Into the Streets

On Oct 11, BSU had a huge volunteer event called “Into The Streets.” They had over forty non-profit agencies that needed help with different projects. There was anything from Clean the Greenbelt to Making Blankets for Traumatized Children through the Linus Project. It was really cold, and I didn’t want to work outside, and working with sharp objects, like scissors, is not a good idea for me. Usually, someone ends up with stitches. I choose to go to Simply Cats. It seemed to be a good fit for me, and a fun project.
Simply Cats is a non-kill shelter for cats. They house about forty cats and most are available for adoption. There are a few cats that don’t make good transitions to homes, so they have a permanent home in the shelter. Any cat adopted from the shelter is spayed or neutered, and guaranteed to be healthy. They are also sent home with some food and a little cat-sized blanket. With the economic downturn, they have a lot of people trying to turn in their cats because they can’t afford to feed and care for them. The shelter was too full to accept the influx of new cats. They started a program to get pet food to families who are struggling. That way the beloved pet can stay in the home for a while longer.
So what can a volunteer expect when they go to help the shelter? They are surprisingly well organized. There are little rooms that house up to eight cats. Each room has a checklist of chores that need to be done every day. The rooms are stocked with all the supplies that you need to fix up each room. The first thing on the list is cleaning up the kitty litter box. I’m not going to lie to you; it’s a really gross job. I suggest not eating a big meal before going in. The last thing on the list is to pet and play with the cats. That makes it well worth all the gross work. All the cats and kittens have great personalities. It took every ounce of my will power not to stuff a couple of cats in my pockets to take home.
I will leave you with a word of caution: it’s not easy to walk out of the shelter without a new family member. While we were there, someone brought in a four-week-old kitten. It was a little tiger-striped baby that would fit into the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, they were out of room for any more cats. Luckily, one of the other volunteers was able to bring the baby home.
Check out their website if you would like to help, or even adopt a cat:
http://www.simplycats.org/