Help the Goathouse Cat Refuge!
Donation protected
There are a few magical places left in this world. The Goathouse Refuge is one of them – a unique, no-kill sanctuary that takes in cats and kittens (and the occasional dog or goat)when there is no other place or hope left. If there was not a Goathouse Refuge, these animals would be killed, or suffer because their medical needs could not be met, or wander the streets, abandoned or injured.
The Goathouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Generally, we have approximately 300 cats and kittens in residence. This year, we desperately need your help to keep us in kibbles and funds for essentials such as vet bills and modest salaries for our super-lean staff. This year, we have received fewer donations than usual, and we overdid it more than a bit during kitten season, and took in more than 160 kittens and their moms to keep them from certain death. In addition, we have had far higher vet bills than usual and have paid for numerous surgeries for cats who would have otherwise lost their sight, or limbs, or lives, and we spayed and neutered 20 to 40 cats a month so that we won’t contribute to overpopulation. For emergencies and surgeries, we take them to the Vet School at NC State University or to specialty hospitals, all of which give the best possible care, but are also notoriously expensive.
Even with over 250 adoptions this year so far, we are stretched to our upper capacity on kitty guests, and they are eating us out of house and home. Cats arrive needing medical care - from initial testing to vaccinations and spay/neuters and often much more - and this can run up hundreds of dollars in vet bills very quickly for each cat. The storms andflooding this year have not helped either – we’ve had lots of repairs and clean up to take care of. And winter is close, and we need to add more gas heaters and get ahead of mounting vet and food bills. We are in a deficit situation and seriously need your help.
We do our best to fundraise, and we watch our dollars, but most of our funds are donated (adoption fees don’t come close to covering our costs), and there simply is not enough right now. We are ten years old and have never been in such dire circumstances before. It costs approximately $300,000 a year to run the refuge (or $25,000 per month). We are asking for $50,000 to cover the next few months of operations. Your dollars will help us pay for the bare necessities as we adopt out more cats and kittens, get ahead of vet bills, repair our storm-damaged physical plant, and can get back to a more sustainable level.
I founded the refuge in 2006 a few years after purchasing a 16-acre farm in a pine forest outside Pittsboro, N.C. to establish a pottery studio, build beautiful gardens, and create a home for my four goats, 10 cats, and four dogs. My love of animals and the terrible plight of abandoned companion animals (seven million dogs and cats are turned over to shelters each year, of which three million are euthanized) led me to establish the refuge as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit that would focus primarily on cats and kittens. Through the years, I have donated the majority of the proceeds from the sale of my pottery and sculptures to the refuge, but that amount is no longer enough to even come close to covering its costs.
The Goathouse has grown to house and care for approximately 300 cats and kittens, providing them a loving place to get well again, and the opportunity to find a forever home with the love they may have never known before. Cats are never turned away because of age or illness - and the cats who are not adopted live out their lives at the Goathouse, in safety and comfort, and with the nurturing attention of our incredible volunteers. There are 16 wooded acres with large pens, shelters, fun things for cats to climb, and a large outdoor area where the cats can roam and play together. There are volunteers to socialize them, medical care, healthy food, warm beds and gardens—a cat’s paradise, especially after the often sad and prolonged traumas that preceded their arrival.
The Goathouse team loves watching these kitties recover and flourish, witnessing each cat as it finds its personality again, and celebrates when the kitties bond with their own new perfect human or family. It’s all about the cats and kittens, but the people who adopt them seem to think they are getting something especially wonderful too.
Please help keep the magic going – and the cats warm, happy and safe from harm.
When you receive this appeal, please be as generous as you can be and send the appeal on to your own Facebook and other friends and ask them to send it on to their friends as well. We hope this appeal will help us deepen our current network and, with your help, widen our network to a great many more friends.
With heartfelt thanks in advance for your assistance in this effort,
Siglinda
Siglinda Scarpa
Founder, Goathouse Refuge
680 Alton Alston Road
Pittsboro, NC 27312
www.goathouserefuge.org
The Goathouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Generally, we have approximately 300 cats and kittens in residence. This year, we desperately need your help to keep us in kibbles and funds for essentials such as vet bills and modest salaries for our super-lean staff. This year, we have received fewer donations than usual, and we overdid it more than a bit during kitten season, and took in more than 160 kittens and their moms to keep them from certain death. In addition, we have had far higher vet bills than usual and have paid for numerous surgeries for cats who would have otherwise lost their sight, or limbs, or lives, and we spayed and neutered 20 to 40 cats a month so that we won’t contribute to overpopulation. For emergencies and surgeries, we take them to the Vet School at NC State University or to specialty hospitals, all of which give the best possible care, but are also notoriously expensive.
Even with over 250 adoptions this year so far, we are stretched to our upper capacity on kitty guests, and they are eating us out of house and home. Cats arrive needing medical care - from initial testing to vaccinations and spay/neuters and often much more - and this can run up hundreds of dollars in vet bills very quickly for each cat. The storms andflooding this year have not helped either – we’ve had lots of repairs and clean up to take care of. And winter is close, and we need to add more gas heaters and get ahead of mounting vet and food bills. We are in a deficit situation and seriously need your help.
We do our best to fundraise, and we watch our dollars, but most of our funds are donated (adoption fees don’t come close to covering our costs), and there simply is not enough right now. We are ten years old and have never been in such dire circumstances before. It costs approximately $300,000 a year to run the refuge (or $25,000 per month). We are asking for $50,000 to cover the next few months of operations. Your dollars will help us pay for the bare necessities as we adopt out more cats and kittens, get ahead of vet bills, repair our storm-damaged physical plant, and can get back to a more sustainable level.
I founded the refuge in 2006 a few years after purchasing a 16-acre farm in a pine forest outside Pittsboro, N.C. to establish a pottery studio, build beautiful gardens, and create a home for my four goats, 10 cats, and four dogs. My love of animals and the terrible plight of abandoned companion animals (seven million dogs and cats are turned over to shelters each year, of which three million are euthanized) led me to establish the refuge as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit that would focus primarily on cats and kittens. Through the years, I have donated the majority of the proceeds from the sale of my pottery and sculptures to the refuge, but that amount is no longer enough to even come close to covering its costs.
The Goathouse has grown to house and care for approximately 300 cats and kittens, providing them a loving place to get well again, and the opportunity to find a forever home with the love they may have never known before. Cats are never turned away because of age or illness - and the cats who are not adopted live out their lives at the Goathouse, in safety and comfort, and with the nurturing attention of our incredible volunteers. There are 16 wooded acres with large pens, shelters, fun things for cats to climb, and a large outdoor area where the cats can roam and play together. There are volunteers to socialize them, medical care, healthy food, warm beds and gardens—a cat’s paradise, especially after the often sad and prolonged traumas that preceded their arrival.
The Goathouse team loves watching these kitties recover and flourish, witnessing each cat as it finds its personality again, and celebrates when the kitties bond with their own new perfect human or family. It’s all about the cats and kittens, but the people who adopt them seem to think they are getting something especially wonderful too.
Please help keep the magic going – and the cats warm, happy and safe from harm.
When you receive this appeal, please be as generous as you can be and send the appeal on to your own Facebook and other friends and ask them to send it on to their friends as well. We hope this appeal will help us deepen our current network and, with your help, widen our network to a great many more friends.
With heartfelt thanks in advance for your assistance in this effort,
Siglinda
Siglinda Scarpa
Founder, Goathouse Refuge
680 Alton Alston Road
Pittsboro, NC 27312
www.goathouserefuge.org
Organizer and beneficiary
Julie Everett Williams
Organizer
Pittsboro, NC
Siglinda Scarpa
Beneficiary