Hardships, Hope and a New Home

Villa Kitty has begun the year by breaking the record for the number of cats and kittens brought to us in any one month – over one hundred! We have been almost swept away by the torrent of pleas for help - daily desperate calls imploring us to help with cats and kittens found sick, injured or abandoned, and carers pleading with us to help with cats and kittens they can no longer look after. Compounding this has been the increasing number of animals carelessly dumped at the front of the shelter.

But amidst the cries for help, cruelty and chaos, we have managed to officially lease the land on which we will build our new home! So, while we are even more overwhelmed than usual, we are also looking to the future with much hopefulness.

We will be building a new shelter and hospital to keep up with the growing needs of the cats, kittens and community of Bali. It will demand a great feat of strength, but we must succeed for all the felines who entrust us to alleviate their suffering and to protect them. We have 6 months until we must begin moving our residents and less than 12 months to complete the massive project of turning the land into a fully functioning shelter and hospital. The shelter plans include a nursery, adoption areas, a cat cafe and community education facilities. While the hospital plans include consulting rooms, an operating theatre, intensive care ward, isolation, quarantine and a mini on-site laboratory.

Villa Kitty started like many audacious dreams do - with a seemingly impossible wish in the face of insurmountable obstacles. But soon the dream was being realised and from just a couple of veterinary assistants Villa Kitty has evolved into an overflowing shelter – it is both wonderful and daunting to know we have grown beyond our current space. It means the work we do is crucial, and we are effecting change in the community - it also means big changes for that work to continue.

Veterinary care is paramount and one of the greatest challenges facing animals in Bali, and indeed Southeast Asia - without access to proper veterinary care animals cannot be sterilised, vaccinated or treated for illness. This is why Villa Kitty offers sterilisations and vaccinations free of charge to the many who seek our help and why we need to construct a modern hospital to keep up with the need.

Community education is also a vital factor in our work and a new shelter will offer more space to develop and run these essential programs. By working closely with communities and strengthening ties, we shift mindsets and help protect animals.

The Villa Kitty staff and veterinary team are the lifeblood of our work and a new shelter, with a modern hospital, would lighten their load and allow us to enhance the quality and efficiency of care provided. It would also reduce the dangers of overcrowding, which inevitably increases the risk of infection and outbreaks. With Covid-19, it is more important than ever that we employ strict hygiene standards, in particular sufficient room for staff to work comfortably. And that we continue to expand our vaccination and sterilisation program to keep the kitties and the community healthy.

And while the kindness of donors grows, so too does the need, it is a neck in neck race! Help us win by donating to the construction of the new shelter and hospital.

Come with us on this journey, it will be challenging but undeniably fulfilling and memorable.