We are looking for a new location!
Hello neighbors!
My name is Caitlin (Torrey) Porter, and I have lived in Addison, VT the majority of my life. My family and I have lived on Jersey Street South for the last 6 years. Our landlord would like to sell the house, and has served us with a no cause termination of tenancy notice.
Not only are we looking for a place to live, we are also having to relocate our feral cat rescue that my oldest daughter and I founded last January. Our rescue is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit, and we rely entirely on donations. We have really tried to embody the true meaning, purpose, and mission of a nonprofit purely to help our community. Our mission is to reduce the feral cat population through TSSA: Trap, Sterilize, Socialize, Adopt.
To date, we have taken in 85 feral cats. 32 adults and 53 kittens. We have sadly lost 2 kittens because they were too sick when we were able to trap them, and one adult to a congenital heart defect that became known during her spay surgery. Of the remaining 82 cats, we’ve managed to socialize 72, and have found adoptive homes for 55! We spay/neuter, vaccinate against rabies and distemper, test for FIV/FeLV, and deworm. We ask for a minimum $25 adoption donation, despite the fact that we spend upwards of $300 on each cat that comes through our doors. But we are not in this for profit. We are in it to help reduce the feral cat population, which in turn helps the environment. We are in it to build a relationship with each cat and help it to trust humans and enjoy their company, and to help them get healthy; feral cats often have excessive parasites, are malnourished, sometimes injured, and often sick with eye infections and upper respiratory infections. We are in it to include low income families to participate in rescuing a cat and building a bond of their own without money being a barrier, and allowing them to love a cat that spent the first part of its life outside, afraid and hungry, while people say “feral cats are just fine and seem perfectly happy as they are.”
We are facing displacement of the rescue and our family. The rescue has become a lifestyle for our family, interwoven into most aspects of our day. The rescue relies entirely on donations, and every penny goes directly to the cats—I am on call 24/7 and do not receive any financial compensation. My co-parent is taking classes full time towards his associates degree. We’ve got one kiddo at the high school, and our youngest is homeschooled. We currently depend on assistance from the state financially, but we don’t need much, and this work is important.
My hope is that someone reads this, and my mission and determination touches their heart, and they are in a position to offer a place for our rescue to be based with living quarters for my family on site. We are very open to being creative, such as a landlord being able to claim rent for the rescue as a charitable donation for tax credit. The benefit in lieu of a salary to the executive Director is on site living quarters.
We also are asking for monetary donations to help cover our veterinary and cat food and supplies costs. We have donation boxes at WAGS, BJs, and the Addison 4 Corners Store. Donations can be made through our website, our paypal, fundraisers can be created through instagram and facebook with our rescue as the recipient, payments can also be made towards our accounts at BJs Farm Supply, and at Eastwood Animal Clinic.
If you have a creative way to help, please connect with me by email, fromferaltofamily@gmail.com, or by phone, 802-349-5894. Please leave a message if I don’t answer, cell service is terrible at my house. Texts are preferred.
If you have been thinking about adopting a cat and the thought of rescuing a truly homeless cat that has never had a home of its own or anyone to love it until From Feral to Family, please fill out an application at fromferaltofamily.org/adoption.
Thank you so much for reading, and thank you in advance for any support for my family and our rescue.