Help! Our cats need a home

In June we received an ANONYMOUS LETTER demanding that our Purr-House for stray cats be closed. At that time we didn't care too much about it because we expected that there will always be someone who doesn't like our activity in the field of helping cats at Pu-Chatka [Purr House].Today, however, the vision of moving out or closing down looms over us.The vision of ending up on the street with 52 cats...

We were naive because we thought that if we don't do anything bad, and even - in fact even if do something good for cats, then nothing bad can happen to us and our cats.

We are a small Polish association S.O.S. CATS Mielec, based in Mielec. We are avid cat rescuers - we take in, treat, provide care, sterilize and find new homes for cats.Since last year we have taken care of almost 190 cats, which were lucky enough to be reported to us and we could take them in, because we managed to get a place for the cats - PU-CHATKA, where our cats live and where they got a chance for a new life.They didn't stay in the bushes, they didn't die in agony or of hunger because of diseases, injuries caused by accidents, abandonment in the forest, or attempts at being drowned.

Chucherko - before and after his paw was amputated

We cured dozens of kittens and cats, some of whom had to undergo amputations of the limbs or have their eyes removed, but they gained a life.We helped mutilated kittens, neglected and starved adult cats thrown away like trash, we babysat orphans, cleaned up vomit, held by the paw those who, despite our efforts, were following the path over the rainbow.We were there for them at their every call, we never refused help to anyone.

Today, we are the ones who need help.

We want to change this sometimes horrible world for cats for the better! And the basis of this change isa home for us, where we can put cats and give them safe shelter.

For a year we were able to do this, however the resentment and hatred of people is now taking everything away from our cats - their home, often times the only home they have known since their birth. A home where they now get regular meals, are treated and cared for.From which they get a chance at a new, happy life.

We know how to save cats.We do it with dedication and heart.But we have now become deprived of our own corner.

That's why we are asking you to support this collection to get a home for our cats - a new location for our Pu-Chatka. Without it, we will not be able to save the cats. Our cats will lose their home, and we will not be able to help new cats, because we will have nowhere to put them.

We believe that TOGETHER, together with thousands of people who are not indifferent to the fate of cats, we can create the most beautiful place for cats in the entire Podkarpacie region.Please, become a part of this wonderful mission.

Read about what happened, what we do and why we need money and your help below.

As it later turned out, after this anonymous letter, many institutions and offices in Mielec (Poland) received anonymous denunciations about our Pu-Chatka - this time written professionally and factually on a computer - from people who are well oriented in our activities and the legal regulations. These denunciations suggested that things were going badly for us, that dead animals were present on our property, that we posed a threat and that the 'cat home' should be closed down...

Soon, the Municipal Police came to check on us, and 2 days later, an unexpected inspection from the District Veterinary Inspectorate in Mielec (PIW).They asked us a lot of questions and checked the conditions which our cats live in.There were no objections, but we were ordered to prepare a lot of documents, and then the date of the following inspection was set.We had to prove that we do not kill cats, that we treat them, and even that we actually feed them...

Billy before and after his tail was amputated

Since then, we have been living in great stress and uncertainty.We are overwhelmed with despair at the thought that we will lose our place for cats, and above all - our rescued cats, to whom we devoted hundreds of hours and gave all our hearts.At the cost of our personal lives - giving them all our time and energy.

We are already after the second inspection and although it did not show any irregularities, we already know that we CANNOT stay in our current location. Many people are disturbed by the very fact that CATS ARE present here. They see them in the windows, on the balcony.And this is apparently too much and disturbs some people.Our activity is not in any way encumbering for the neighourhood, the cats don't make any noise, they don't pose any threat to human health and life, they don't leave the building... But the mere fact that they ARE there is enough for someone to want to get rid of them and us.

We cannot cope with the fact that someone's dislike or even hatred could make someone take such a step, which, in turn, made the world collapse for us and our cats. For us, this is a blow straight in the heart.Because our cats are our whole life, which we have completely subordinated to them. And owing to these people everything collapsed. Over fifty rescued defenseless creatures relying only on us - will now lose everything.Safe shelter, medical care, good food, hands to cuddle.

Who was so disturbed by the fact that we saved all these cats from death? We are so terribly sad that such actions could be taken. We are not violating any laws, the cats are well cared for and sheltered, and our Pu-Chatka is in no way endangering anyone.

OUR PU-CHATKA

This is the house where our cats live - one floor of the building, which is lent to us by a wonderful lady - completely free of charge, we only pay the bills for electricity, gas and water.We are extremely grateful to her, because we cannot afford to rent a house in Mielec.

Initially our Pu-Chatka was supposed to be a shelter for 8 cats - 3 moms with kittens, which we had nowhere to put.We hoped that they would find homes quickly and we would move out after 2 months. But we received a lot of reports of cats needing help, cats for which there was no more room in the shelter, cats claimed by people who were not able to take care of them, in any event these cats would have been left to die.

Since 2020, more than 180 cats have come into our care... Many of them required lengthy treatment, surgery, and loving care. We also survived the horror of the panleukopenia epidemic in October 2020 when 19 kittens fell ill and 9 died....

We provide all cats with de-fleaing, deworming, FeLV/FIV testing, treatment and surgery.Many of them are alive only because they received professional veterinary care and could later start a new life - first with us and then with new owners, because our Pu-Chatka is a temporary home, from which the cats go to reliable homes.

Lodzia before and after her eye was removed

Our activity is a constant fight for new cats' lives.Carrying cats to the vet hundreds of times, being on call at Pu-Chatka - cleaning and washing several litter boxes, vacuuming, washing floors and bowls, washing poop and vomit.Socializing feral cats, stroking and cuddling cat orphans. And most of all - finding forever homes for them, advertising on the Internet, and the most difficult thing - raising funds for all this.

Our whole life revolves only around our cats, they are our priority and we do everything to provide them with good quality food, tons of cat litter and veterinary care.All this takes a lot of money, which we have to miraculously get for them - by asking and sometimes even begging for donations, running fairs, organizing collections.It is only thanks to your help that we manage to provide our kittens and cats with good conditions, treatment and prevention. Since January 1, 2021 our costs of treatment and maintenance of cats amounted to PLN 92,973.12.

WHY DO WE NEED MONEY?

In order to rescue cats, we must have a building where we can give them safe shelter and conditions to heal, convalesce and wait for their forever homes.Some cats are not adoptable, so we are aware that they will be with us until they die.Now we are losing our home and need to raise funds to purchase a building and adapt it for the cats.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

Because we love cats, because we can not look at their suffering, senseless death, indifference of other people. Because someone has to save them and we want to do it. We also sterilize cats and promote this best way to reduce homelessness.

Organizations like ours function only thanks to the support of a multitude of people.We are the doers, but we need help to be able to do all this. Thanks to your help we can say together: we rescued this cat, it is safe, healthy, looks trustfully at us now and no longer remembers the horror it went through.Thanks to you.

We have a mission to relieve these wonderful creatures, to give them a better life.We see a lot of suffering, we cry when a cat reaches us in tragic condition, when a cat dies despite our efforts, but we also feel great satisfaction when we see the metamorphosis of our cats.We also know what it's like to get a slap on the butt for good intentions and for helping.

TO HELP...WE NEED HELP OURSELVES

We do our best, we try to help every cat reported to us.But now we need your support, because on our own we cannot bear the cost of purchase, renovation and the huge amount of work involved.We were not and are not financially prepared for the change of location, because all our funds are spent on current needs (treatment, prevention, neutering, food, litter).

Now we have no choice.Because of these denunciations, we have to change the location of our Pu-Chatka.We don't have the means to even rent a house, let alone buy one - and that would be the best option.

WHAT WILL IT BE?

A home for cats.Out of the way so the cats don't disturb more people again.We know we could really use a bigger house because we get hundreds of requests to help the cats.Our hearts break that so many animals vegetate in horrible conditions and most of them will never get help.Because there is no place for them anywhere... When the municipal shelter is full, we take in cats, and without a home we will not be able to help these cats... We are the only organization in Mielec, which has any premises.We realize that renting a suitable building is very difficult, because last year we managed to find our current location only thanks to a miracle.And if we have to move out again, we will lose all the improvements and the money we put into them.

If we manage to buy a building, we could fully adapt it to the needs of cats, organize many rooms for the cats: quarantine, room for cats after surgeries and spaying, room for adult cats, for feral and withdrawn cats.Several nurseries for kittens and a nursery for the underlings. So that the cats feel comfortable in them and there is still room for more.

We would very much appreciate a room for keeping free-roamingcats after castration, so that they could recover calmly for a few days before releasing them into their habitat.We also dream about a storeroom to store supplies of food, litter, litter boxes, cages, bedding, blankets.Now we have only 3 rooms and a bathroom and we see that it is definitely not enough.

IT CAN BE BEAUTIFUL AND SAFE

We want to try to get a home for the cats - forever. A house, in which we will provide ideal conditions for cats, we will build aviaries, we will net balconies.In which there will be plenty of rooms and space for more needy cats.In every room there will be a cupboard for the most essential items, a sofa and shelves for the cats.Maybe even a sink.Visitors will be able to sit on the couch or in an armchair and stroke the cats, provide them with playtime.They will be able to talk about cats for adoption.There will be no cramping or being careful not to step on a tiny kitten.The floors and walls will be easily washable, there will be no bulging floors from water spilled by frolicking cats. There will be space for a fridge and, above all, for a washing machine, because now we bring tons of laundry to our homes, and we could do laundry while on call at Pu-Chatka.There will also be a tiny cubbyhole for our documents and papers, which we now keep in our homes.

It cannot be a hovel, because the cats must have good and hygienic conditions.This is the best option that would allow us to spread our wings, help more cats and grow our operations.We can't relocate out of town because the cats are cared for by just the two of us and a handful of volunteers. None of us has a full-time job here, we are not employed because we cannot afford it. In addition, we have our normal day jobs and apart from this we deal with thousands of issues related to our cats, their treatment, adoptions, fundraising.We just recently acquired an intern for several months who is paid by the labor office.So a house outside the city will not work for us because the volunteers will not be able to get to us.We need to be close by to be able to go to the clinic at any time, or to take a cat that was given to us in the middle of the night.

WHO IS ALL THIS FOR?

For rescued cats, but also for people who will adopt a lifelong cat friend from us.And for people who want to help us run it all, volunteers - regular and occasional.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE COLLECTING FOR?

For a new Pu-Chatka - a safe haven for harmed cats.

The amount for the purchase and adaptation of the building to our needs (not to mention renovation) is an unimaginable sum for us.We have never seen such money...So raising PLN 550 thousand is a huge challenge for us.

PLN 550 thousand = USD 140 thousand

PLN 550 thousand = EUR 120 thousand

PLN 550 thousand = CHF 130 thousand

PLN 550 thousand = GBP 102 thousand

BUT WE BELIEVE THAT A HUGE CROWD OF PEOPLE CAN WORK MIRACLES! We believe that there is a way out of this very difficult situation for us, that the cats will not lose their homes, and we will even have the opportunity to save and help many more cats than before.You can make it happen. Cats will find safety, veterinary care, a warm bed, food and love here.Ours and their future owners.And those that will not have a chance to be adopted - a peaceful home and a sense of security.We will do anything for them! But we will do it TOGETHER with you!

Be a part of our mission. Your support is very IMPORTANT to us. Open your heart and GIVE TO THE HOME FOR CATS:

PU-CHATKA

IS EVERYTHING GOING TO BE OK?

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!We are enormously grateful to you - the cats and girls from SOS KOTY Mielec.

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