About
Spain has a large population of street cats, they are as common as seeing a squirrel in Denver Colorado! You will find dead cats on the road, hear cat fights, cats in heat or in need of vet care. The sad truth is they live cruel short lives. On any given day we see around three cats on our property alone, but have had up to seven. We wanted to come up with a solution and do what’s in our control. Helping the street cats on our property with food, vet care and provide a safe environment.
Why We Care:
From what we’ve seen most animals are not viewed as part of the family here in Spain. Dogs are often left outside chained up or to wander the streets alone, cats are viewed as pests in their yard. People might even leave out poison or repellent to stop them from coming back! We both have big hearts for animals, and want to help them by giving them a better life. As much as we would love to take them all in and provide a loving home, we have four indoor cats with health issues of their own and limited funds, it’s just not a realistic goal.
We would however like to do whatever we can to help the population and spreading of disease of outdoor stray cats.
After a year of living here, we have witnessed some of the street cats getting malnourished, sick, limping, and having wounds that needed to be attended to. Our first winter we saw two black kittens, who couldn't have been older than a few months old, cold and shivering in the rain. It was difficult to stand back and not do anything to help.
What We’re Doing:
After not having much success reaching out to a handful of shelters in the area and our local City Hall we are doing what we can to take care of them by doing the following:
Trapping the cats on our property, bringing them to the vet to get neutered, vaccinated and dewormed. After recovering we’ll release them back on our property. We’re hoping this will help to control the population and the spread of disease over time.
Cleaning up our old chicken coop to become a winter shelter for the cats. We don’t have any need for a chicken coop, It will be the perfect space for the cats on the property to find shelter when the months get wet and cold.
Provide a food station with dry kibble and water for the cats.
Providing hair services and donating money towards sterilization, vaccinations, deworming and any medications to get them feeling better.
Fallene has been a stylist for 22 years, and after cutting a dozen friends in the area she has decided to start a popup salon “Cuts 4 Cats” in our cottage to raise money for the street cats on our property. We’re now calling them the backyardigans.
How To Help:
If you’re in the area and would like to book a hair service. Click on the link HERE
In addition to raising money from hair services & monetary donations, we are accepting the following items: Dry kitten food, straw bedding.
Not in the area and would like to make a monetary donation towards vet care. Send a venmo and we will send you a copy of what the money went towards. We are not a 501C3 non-profit, this won’t be a tax right off. We’re just two animal lovers trying to do the right thing.
The Backyardigans
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Pequen Leche
Update: We captured little Leche, and took her to the vet. She was given fluids and flea medication, we gave Leche lots of love, food and tried to help her heal. Leche was very sick and we had to say goodbye. We have since transformed our chicken coop to a Cat Hotel. We’ve dedicated our Cat Hotel to Leche to provide food and shelter to stray cats. RIP Leche
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Cora
She’s the leader of the pack and our adorable garden shadow. She’s been spayed, tested negative for FIV & vaccinated
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Smokey
Cora’s Bodyguard, he visits us occasionally. He has been neutered, tested negative for FIV.
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Señor Bigotes
Fallene’s boyfriend, he follows her around everywhere! He’s been neutered, tested negative for FIV.
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Guillermo formerly known as Ojo Loco
Guillermo had a bad eye infection and we were so happy to finally rescue him. He got the care he needed for his eye, tested negative for FIV and neutered. He’s a friendly and affectionate cat that is enjoying life lounging in the sun with Cora and playing in our gardens.
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Nueces Grandes
We are still waiting for the right moment to capture Nueces Grandes! Stay tuned
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All cash donations will go towards sterilization, vaccinations, deworming and providing medications if needed for the street cats on our property.
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We are not a cat shelter and can only provide assistance to cats within our property.
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We are not a non-profit and all donations are not tax deductions. We will provide you with a receipt on what your money went towards.
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While we're passionate about helping cats, it's important to be transparent. We're not a cat shelter, so we want to be upfront with you.
We can't promise that specific cats will be available because, they might have grown accustomed to life on the streets. Once they've moved to a new spot, it's usually best if they settle in there. Most of these cats have been accustomed to life on the streets, and transitioning to home life might not be suitable for them.
If we happen to capture a kitten and they're ready for a new home, we'll spread the word, be sure to follow us on instagram!