The following speech was given by a friend of Nothin’ But Love Cat And Kitten Rescue at a recent fundraising event.

We hope her moving words will inspire you to help these amazing kitties and change not just kitty lives, but human lives as well by helping connect cats and kittens to their future FURever families.

Fellow Kitty Friends,

First I’d like to say I’ve known Krista for almost 10 years. I met her at one of her adoption events, which usually leads to someone asking you to take a kitty home.

I had been caring and feeding for 20 plus feral cats at my house. As I told Krista about my situation she said “Let me help!” Words I had never heard from any other rescues. And she did, finding homes for many of my kitties, even her mom took one of the kittens.

From that moment on I knew if I had spare time or space I would help Krista because she pours her heart and soul into this rescue. I don’t know when she sleeps. I know she usually eats in her car because nothing comes before these kitties.

I truly don’t know how she does it! 

It takes many attributes to run a rescue, you have to be a medic, an accountant, an analysis of people and animals, but most of all you have to have the heart of lion.

You may not know but we are in a homeless cat crisis right now and we have to fight for everything these babies need. It’s tough out there. We are always looking for donations of wet and dry food, blankets, covered pet beds and money for medication and medical treatment. It really never ends.

And just as important are fosters. Fostering can be the bridge between the streets and a loving home. Quite possibly the most important job, you can help us learn about their personality, likes, dislikes and behaviors… and surprisingly you don’t need much, just a little patience, a little space and a lot of love.

The main objective of fostering is freeing up the rescues so more kitties can be taken off the streets, many are born there, but some are given up because of medical issues, some have lost their home because of illness or death of their loved one, and these can be just as heartbreaking because they have had a stable environment and now are in a shelter or on the street, but all deserve a safe and loving home.

We have an epidemic of homeless animals in this city. We have many rescues doing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release), adoptions, spaying, neutering and networking but we are still losing the battle for these unfortunate and so undeserving victims. 

So how can you help? If you have a spare room, bathroom or space in your house these babies don’t ask for much. They just want a safe place, some food and a little attention. This is also a great opportunity to see how the kitty will react to certain situations in the home, a place to decompress and get some socialization, all these which are very important for a successful adoption.

You don’t need to be an expert, you’d be surprised how far just patience, love and some strategic scratching can go for a kitty who hasn’t known a loving home.

What do you get out of this? First the satisfaction of knowing you are changing a life, a much deserved and precious life that did nothing to put themselves in this situation. Knowing that this space could quite possibly be saving a life on the street. It can be life changing for both.

We appreciate your time and can answer any questions you may have. And please if you have any room in your home and heart we have a way to fill that.

Thank you.

Sherry