Speak Up For Paws

01/12/2025

01/11/2025

10$ is all it takes to buy a ticket and help community cats and who knows you might win one of these awesome prizes!

01/10/2025

Barn homes needed for neutered and vaccinated feral cats needing a safe place to call home. When we TNR (trap neuter and return) returning is always preferred but not always possible. If we have no where to place the cats and they are brought to the shelter they will be euthanized.

We need barn placements that will take 2-3 cats at a time. We don’t typically send solo cats. Barns must have an abundance of straw, heated tack, room, or animals to keep them warm during the winter months. Cats must be given fresh water and food daily and vetted if sick.

Cats must be left in a tack room or large cage/ enclosure for the first 3 weeks until acclimatized to their environment. We supply wet food while the cat is in the enclosure, you supply the kibble. We assume they will hunt for their protein when released.

There is no adoption fee, but there is a written contract agreeing to the terms above.

Please contact
for more
[email protected]

01/09/2025

❤️🐈❄️🐾

01/07/2025

January raffle!
Selling 200 tickets to raise 2000$ in preparation for our March TNR. Hoping to stop as many females from giving birth as we can.
1 female can give birth on average to 5 kittens. On average 50% survive and will get pregnant by the time they are 5-7 months old, it doesn’t take long before the colony grows and gets out of control.

2000$ will cover the cost of less than 9 females but we we plan on doubling that number for March. Help us, help them. As incentive we have 4 AMAZING prizes.

10$ per ticket. 200 tickets will be sold.
Etransfer to [email protected]
Include your name and telephone number.

01/07/2025

Are you feeding community cats? Be sure your feeding station is discreet and secure. We have helpful suggestions for setting up your five-star station here: https://alleycatadvocates.org/tips-for-food-and-feeding-stations/

01/03/2025

Speak Up for Paws is a registered charity whose mission is to help community animals with the strong focus on cats. One way we want to start helping is by reaching out to youth groups such as guides, pathfinders, scouts, etc) and educating them on how THEY can contribute and be a voice for the homeless animals in their community. The best way of doing this is by giving them facts on what a community cat is, what neglect/abuse looks like, what are the responsibilities involved in getting a pet and how they can play a role in help community cats or other animals by building shelters, fundraising, volunteering and speaking up against injustice towards animals. We would love the opportunity to come to one of your meetings and speak to the youth about this topic. Perhaps the youth of today will be able to make a positive impact in tomorrow's animal welfare. Please send a private message if this is something that may be of interest to your youth groups. https://www.facebook.com/SpeakUpForPaws/

Our Mission is to Dedicate, Educate and Advocate for animals in the Ottawa and surrounding areas.

01/02/2025

📚 Our BACK TO BASICS SERIES: feral vs. stray
What's the difference between a feral cat and a stray cat? 🤔

👉 A FERAL cat is an outdoor cat that is not socialized with people. These cats are fearful and want nothing to do with humans. They are not suited to be indoor pets and are considered unadoptable. There are varying degrees of feral, so "once a feral, always a feral" is not the rule. Some ferals can be socialized over time; it depends on the cat and the person working with the animal.

👉 A STRAY cat is a cat that lives outdoors and has been socialized to some degree with humans. This cat may have once had an indoor home but now finds itself outside, perhaps abandoned or lost. Or, it could be a cat born outside with a feeder whom it trusts. Strays are more open to relationships with humans whereas ferals are not. When one describes a cat as a stray, it is implied that the cat is friendly to some degree.

💡 "Community cat" is an all-encompassing term to include all unowned outdoor cats, regardless of whether they are stray or feral.

Knowing whether a cat is feral or stray is important as the answer will determine your course of action. All cats should be spayed or neutered. A feral cat should go through the TNR process whereas a stray cat might go into foster care after vetting in search of an indoor forever home. Generally, strays are candidates for adoption; ferals are generally not.

👉How can you tell if a cat is feral or stray?
➡ A feral cat won't come close. A stray will come close and might let you pet it.
➡A feral will assume a crouched, tense body position and not make eye contact. A stray will act more like a house cat: standing, tail up, making eye contact.
➡A feral will not make a sound. A stray might purr or meow.
➡Ferals are more active at night. Strays are active during the day.
➡Ferals tend to be well-groomed; strays might be disheveled.
➡When trapped, ferals move to the back of the trap. Strays come to the front.
➡A scared feral will lash out; a scared stray may simply hiss.
➡A feral won't recognize or play with a toy. A stray probably will.

Original content provided by Stray Cat Project.

01/01/2025

Here is an example of how Speak Up for Paws is helping community cats.

Campsite in L’anges Gardiens: The campsite had 31 cats wander the area. A camper was feeding them, but only for the summer. The first year 21 cats and kittens were able to be placed into rescues in Ottawa and Gatineau. Then this past summer we needed to find another solution as rescues were too full and couldn’t intake. Speak up For Paws stepped up and offered to help. We were able to find a feeder in a surrounding neighbourhood and then began the process of TNR. There were 9 cats that were TNR’d and returned back to the area. They are provided with food from Speak up for Paws and also shelter to keep them warm through the winter.
There are 4 remaining which are on the list for March when TNR season starts back up again. It’s important to TNR the entire colony, leaving 1 cat behind will restart a colony in no time.

01/01/2025

In 2024 we have sterilized 34 feral cats which cost 6,525$ and helped fixed 40 community cats. We built many winter shelters and distributed food for colony cats for the winter months.

We have made 6000$ collectively with the comedy show, bingo, summer raffle and our Christmas cookie sale.

Speak Up for Paws has big plans for 2025. We want to TNR 100 cats and help more people access affordable spay neuter. We want to continue to support and advocate for the community cats. This can only be done with your support and believing in our mission. Ofcoarse to achieve our goals we need to fundraise. We are planning a raffle in January, a trivia night in March, and many more creative ideas activities to raise funds, stay tuned. 😉

For now we wish peace goodwill and health to one and all for 2025.

12/29/2024

This goes for anyone and everyone, who think breeding their animals is a good idea is when the cost of vetting is sky high and the shelters and rescues are full. Animals are dying daily outside or in the shelters while you are breeding your animals.

12/28/2024

How to provide water to cats in the winter.
https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/colony-care/stop-freezing-water?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1wAvJVronL_G6UtNSbX9h85gtwRcXVHVsXkmaqcnlE67lT-DrWUr6D4a0_aem__NvwAXLuDTj-GHEXGIAcRw

Cats need water on a regular, daily basis. Preventing water from freezing during winter can be a challenge for caretakers in cold climates. But here are some tricks.

12/27/2024

Shared it before and I'll share it again... Please do something to help them. Don't let them freeze to death.

12/26/2024

A good read and very relevant.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas to all who care for those who don’t have a voice.