C Alley Cats of Lake Wallenpaupack: COVID-19 Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Purchases made in May, post award, and June through 6/21, included:
Items Vendor Date Expense
Litter, cat/kitten food,cleaning Lake Reg. IGA 5/21/2020 $38.13
Nursing Kit Petvalu 5/22/2020 $7.41
Nursing bottles, kitten food Tractor Supply 5/22/2020 $122.17
Litter, cat / kitten food Petvalu 5/22/2020 $237.96
Paper towels, cat food Lake Reg. IGA 5/25/2020 $93.44
Litter, cat / kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 5/27/2020 $48.27
Litter, cat / kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 5/28/2020 $58.64
Litter, cat / kitten food Petvalu 5/29/2020 $252.76
Litter, cat / kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 5/31/2020 $67.69
Medical supplies CVS 6/1/2020 $24.42
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 6/2/2020 $7.41
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 6/4/2020 $95.83
Litter, cat/kitten food Petvalu 6/5/2020 $478.01
Cat/kitten food Tractor Supply 6/5/2020 $205.12
Litter, cat/kitten food Walmart 6/6/2020 $31.68
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 6/7/2020 $10.59
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 6/8/2020 $8.98
Medical Care - kitten (Gator) W Vet Clinic 6/8/2020 $177.16
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg. IGA 6/9/2020 $16.93
Litter, cat/kitten food Petvalu 6/11/2020 $401.33
Medical Care - (Marx Brothers) W Vet Clinic 6/11/2020 $86.60
Medical Supplies (Gator) W Vet Clinic 6/11/2020 $17.60
Medical Care (Blinkie) W Vet Clinic 6/11/2020 $87.09
Medical Care (Black Kitten) W Vet Clinic 6/12/2020 $186.90
Litter, cat / kitten food Lake Reg IGA 6/17/2020 $45.14
Litter Lake Reg IGA 6/18/2020 $13.16
Litter, cat/kitten food Lake Reg IGA 6/19/2020 $3.77
Litter, cat / kitten food Petvalu 6/21/2020 $339.73
TOTAL: $3,163.92
As a result of the restrictions in place due to the coronavirus, our adoption events at Petvalu and Tractor Supply have been canceled and the veterinary clinics used for TNR canceled all elective surgeries. As of this writing, we have still not returned to normal operation. In order to relieve the pressure on our foster system and make room for new kittens, we implemented adoptions without vetting and will have the kittens returned, or vetted by their owners, when vets reopen and the kittens are at least 3 lbs. This adds to the clerical load due to the follow-up to ensure cats are spayed/neutered and vetted, but has allowed us to accept a greater number of the increase in kittens this year. We also implemented meet and greets for our cats and kittens, by invitation, at a foster’s home. This enabled us to maintain safe social distancing and actually has increased adoption rates. We are averaging 11.5 adoptions per month, versus nine last year.
The loss of TNR capacity has resulted in an increase in kittens and, with many of the facility-based shelters hurting for staff, our foster-based program has surged in capacity from 76 to 143, averaging 20 extra cats/kittens in foster care per month. Intakes increased from an average of 17 per month to 25 per month. Only in March were there no new fosters. We saw a surge in May, and in June we took in 59 new fosters. This put a strain on the food and medical budget. With fundraising and TNR revenues drastically reduced or gone, the $750 grant received helped to pay for food, litter and medical supplies during May and June.
We also reached out to our supporters with a request for assistance, participated in Giving Tuesday, and held an online auction to raise funds. We posted some of our medically needy cases on Facebook to raise money for their medical care.
How many pets did this grant help?
93 average cats/kittens in foster care during May/June
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
With the Petfinder Foundation 2020 COVID-19 Operation Grant, we were able to cover 24% of our operating expenses, which enabled us to feed the average 93 cats/kittens in foster care per month, including the 111 new kittens rescued in May and June. Twenty-seven of them were adopted and 32 have been reserved for adoption once they are big enough or social enough. We also had six adult adoptions in May and June.
One of the most moving adoptions was Oskie, a 4-year-old domestic shorthair cat with PTSD. She came into care in August of 2018 after being dumped at our local vet. We were called and took this abused and terrified cat into our care. Time and love helped her to trust a small circle of people, and in May a wonderful couple came to meet her and fell in love.
Thank you for helping us help the cats and kittens in our care.
