We Will Give All The Love
At Villa Kitty, we face emergency after emergency every day of the year and we barely turn a hair at situations that only front-line animal welfare workers would understand. Yet here I sit, terrified and frozen at the threat and promise posed by an empty page. This empty page is all I have to reach out to you at a time of unprecedented misery.
Yet again, Villa Kitty is at crisis point and we are begging for your help to stem the rising tide of catastrophe that is surging through the cat and kitten population of Bali.
How hopeful and optimistic we were that the Phase 1 building project of the new Villa Kitty sanctuary would rid our family of the spectre of panleukopenia and that overcrowding would be a thing of the past. We assured you that this would be the case and our vets and team excitedly planned new systems and new strategies to combat this deadly foe. We knew that Phase 1 would provide temporary solutions and that Phase 2 of the project would bring the long term security to carry us into the future. What we couldn’t predict was that the Covid pandemic would continue to chase so many expats from the island, that the Ukraine crisis would cause so many more to flee to their countries of origin and that Bali would be hit by an unprecedented wave of viral infections and transmissions.
Panleukopenia is everywhere and each new arrival is suspect. Even with our expanded facilities, Villa Kitty cannot absorb the surge of cats and kittens needing isolation, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
Our staff are exhausted. Basic fact: there are too few of them. Our animal population has far outstripped our capacity to protect them. Please, help save their lives. We’ve learned so much since moving to the new Villa Kitty and one thing that is glaringly apparent is that this is the time for upskilling and retraining. This is the time to invest in our future. We do so much, but we can and must do so much more. Villa Kitty needs another vet. Villa Kitty needs specialised care workers. Villa Kitty needs to step up. Villa Kitty needs you.
Don’t give up on us now. We have great programs and initiatives ready to go. Every one of them will contribute to the welfare of Bali’s feline population. When Villa Kitty was established in 2011, you and I could never have envisaged how far this tiny shelter could have grown and how many lives it could have saved and enhanced. We will never abandon our mission to support, respect and nurture the cats and kittens of Bali. You’ve shown you care. Give now: saving one saves many.
On an individual note: Villa Kitty lost one of its icons this week. Visitors might well remember our gorgeous ginger, Sexy Legs. Sexy Legs had lived in my compound for years. He arrived as a sad kitten from Gili Trawangen after some drug addled moron had taken exception to his meowing and smashed one of his back legs. Our brilliant vet amputated the damaged limb and Sexy Legs not only survived but thrived and lived a courageous three-legged life. Sadly, in recent months, his kidneys failed and his indomitable spirit could not prevail. Villa Kitty, and many of you, loved him and mourn his death. In his memory, give now. Let Sexy Legs have a legacy that brings meaning and comfort to others in need.
We will give all the love, expertise and care we can muster. What we need from you is simple. Donate, please.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Henzell
Founder
Villa Kitty Foundation