You say fostering will break your heart?
Actually, it will grow your heart. Saving a life does that!
Tis the Season to Cozy up to a Foster Cat
Even winter's snow and cold doesn't stop the influx of stray cats and kittens. In fact, they need us now more than ever.
And we need YOU now more than ever, because there just aren't enough people fostering.
For details on how to foster a cat or kitten, visit our fostering page or go straight to the foster application form.
And remember... you pay for nothing. Just add love.
Take a bow, YOU made this happen!
Our tenth annual Christmas auction is over and as usual, we owe its success to so many people:
-The generous souls who donated the prizes, all 66 of them.
-The bidders who came to shop and stayed because it's for a good cause. We hope you had fun!
-Our own Margaret James, Sally Doerksen and Sharon Lemay who allowed their homes to be prize depots (and who also donated items). Without Margaret's organizational abilities, the whole thing would fall apart like a house of cards.
So if any of those people is you - take a bow and know how much we appreciate everything you do for animals.
This year, the auction made just over $2,800. Thanks to YOU!
Announcement
Oct. 2024
Given the high number of stray cats that currently outnumber our ability to accept them all into rescue, we are trying something different. A more cooperative approach that involves YOU directly!
If you encounter a stray in our region of SW Manitoba or SE Sask, please get it to safety and then contact us. We may not be able to take the cat from you BUT:
What we can do:
-Arrange for its spay-neuter and health check.
-Pay the cat's health care costs.
-Try to find it a suitable home if you don't want to keep it as a companion or mouser (no guarantees tho, the demand is almost zero).
-Give guidance on trapping, winter shelters and other stray cat needs.
What you can do:
-Transport the stray to its vet appointment(s).
-Provide it with a safe place to recuperate for a few days, especially the females.
-Provide food, water and shelter so it can survive outside OR a warm barn OR space in your home. The arrangement will depend on you and the cat!
-Make a voluntary donation to help us pay for it.
This plan has worked for us in the past and we hope it will solve at least some of the stray cat overpopulation in our area.
Important Changes to Spay-Neuter Program
Aug. 10, 2023 Update
Due to long waits for surgical appointments in Virden, we have expanded the LCSN program to include the vet clinic in Redvers, SK. (approx. 40 minutes from Virden).
The management at Head for the Hills has generously agreed to offer reduced spay-neuter pricing to pet owners who have been approved by Virden Pet Network for LCSN. This is particularly helpful to owners of pets that need the procedure sooner than later since Redvers can usually get us in within a week or two.
Please see our LCSN page for more details, complete the application and then contact us for rates.
Feb. 14, 2023
Our friends at Virden Animal Hospital are doing an amazing job trying to manage a high demand for vet services and a shortage of veterinarians (which is impacting many clinics across the province.)
This has meant that many of the pets we approve for our Low Cost Spay Neuter Program are having to wait four months or longer to get the procedure done in Virden.
To reduce this bottleneck, we've decided to limit our LCSN program to a smaller geographic area, as a temporary measure, until things improve. We are also limiting access to the LCSN program to one pet per family until the situation eases.
Please visit our LCSN page to learn about the new guidelines to find out if you qualify. Thank you for your understanding.
Nine the cat and his relieved mom Joy
"Miracles Can Happen"
The cat came back!
This is the story of Nine, the cat who came back after being lost for six months, told by his owner Joy Lees of Virden.
On May 17, 2022, my cat Nine, went missing from around Ice Cream Island in Virden. I spent the next few weeks biking around town every day looking for him.
I asked everyone I knew to keep an eye out for him and put multiple posts up on Facebook for him. I searched every lost pet group that I could find in the area with no luck.
Then I got a call from my friend's mom. She told me that Nine was sneaking in her doggie door at night and during the day when she wasn't home! He had finally warmed up to her enough that he ended up crawling in bed with her the night before! She figured out that it was him for sure.
Thank you Kellie Flannery for bringing my Nine home to me six months later!!
Miracles can happen and I want to thank Kellie (and her neighbor) for feeding him for the last while, Rick Walker for tirelessly watching for him and sending me every post he saw with black cats in it, and the Virden Pet Network for putting up with my endless messages to them in regards to cats that I thought were maybe Nine and also for posting his missing ad over and over for me.
He's glad to be home and Kat and I are even more glad to have him home!!
Joy Lees