LETTER TO OUR SUPPORTERS

December 31, 2018

To Our Friends & Supporters,

Thank you for your support of Sparkle Cat Rescue in 2018 and helping us make a difference in the lives of the ‘Forgotten Felines’. Our adoptions are down (as are many of our rescue friends in the area).

As we enter 2019 and into Sparkle Cat Rescue’s fifth year, we are in great need of more foster homes and more adoptions of kittens and adult cats in our program, and more volunteers willing to help in a variety of areas so we can continue to make a difference in our community. We have lost some of our kitten foster homes due to adoptions of fosters by those homes as well as one of our kitten foster homes having a panleuk outbreak this past summer, so their house is on lock down for future kittens for at least a year.

We will be recruiting volunteers to join our team. We will have volunteer positions to fill for social media, foster coordinator, volunteer coordinator, adoption events coordinator(s), yard sale volunteers, Pet Smart adoption center volunteers, and many other areas. I am working on a list of ways volunteers can help so we can broaden our reach and bring in more donations to help more cats. We have so many wonderful volunteers within our group and we would love to add onto our current base.
Another thing we would like to make a reality in 2019 is searching for a supporter/business-property owner with vacant retail space they would be willing to donate to our rescue so we could have open houses on the weekends and visitors could come meet adoptable cats outside of crates to have a more personal experience with our amazing adoptable cats. We believe this will increase our adoptions and allow us to increase the number of cats we rescue in our community. Cats would not live at the space. They would go back to their foster home(s) after the open houses each week. The space would be a place where our volunteers could meet, volunteers could assist with administrative duties, and a place we could have our fundraising catnip toys. We have so many creative ideas for this space and it would certainly be a benefit for our community. We just need the space!

As we end 2018, we ask you to consider making an end-of-year tax-deductible donation to Sparkle Cat Rescue. We are an all-volunteer (ZERO paid employees, 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. (FEIN#47-2271286) Your donations, no matter the amount, help make a difference for the homeless cats we rescue: abandoned, abused, homeless, injured, neglected. The ‘Forgotten Felines’.

Ways to donate:
-Facebook Donate Button
-Website: www.sparklecatrescue.org
-Mail a check to us at Sparkle Cat Rescue, 2966 S Church Street, Suite 164, Burlington NC 27215

Here's adoption and intake data for 2018.

100 ADOPTIONS! See pictures of kitties adopted this year here...
This number is down from previous years. Our goal was 125. In 2017, we had 121 adoptions.

139 INTAKES OF CATS AND KITTENS
Sadly, we lost 6 kittens to illness in 2018.
-Kittens that passed away of failure to thrive: Benny, Jax, Everest, Denali.
-Kittens that passed away from illness: Karma (FIP), Talulah (Panleuk)

In 2017 we took in 143.

4 cats were returned from adopters in 2018. We are very proud of our low return rate. Our adoption team works very hard to ensure we adopt to committed lifetime adopters.

WHERE DO YOUR DONATIONS GO?

Here's a brief summary of 2018 expenses to show you how your donations were used.

SPAY SURGERIES: 38 ($2,090.00)

NEUTER SURGERIES: 37 ($1,295.00)

We haven’t broken down the total expenses of vaccinations and combo testing but each kitten we take in costs us $165.00 - $185.00 for standard vet care (spay/neuter, combo test, microchip, FVRCP kitten boosters, Rabies Vaccination). That does not include unexpected expenses with upper respiratory illnesses, etc.
Note: Spay/Neuter surgeries were for kittens rescued in 2017 that became old enough for surgery in 2018. As we enter 2019, we have some kittens in the program that are too young to be spayed/neutered until after the new year.

OTHER SURGERIES (total: $6,516.26)
Bliss / Amputation of her front right leg
Jack / Amputation of right front leg $2600 (which also encompasses medical expenses prior to surgery for infection that had set in his leg from an injury he sustained prior to rescue.
Angelica / Laser Eye Surgery ($874.63)
Dental surgeries for Pandora, Scooter, Jennipurr, Rudy, Ernie, Tia (total $1780.71)

VET CARE / PRESCRIPTION EXPENSES: $40,459.11
(in 2017 the total was $48,242.23)

FOOD & SUPPLY EXPENSES FOR CATS INFOSTER CARE: $31,747.49
(in 2017 the total was $19,391.55)

STORAGE/POSTAGE/FUNDRAISING EXPENSES: $2791.14
(in 2017 the total was $2,032.47)

DEPOSITS (Donations/Fundraisers/Adoptions: $75,368.30
(in 2017 the total was $74,090.13)

As we close out 2018, our general fund is now at $5,602.58. It has been a scary few months, with our balance at its lowest in October when we had $1900.00 in the bank and knowing we had vet bills to pay and food & litter to provide to cats in foster care. We are far from rich. We are still a small rescue with many cats in our care and dedicated cat loving volunteers. We have over 100 cats and kittens in our program. We are very thankful that our supporters step up when we post our needs of helping cats like Bliss who had to have a leg amputated, or Shadow who was FIV+ and needed to be pulled from the shelter. Everyday we receive messages about cats needing our help but we cannot help them without funding and without foster homes and also without adoptions to free up our current foster homes.

Our greatest wish is that you will consider donating to us to help us continue to rebuild our general fund so we do not have to hesitate when we get a call or message to help save a cat. Look at all the amazing stories from 2018. With your support we can continue to make a difference in 2019.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Sparkle Cat Rescue and our mission since we started our rescue in 2014. We wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Stephanie Grantham
Executive Director

Remember these stories?

Shadow - FIV+ pulled from Burlington Animal Services. Declawed, 7 years old, owner surrender to the shelter and spent a month there, losing 4 lbs.

Annapurna (Anna), Denali, Everest, Matterhorn (Matty): taken to a clinic at just a day or two old. Urgent need of an experienced neonatal foster mom. Cheryl fostered them for the first 24 hours and then they were transferred to Sarah in Greensboro. Sadly, Denali and Everest were not strong enough to survive. As of 12/31/18, Anna & Matty are growing bigger day by day but still small for their age.

Lyra, Nash, Orion, Vega were found abandoned at a construction dumpster in July. After a long night of volunteers climbing in a dumpster (and neighbors calling the cops to check out the scene), two kittens rescued the first night and then Eric & a supporter returned the next day and spotted two kittens in the gutter and they set traps and caught the remaining two.

Calista was found on the porch of an elderly woman in rural Alamance County in May. I drove out to scan her for a microchip and see if she may be someone's missing cat. What I found was a skin and bones super sweet kitty in need of rescue. Her finder could not bring her into the home.

Heidi & her 6 babies were rescued on May 16 from a garage in Burlington, NC. Babies had started exploring and were in danger of being run over by a car that would park in the garage. Mama Heidi was often locked out of the garage because homeowner didn't know she was in there with her babies.

Bliss was found in Alamance County in mid December and had a fractured leg. She was taken to Burlington Animal Services and they contacted Sparkle Cat Rescue asking for our help. We took her to our vet and it was determined it was an old fracture and her leg would not heal on its own. She had to have her right front leg amputated 5 days after rescue and as of 12/31/18 she is recovering wonderfully.

Jack was rescued in late spring with a neck wound. He was immediately seen after rescue and put on antibiotics. The infection spread down from his shoulder to his leg and he was in constant pain. After two months of vet visits and cultures taken from his leg to determine what type of infection he had and what medicine he needed, Jack chewed through his leg one night due to the extreme pain he was in. He spent several days at the vet under observation and waiting for the culture results to return. It was decided that amputation was the best thing for Jack. He was adopted shortly after his surgery and is a happy and healthy and playful boy!

In July there were several kittens we took in that were at risk of euthanasia: Anastasia, Thumbelina, Finn, Gage, and Sarafina. At that time we also took in a mother and her daughter and a surrogate baby (Trinity, Maribel, and Andy). As of 12/31/18, all kittens but Gage have been adopted, and mama Trinity is also waiting to find her forever home.

Ducky was brought to one of our events as we were packing up for the day. He had been found on the side of the road with a horrible upper respiratory infection and he was anemic and infested with fleas. Thanks to Jennifer's loving care and attention, he has thrived and is still waiting to be adopted.

Harness Kitty (Olive) was rescued in the summer after one of our volunteers found her with a harness embedded in her skin. She was immediately taken to our partner vet and the harness removed and her wounds treated. The harness was made for a puppy. No one ever came forward to claim she was theirs and her foster mom adopted her.

Melody came to us in November, malnourished and about 4 lbs of skin and bones. She was exhausted but oh so loving. She is still working to gain weight and learn to use the litter box better. When she came to us she has horrible diarrhea due to being so malnourished.

Timothy was found in the middle of the road in Gibsonville. Just by chance, Eric and Kristi spotted him as they were leaving a local business. He was only 7 weeks old and in danger of being hit by traffic in the busy road. He is still waiting to be adopted.

Starr was found on the side of the road with her mama on a late night in May. Her mama had been hit by a car and killed. The person who found her messaged Sparkle Cat Rescue late that night and I happened to be online and got in touch with our emergency neonatal foster who met the finder around midnight to get Starr. Starr is still adoptable at this time.

Silk & Taffeta were abandoned at a local park, their carrier thrown in a trash can nearby and they were left sitting on a picnic table with handfuls of cat food scattered around the table. No water left for them. Just left alone. A week after rescue, Taffeta went into heat. We are so thankful a good Samaritan out walking that morning with her dog happened across them and contacted one of our volunteers. Thankfully we found a foster for them so we could take them into our program. Thank you to Town N Country Animal Hospital for boarding them for a few days after we took them in so we could work to find a foster.

Lark, Zuri, Anika and Jade were rescued in November over a period of 3 days. Anika and Jade were rescued first and then it took 2 more days to trap and rescue Lark and Zuri. We had received a message about stray cats and kittens at a local business. Adult cats were trapped and fixed and released and the kittens were rescued. We thought we had only left behind one kitten (despite trying and trying and trying to get the kitty to go in a trap) the night we rescued Anika and Jade; however, two nights later, two identical siblings were rescued: Lark & Zuri. They are all still in foster care and doing well while we wait to find them forever homes.

During the summer we experienced a rescue organization or shelter's worst nightmare. We had a panleuk outbreak at a foster home that affected a number of our kittens. and sadly we lost one kitten to it (Talulah). With their foster mom's love and around the clock care of kittens in her care, and advice to adopters who had taken kittens home without our knowledge they had panleuk, 8 of the 9 kittens survived. Foster mom Judy spent several months with sleepless nights tending to Dolly who had a hard road to recovery. Dolly was hit the hardest with the panleuk and then when she recovered from that she wasn't gaining weight and had a number of vet visits. She was retested for FIV/Felv and the second time she tested positive. We retested her with a test sent to the lab (Elisa) and it was negative. In December, we retested Dolly again and it was negative again. Dolly and the other kittens are alive today thanks to Judy!

Below are kitties rescued in 2018 - in alphabetical order...

In loving memory of the kitties we lost this year. You will never be forgotten.

www.sparklecatrescue.org

Sparkle Cat Rescue - 2966 S Church Street - Suite 164 - Burlington NC 27215