Timmy’s a handsome gentleman cat who came to us way back in 2012 after being rescued from a shelter.

Timmy’s diabetic which means he needs a shot of insulin twice a day to stay healthy. It’s very difficult to find someone willing to take on a kitty with health issues, so at some shelters cats like Timmy are often deemed “unadoptable” and end up being euthanized.

At VOKRA we believe every kitty deserves a chance at a happy, healthy life. Whether they’re kittens or adults, feral or tame, healthy or sick – we provide them all with the best care we can. But this does come at a cost.

If you’d like to help, the easiest way for you to provide steady support for the kitties in our care is by joining our monthly giving program.

By choosing to give a monthly gift to VOKRA, you’re providing consistent, reliable resources to help us handle any situation – whether it’s a kitten needing emergency medical care, a cat requiring insulin or a feral tom in need of a neuter.

One donation a month really adds up to a big difference in the life of a cat. Here’s the lifesaving difference you can make:

Will you help a kitty today by joining our monthly giving program?

Donations are processed automatically on the same day each month which helps you budget monthly and annually. And you can change, pause or stop your donation at any time by simply contacting us.

You can also make a one-time gift when you click here.

Timmy’s patiently waiting for a forever home. If you’re interested, you can learn more about him here. Thank you to Angela McConnell for Timmy’s portraits!

Kittens, kittens everywhere!

Kitten season may be the cutest time of the year, but it means a lot of extra costs and work for us here at VOKRA.

Each year during kitten season we care for more than 400 kittens, and this year is no exception. As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we can’t do this without the support of people like you.

Kittens in our care have a chance at a happy, safe and healthy life. Kittens like Samuel, Simon, Lily Mae and Ginger McGraw. These little orphans came to us when they were only a couple weeks old. We’ll never know what happened to their mom, but what we do know is they wouldn’t be alive today without our care.

When these kittens arrived they were so young they needed to be bottle fed every 2 – 3 hours. Between the cost of special kitten formula and supplements, nursing kits and medical care it costs more than $250 to raise each kitten. That adds up to more than $1,000 just for this litter alone.

Will you help us today?

Your support today will help us buy extra food and litter, and will also pay for veterinary care and medication.

Please donate today to help save kittens like Ginger and her brothers and sister.

Meet Bean. She gave birth to two babies who are now ten days old and the whole family is being fostered by one of our newest fosters, Dawn. Dawn had only been fostering for four days when VOKRA ended up with two orphaned kittens about the same age as Bean’s littles. The orphaned kittens were being bottle fed but we always prefer for them to be cared for by a mama cat, if possible. It doesn’t always work; the mother doesn’t always accept them. But it was decided that we’d try putting the two orphaned kittens, now named Aberdeen and Nellie, in with Bean’s babies and hope she would care for them.

When Karen brought the kittens over, Dawn was understandably nervous. This was pretty big league stuff after only four days as a foster! Karen took one of Bean’s kittens and rubbed that kitten’s scent on Aberdeen and Nellie before placing them all back in Bean’s nesting box. Dawn held her breath. Aberdeen and Nellie latched on and began to purr immediately. Bean approved them with a stroke of her tongue and the deal was sealed. Dawn started breathing again. “It was as though she had four all along,” she said.

As an adoptive parent (of human children, that is), I know I love my children every bit as much as a birth mother loves hers. But it is still always amazing to watch a mama cat take in babies she didn’t birth. Some are a little more reluctant than Bean, taking a while to consider these new bundles of fur that are presented to them. But it’s a beautiful thing when they decide to adopt the little orphaned ones, loving them and making no distinction between any of their kittens from then on.

In about eight weeks, all of Bean’s kittens will be looking to be adopted a second time, this time by their forever human families. They are very lucky little kittens to have as loving a mother as Bean. Dawn says Bean’s mothering instinct is so strong that they have to remind her to eat, and often bring her breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed.

So, do all the kittens get along?

“The only drama I have seen is that all the kittens seem to like the same nipple and will sometimes scratch and vie for suckling rights,” Dawn reported.

Sounds like siblings to me!

Thanks for being such a wonderful mom to all of your kittens, Bean. And thanks to Dawn for being a great foster.

Please consider making a donation to VOKRA to help pay for food, litter and vet care for all of Bean’s babies and the hundreds of cats and kittens we rescue every year.

We love getting updates from adopters telling us how their kids have bonded with their new furry buddies. We love it when kids and their parents volunteer for VOKRA and help us care for our cats and kittens. Some kids take their compassion a step further and opt to fundraise for VOKRA! We’ll be sharing stories about some of these compassionate kids here on the blog in the months to come.

This wonderful little girl declined gifts for her birthday this year, asking that guests help her make a donation to VOKRA instead. We were delighted to have her visit us at the Operations Centre, have her photo taken in our “Birthday Chair” and see how her generous $70 donation is going to help cats and kittens.

She even got to meet Cinnabar who, of course, allowed herself to be cuddled and admired. (Look for an upcoming blog post about our Cinnabar!)

Thank you so much for supporting VOKRA and for being a compassionate kid!