A LONG, BUT IMPORTANT LETTER FROM SIGLINDA – PLEASE READ
Posted September 02, 2015
Dear Friends of the Goathouse Refuge,
I’m writing to you to once again appeal to the kindness of your heart. The Goathouse Refuge is going through some rough times. Ever since I got so ill I needed to be hospitalized earlier this year, we have fallen behind on paying off our big bills and on our fundraising efforts. I’m still not feeling a hundred percent, but I’m working hard with our new managing director Mariska Leunissen, and with our current board and staff to get the refuge back into financial health and reorganize the refuge to ensure it can continue its rescue mission for many years to come. Currently, the refuge is facing two major financial challenges.
The first is that while kitten season is still in full swing, the kittens we rescued earlier this spring are starting to come of age and we need to start spaying and neutering them in our effort to combat the overpopulation of cats. We currently have about 125 kittens in our care, both at the refuge and in foster, and with the cost of spaying and neutering being $85 for girls ($100 if they are already in heat) and $75 for boys, our SNAP bills sky-rocket over the course of the summer. And we really need all the help we can get to cover these costs, as these bills – amounting to at least $10,000 – come on top of the usual $25,000 per month it costs to keep the refuge running… Sure, you might say, maybe we should have taken in fewer pregnant moms and kittens, but the truth is that kitten-season seems to be getting worse every year, and in the face of so many cats dying – often very inhumane – deaths at shelters all across the state, we hope you will forgive us for sometimes deciding with our hearts. We can’t and didn’t save them all, but we tried and are trying the best we could, and now we need help…
The second challenge is our growing population of senior, mostly feral kitties at the refuge. Since our foundation in 2007, the Goathouse Refuge has made it its mission to save cats regardless of their of age, medical issues, or disposition, and our ‘first’ generation of ferals and otherwise ‘unadoptable’ kitties (we have several with litterbox issues, illnesses such as diabetes, and kitties that suffered so much neglect that they are still dealing with chronic issues) is slowly reaching senior age. And with senior age comes extra medical problems, the most common being dental issues. We currently have about a dozen cats, mostly ferals, who need extensive dental work, and about six whose issues are relatively minor now, but that will get worse if they don’t get medical help soon. Depending on the severity of their dental problems, treatment can cost anything from $600-$1000 per kitty. Again, all of this comes on top of our general operating costs…
And here is where we need your help. We always need donations to help us with our operating and medical costs. No contribution is too small, and as always, words cannot express how much we appreciate all you do for us.
Baci,
Siglinda Scarpa
Mariska Leunissen
Donate to the Goathouse Refuge. Your donation goes directly to support the cats and they thank you! The Goathouse Refuge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your donations are fully tax-deductible.
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