Hanna R's Bat Mitzvah Cat Shelter Project

Hanna's Bat Mitzvah is on June 15.   Here is her Community Project.  
 
Hi!  I'm Hanna Reps.  I turned 13 in January.  I'm very excited about my Bat Mitzvah and my Community Project. 

My entire family have always been cat owners!
I have two amazing cats I adopted 5 years ago from Kitten Associates cat shelter in Newtown. My cats Mocha and  Pizzy have given me tremendous joy.  I feel it’s important to give back to the cat adoption shelters so they can continue their important work so others like me can experience the same joy.
My project is to help educate people in the proper care and feeding of cats and to support these local cat shelters.

My Goals are:

• Drive to Support the Local Shelters of Kitten Associates of Newtown and Whiskers Pet Rescue of Southbury.        They are both 501(c)3 charities.  These shelters are doing very important work to help hundreds of cats every year and I am thrilled to be able to help them.  So 100% of all collected proceeds will go to these two amazing shelters.  The very minimal GoFundMe transaction fees will be replaced by my parents so the shelters can get the entire collected amount.  

Make sure to adopt from these or your local shelter rather than purchasing from a pet shop.
Also, consider donating to them to help with their needs. Please donate to them directly or through my project.  Grain-free cat food, litter, toys, cleaning supplies and/or money will help a lot because these shelters are self-supporting. To stay open they rely mostly on donations from the public and small fees from those who adopt. Please consider donating to my project.  Every little bit helps!!

• Recommending Proper Diet
Cats are strictly carnivores. They cannot digest grain or gluten. They’re genetically supposed to live off of rodents, birds and other small animals. So cats should ideally have a raw diet consisting of almost all meat made from the type of animals they can prey upon. Do not feed them beef, lamb or fish. Raw poultry and rabbit are best. Canned, grain free food is good, too. But basic cat foods found in supermarkets are typically made with low cost, grain-based fillers with some cooked meat byproducts. These are insufficient for a cat’s dietary needs and may cause diabetes, digestive problems, tooth decay, litter box odors, excess shedding and will shorten their lifespan.
Also, never give them dairy products as all cats are lactose intolerant and are actually allergic to it.

• Educating About Medication and Health Needs
Make sure your cats are vaccinated against rabies, even if they’re indoor cats because they can get outside unexpectedly and encounter wild animals or a sick rodent can make its way into the house

• Suggesting Proper Home Care
It’s best to own more than one cat so they can entertain each other and so they won’t scratch up the furniture.
Have plenty of toys, things to climb on, boxes to explore and window perches so they can look outside. This will make your cats happy and entertained throughout the day.
Make sure to maintain their dental health. A small, daily portion of dry, grain-free dental treats like "Hill’s Science Diet Oral Care" works well for cleaning their teeth. For cats on raw diets, actually giving them small, raw chicken necks will clean their teeth as well (available in pet food shops in their frozen section)

• Educating about Population Control via Spay and Neuter
Spay and neutering is important to control population. Stray kittens may not survive due to the momma cat not having enough food and energy to care for them or they can be attacked by predators or hit by a car.

Thank you for your support to help with my important project!