Twelve years ago RaeAnna Saks founded an animal rescue organization called The Little Cats Rescue. She had always loved animals and did whatever she could to help them but it was while volunteering at an organization called Wild Life On Easy Street now known as Big Cat Rescue that she found her cause.
She noticed that while some animals seemed to get their moment in the sun others, mainly the little cats, while fed just seemed to float by the wayside.“None of the cats were neglected by any means,” RaeAnna states, “but with so much of peoples time and effort being on taking care of the larger animals and the rest of the compound I noticed that the little ones while fed were lacking that personal care and attention that they seemed to crave. So I took it upon myself to spend a little extra time with them everyday and as I did they seemed to respond in a big way.”
So she started TLC, The Little Cats Rescue, and since beginning her labor of love she and the volunteers who work with her have devoted their time and energy rescuing and adopting out hundreds if not thousands of our little lions to happy, loving homes. (This authors home included. We adopted our fuzzy man from TLC seven years ago.)
Being a smaller organization, The Little Cats Rescue is forced to pay out-of-pocket at times to feed and provide medical care to their feline charges. They also rely a heavily on the donations given to them by others.
Sadly, over the past few years donations have been down. With the rising cost of food and medical care, their budget has been incredibly tight leaving TLC in desperate need of help.
We took some time to meet with RaeAnna Saks, founder of The Little Cats Rescue at the PetCo. located in the Embassy Crossings Shopping Center on U.S. 19 in Port Richey, FL .She is there every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. She had six cats with her the day we visited, ranging in age from 10 months to 5 years. All cats, while a little shy, were sweet, well adjusted and lovey as ever.
In our conversation with RaeAnna we found that there are two things TLC needs most.
Volunteers and monetary support.
When asked, RaeAnna stated, "The volunteers we have now are a wonderful group of people but there are only a few of us. So there are many opportunities for fund raising we have to pass up simply because we do not have the people power. Plus in order to raise money you need to spend money which is a luxury we don't have. We have a huge vet bill we are diligently trying to pay off and our car is out of commission for a while due to an accident where we were sideswiped by another car. This makes transporting our cats to and from adoption sites and vet appointments even more challenging. We are in a desperate state."
When asked about volunteering for her organization she answered, “We have a variety of different volunteer opportunities available from office work to hands-on care of cats. We also give Bright Scholarship credits for student volunteers.”
All financial donations for The Little Cats Rescue are used to spay and neuter recently rescued cats, as well as whatever veterinary care can be afforded. ReAnna says, "When we get our cats they are immediately examined by a vet. They are tested for Feline Leukemia and HIV, vaccinated, and microchipped. They are also spayed or neutered and treated for whatever ailment they may have if necessary.”
While they do get kittens occasionally TLC cares for older cats that range in ages from 10 months and up. RaeAnna prefers the older ones saying, "While kittens are cute, you never know what your going to get or what health problems will pop up as they get older. With older cats their personalities are already basically developed and if they have any special needs we will know and find them the appropriate family. If they have behavioral issues we work with them to correct the issue. All of our cats are integrated into multi-animal, multi-people environments so most can and will adapt quite nicely to any household.”
The Little Cats Rescue has an extensive wish list. In addition to volunteers and financial donations they are also in desperate need of foster homes as well as paper towels, OdoBan odor eliminators, HE (High Efficiency) laundry detergent, and large black garbage bags.
You can offer monetary support many ways. You can send them a check or money order through the mail to The Little Cats' Rescue, P.O. Box 1559, Elfers, FL 34680 or you can go to their website www.thelittlecatsrescue.org and click on the PayPal donate link or you can stop in an see them over the weekends at one of their two locations.
PetCo. Located at 9638 U.S. 19, Port Richey, FL 34668. In the Embassy Crossing Shopping Center behind the Chili's. They are there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and are hoping be there Mondays as well if they can find the volunteers) from 11 am to 4 pm.
Tractor Supply Store 8447 State Road 54, New Port Richey, FL 34655. They are there on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.
Nothing makes you feel better than helping those in need. So, when your loving and playing with your adopted four footed children remember that there are many more out there who need love as well. For all the unconditional love they give us it's time we pay it forward and give a little time and whatever else you can afford to them. The Little Cats Rescue is truly a wonderful organization where every cat is given a chance to have it's day.
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