Villa Kitty Turns 12
Can it really be twelve years since Villa Kitty first opened her doors to a chorus of miaows and, yes, one bark? Well, here we are. There are twelve candles on Villa Kitty’s virtual cake so it must be true!
How to commemorate this milestone? So much to celebrate, much to mourn and how much we have learnt and grown in that decade plus. Most of you are familiar with our story and can recite the choruses.
We built the original bijoux Villa Kitty over two months in January and February of 2011 and moved on the 17th of March that year. St Patrick’s Day! Eighteen cats and kittens were brought over the threshold. Plus one puppy. Kanga. Today, in our new vastly expanded premises, we have over 500 cats and kittens and the number of dogs seems to hover around 40. We are most definitely a cat sanctuary, but there has always been Kanga and friends.
Kanga epitomised the philosophy of Villa Kitty and it is fitting that she be celebrated on this auspicious occasion. Tiny puppy Kanga was on death row when I met her. Why? She had the misfortune to have only three legs. We immediately saw her indomitable spirit and zest and scooped her up. Kanga became our doorkeeper and everyone who visited Villa Kitty was greeted by her enthusiastic and zealous attention.
This is Villa Kitty in a microcosm. We respect and value the life of every sentient creature and will protect and preserve that life with every resource available to us. Kanga died this year, but Kanga lived the happiest of lives and showed us that her ‘disability’ did not control her joy for life. Her joy brought us so much joy.
Today with all our cats and another little dog with disabilities we know Kanga was our teacher.
Tonight as I write this newsletter, I sit with a tiny blind kitten on my lap. Jonesy is not our first, today we have more sight impaired cats and kittens than ever before.
I am sharing my office also with Elsie, another blind cat who arrived just six weeks ago rescued by a tourist to Bali whilst visiting the Kuta markets. Elsie was being kicked out of the way by busy sellers.
We thank you, the rescuers who will not stand by and allow the cruelty, intentional or just a way of life, who have become our supporters, our friends of Villa Kitty.
We are proud of our achievements over twelve years and ever conscious that all of them can be sheeted home to you, our supporters and donors. We all know there has been little to celebrate over the past few years, with COVID, war, natural disasters and economic devastation.
We have survived. We have had to survive for the sake of those we care about. Those who depend upon our strength to carry on.
We moved to our glorious expanded premises over a two month period from mid December 2021 to finally closing the doors on our old Villa Kitty on the 12th February 2022.
We arrived with a new vision and strategies for long-term development. This is Villa Kitty’s brave new world and we are marching boldly towards it.
There are so many statistics to hand I will not overload you at this point. Suffice to say we are learning how to combat the viruses that beset us, how to manage the needs and treatments of our most vulnerable residents and garnering the resources and equipment that will make us less reliant on external partners and more self-sufficient. As we approach our teenage years, we are indeed coming of age.
Of course, you are an essential part of this learning curve. I wish I could introduce you to each and every one of our 42 staff. Believe me, they give thanks to you every single day. Not only are you aiding and abetting the treatment and comfort of Bali’s feline population, but you are supporting the local community by helping us to provide a fair wage to our hard working and committed employees. They could leave and join the more lucrative hospitality cohort, but they choose to remain here and work with the tiny residents who pay no tips and have nothing but love to give.
What’s on the cards for 2023? We have advanced plans to commence construction on Villa Kitty’s new Reception Room, Clinic, Consulting Rooms, Operating Rooms and Recovery Rooms.
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle..." Irving Townsend
Yes, we would have it no other way.
Dearest friends, new and old, raise a glass to you, and to us. We need you now. We will never give up our mission to protect the feline population of Bali and to educate the community on their behalf.
Join us now, please donate today!
Thank you,
Elizabeth Henzell
Founder
Villa Kitty Foundation