Niagara Cats Rescue preparing for Saturday fundraiser

Tanya Rice, volunteer and director of fundraising at NOTL Cats Rescue, is preparing to host the fourth annual spring fundraiser for the organization to support its goal of sheltering, nurturing and socializing abandoned and homeless cats and kittens in a loving, home-like environment until they find their forever home.

And while many of those who have bought planters in past fundraisers for the rescue organization know what to expect, the variety of Easter treats made by her mother will be a surprise, says Rice.

She became one of the organization’s committed volunteers about 10 years ago, taking on annual fundraisers to help fulfill the cat rescue mission, and the spring flower sale has become one of the annual events she has championed.

She was accustomed to making decorative planters for friends and family members, she says, and decided to charge for them as a way to raise funds for her favourite cause. And then her mother and two friends stepped in to help with the decorations, helping to raise even more money, last year selling all 77 planters they had made leading up to Easter. Also, last spring, several hundreds pounds of cat food were donated, as well as bags and boxes of cat litter.

Production is again underway, with a goal of selling 80 planters, which are priced at $25 and $50. The $25 planters are either tulips or daffodils, while for $50 decorations have been added to the plants, says Rice.

Flowers have been donated by Kauzlaric Family Farm, she says, adding her thanks to Handmade Presence and Bellyacres Farms for their support.

Her mother’s treats include white or milk chocolates crosses, chocolate treats with rice crispy marshmallows, and creamy or chunky peanut butter, all priced at $5 or $6.

For the first time this year, she also has student volunteers from Vineridge Academy in Virgil, who have created posters to help advertise the fundraiser. The students, she said, need volunteer hours to graduate, and asked if they could help the cat rescue organization. “I’m really honoured the students chose us,” she says.

The fundraiser will help pay for veterinary care, including emergency visits, and spaying and neutering assistance.

The rescue organization also offers a foster program, as well as an adoption program, partnering with the Virgil Pet Valu store on Niagara Stone Road to help find suitable permanent homes for unwanted or abandoned cats.

“NOTL Cats is community-based, non-profit, and volunteer-driven,” and every cat adopted is “vetted,” which includes spaying or neutering, and a microchip inserted by the vet during that procedure, says Rice.

Volunteers will sometimes rescue feral cat colonies, which can include mother, father and kittens. If the kittens are rescued in time, says Rice, they can usually be socialized and put up for adoption. NOTL Cats also provides veterinary care, shelter, food and spaying and neutering release programs for older cats when domestication is not possible.

“They are released to the environment they have come from,” explains Rice, often with a business or home nearby with people who have been looking after them.”

Typically the cats will stay in that location for a few months before moving on, likely to broaden their search for food, she says.

She and her husband had a family like that on their property 15 years ago, she says. She was unable to socialize the two adults, so released them “to live comfortably in our back yard. We continued to feed them and provide water, and they stayed for seven or eight months before moving on to another adventure, leaving us with three beautiful kittens” which became part of her family — one has passed away, and two are still with them.

She says she’s often surprised that people who have cats but can’t keep them — possibly because their home situation has changed, they’re moving and can’t take their cat with them, or just can’t look after them — don’t know there is an organization in town to help, so will abandon them, hoping the cats will find new homes.

Rice hopes to make people more aware of all NOTL Cats offers.

“I see people on Facebook looking for help,” she says. They’ve either lost a cat or found one, and aren’t sure where to turn. Or they may be looking to rehome a cat.

“We have a wonderful volunteer whose job it is to monitor social media and reach out and say ‘I’m from NOTL Cats Rescue and we can help,” including placing a cat with a foster family.

“The timing of the spring fundraiser works well, weeks to a month ahead of kitten season. The adoption fee is $175 to $200, and the proceeds help with the costs of vetting kittens and to ease the costs for fostering. We reimburse the costs, including food and litter.”

The money will also help cover medical rescues when volunteers get calls about cats that are discovered hurt, usually because they’ve been hit by a vehicle. “We come and get the cat and take it to a vet,” she says.

Typically Rice organizes two to three fundraisers a year, but with her mother waiting for a surgery date, she’s not planning too far ahead at this point — they are always held at her house, and her mother is an important part of them.

NOTL Cat Rescue's spring fundraiser is Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at  456 Line 2, behind Crossroads Public School.