A Look Back

With winter rapidly approaching, we are racing against time to get the shelter ready for the cold months ahead. The new insulation layer has been added to the interior walls of the indoor enclosures, the exterior doors of the cat rooms have been strengthened and

everything is hopefully strong enough to endure whatever nasty weather comes along.

Our brilliant plans of fixing up the shelter completely have become only a partial reality, as we haven’t succeeded in raising enough funds. Or rather, everything was

in worse shape than we thought at the beginning. Even back then when the repairs first started, I was very much aware that we were biting off more than we could chew but I also knew that we must try to fix as much as possible or we wouldn’t have a chance to get through

another winter. The entire ordeal has lasted for months and even now it’s far from finished but at least we’re facing the future with hope. It may have sounded risky to start such a huge project relying only on personal means and other peoples' good will but

we had no other choice, so we ended up with a big debt which I hope we’ll be able to pay off some day. It’s been said a long time ago that fortune favors the daring…

More than 20 new kitties have arrived at the shelter over this

year, so there’re many more mouths to feed, which wouldn’t be such a problem if it wasn’t for the enormous costs of shelter repairs. I’ve already reconciled to the fact that most of the people who find a cat or a kitten can't keep it, but instead try to find another temporary or permanent home for that animal, and forget about it instantly as soon as it becomes someone else’s worry. Out of more than a dozen people whose kitties I’ve taken in this summer, only a few have ever asked about them. What do you

know! Nihil novi - nothing new under the sun.

All of the kitties in the shelter are safe and loved for life, but they do need help. I’m not posting dramatic pictures, my cats aren’t skinny and sick generally, they do not fend for themselves,

their lives aren’t hanging by a thread but their future depends on donations, and the kindness of strangers, nevertheless. While every appeal for help can pull on people’s heartstrings, it’s obvious that everyone is more compelled to donate when the

animals look horrible and it’s somewhat comprehensive. Felix kitties are fattish and relaxed and don’t seem to have a care in the world but on the other hand we all know that cats are supposed to live for a very long time and need constant care and food regardless of

what they look like. My kitties’ lives weren’t always a bed of roses and all of them have come a long way since the days they fought to survive somewhere out there, alone, abused and utterly unimportant. Please, help them stay happy and healthy now that

they finally know how it feels to have a home!