feline diseases such as feline leukemia.
Rice is also an advocate for microchipping cats. “I see all the time on Lost Pets Niagara, the Humane Society Facebook page, that people are missing their animals. Microchipping is so valuable because it helps to reunite the fur babies with their owners.”
Rice advised, “Whether it’s a cat or a dog, spay, neuter, microchip and vaccinate.”
Cats and kittens available for adoption can be viewed on the NOTL Cats website (notlcats.weebly.com) or type notlcats into the Facebook search bar.
