DOLLAR VALUE OF NEED: $25,000
To help achieve the goal of flattening the curve on COVID-19, MEOW Foundation has restricted access to our Adoption Centre to only a bare crew of staff. Our business in 24/7 and 365 days a year in order to care for the cats in our care. We are also assisting those who are our TNR Caregivers and Foster Homes with food and litter for the MEOW cats in their care. With our Thrift Shop also under restricted access our revenues have been seriously curtailed. We are in need of food – both wet and dry – as well as litter; and funds to ensure that we can keep our Adoption Centre running and our cats cared for. Any help you can provide will help all of cats – over 150 of them – to lessen their impact during this extraordinary time for all Calgarians. Our staff, volunteers, and most importantly, our feline friends all thank you!
My name is Whisper and I am a stray and abandoned cat.
Early this spring when I was about 7 months old, I was alone on the streets in downtown Calgary. I was scared and hurt very badly so I had to find a safe place to hide. It was really hard but I dragged myself as fast as I could until I found a pipe behind a shed. Even though I just wanted to sleep, I couldn’t stop crying out because of the awful pain in my legs.
I’m not sure how much time passed when I saw something coming toward me. My eyes grew HUGE! I wanted to run away but I just had no energy left. It turned out to be a big man who smiled and softly said, “Hi little kitty. What are you doing out here all by yourself?” But his face suddenly changed when he saw that I was injured. He gently picked me up and took me home. The kind stranger contacted a lady who rescues cats and she immediately called MEOW Foundation.
They took me to the Fish Creek 24 Hour Pet Hospital right away. The doctor was very nice. While softly petting me he asked, “Oh my goodness! How did you get hurt little one? This just couldn’t have happened accidentally.” I gulped hard and tried to tell him, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk about it. I just knew that I was finally safe and would never be hurt again.
I had to have lots of tests and something called an X-ray. Then I saw Dr Mark Fuller. He’s a special doctor who figured out what needed to be done to help me. Dr Mark said I needed to have surgery to fix two broken legs and a shattered knee.
The next day Dr Mark put lots of pins and screws in my legs. He said my physical wounds would heal fairly well. He thanked me for being very trusting even though I had been through so much. Dr Mark suggested I go to a foster home that could provide a quiet environment, loving care and lots of therapy. MEOW Foundation found an experienced foster mom to look after me. I moved into her house the very next day.
My foster mom says I’ve come a long way since I came to her. She always tells me that I’m an amazing, kind and sweet cat. She especially loves my gentle nose-to-nose greeting and the way I chirp and chat in my quiet little voice. When cuddling, I purr loudly, give love bites and lick fingers.
My legs are healing nicely but Dr Mark says I’ll have arthritis for sure and I might have a limp. I’m almost ready for adoption, but I’ll be sad to leave my foster mom. She says someone will love to have me as their family member. Her eyes get watery whenever she talks about it.
I’ve had a lot happen during my short life. I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me along the way. And I really don’t know what I would have done without MEOW Foundation. They paid for my exams, tests and surgery plus all of my care at my foster home. I hear my surgery cost a LOT of money but I wouldn’t be able to walk without it.
The MEOW team helps a whole bunch of kittens and cats each year through Rescue and Adoption, Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) and a Trap Neuter Return program. They need fundraising support from people just like you to keep helping cats like me.
Some people helped MEOW with the cost of my care. I hope you can help some of my feline friends with your donation too. Please click here to give today.
With grateful purrs,
Whisper and your friends at MEOW
View photos of Whisper
MEOW Foundation was founded in the year 2000 by 11 passionate volunteers brought together by their concern for the welfare of stray and abandoned cats in Calgary.
At the time, the majority of cats in local shelters faced euthanasia. The MEOW 11 set out to create an alternative model of animal welfare – a model where no cat would be killed. And so, MEOW Foundation was born.
Soon, MEOW opened a cageless shelter with a no-kill mandate and became well known for its expertise in cat behaviour as well as its evidence-based humane programs to reduce cat overpopulation. More than 15 years later, MEOW has become a mainstay of the Calgary charitable landscape and is one of the most respected feline-focused organizations in Canada.
Each year, we help more than 2,000 cats and kittens. With your help, we hope to continue providing support to Calgary’s stray and abandoned felines.
OUR VISION: All communities caring for every cat with respect and compassion.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
OUR GOALS:
OUR RESULTS (2014-2015):
MEOW Foundation continues to maintain a financially stable organization through the hard work of staff and volunteers, making the most of every dollar that we receive from donors and grantors. Looking to the future, the Board has been busy working on several significant steps towards our goal of moving the shelter operations into our new building. We have been working with both local architects as well as “shelter specialists” from the United States on the design of the new shelter. Below are some of our numbers from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015:
Dear MEOW (A Testimonial):
This has been our third Christmas with our beautiful cat Jayce (aka The Red Rocket Anarchist Cat). We wanted to take a moment to thank MEOW Foundation and to let you know that we have been very happy to have him in our lives. He adds daily fun and laughter with his antics. He loves his bed and usually sleeps with his favourite toy – a stuffed unicorn. He also looks for high places to hang out, often sitting on his scratching perch or other fun places so he can watch what everyone is doing.
MEOW Foundation is the only rescue organization in Calgary offering the three core programs necessary to reduce and ultimately eliminate the homeless cat overpopulation problem. Together, our programs control the cat population at the source and actively promote responsible pet ownership.
OUR THREE CORE PROGRAMS:
Our unique multi-faceted approach has had a significant positive impact on cats and pet owners in Calgary. Over the past 10 years, local organizations have seen a decline in stray cats and have noted a marked increase in the number of cats who come through their doors already spayed or neutered. But with thousands of cats still on the streets, there is still lots of work to do. Please help us continue to provide community programs that save lives.
We are a grassroots organization and to say we love cats in an understatement. When you donate to MEOW Foundation, you help rescue, care for and find permanent adoptive homes for stray and abandoned cats in Calgary and area. Your donations also help us provide Spay/Neuter Assistance to cat owners in-need as well as Trap Neuter Return services to feral cats living in neighbourhoods across the city.
And remember, whether you choose to make a one-time donation or ongoing commitment; ask friends and family to donate in lieu of gifts for your special event; or wish to create a lasting legacy by making a bequest, we’re always here to help. Simply send us an email or call our Manager of Fund Development directly at 403-903-1450.
Donate to our Capital Campaign: In 2014, MEOW purchased a 7,000 sq ft building in Northeast Calgary. Our new facility will be custom designed to support first-class feline care and rehabilitation and will allow us to help more cats than ever before. Currently, we are working towards raising the necessary funds to complete the first phase of renovations and we hope to be able to be in our new home by Spring 2017. Please donate to our Capital Campaign and help us move one step closer to moving in!
Leave a Legacy: Make a lasting gift that helps for years to come, such as a bequest, donation of life insurance or donation of securities.
Raise Funds: Create your own personalized MEOW Giving Page online and celebrate your special occasion by having friends and family make donations to help cats in need.
Volunteer with MEOW: MEOW Foundation is 95 per cent volunteer run and operated—from Adoption Centre cleaners, to foster parents, to event staff, to members of our senior operations team. Please check out our current volunteer opportunities and submit your application to get involved.
Wish List Giving: Purchase an item or items on our Wish List to help keep our Adoption Centre and foster homes up and running.
Want to meet us in person? Please check out our Events Calendar for a list of upcoming events and activities, or email us to book an Adoption Centre tour.