RSL Haven

25/01/2025

Great speakers and merchandise and one more day (tomorrow Sunday) to enjoy!

17/01/2025

Just another “day at the office”. Intake - 6 adults and 2 kittens.

06/01/2025

💖😽

01/01/2025

For anyone involved in TNR, this is a good read!

Why are you helping cats when there are so many people in need?

Have you ever had someone question your involvement in cat rescue? Just as some people look down their noses at cats and cat owners in general, there are folks who will judge your passion for helping cats. How do you respond?

I have to let things simmer in my brain for a while before I can craft a good response, so my initial reply to this question was admittedly defensive. It was all about the importance of improving the lives of community cats and that all volunteer work is good. It fell flat. But as I've revisited that question in my mind, I realize that I missed the most obvious response. Helping community cats IS helping people in need.

How is your involvement in cat rescue or TNR helping people?

1. Financial

Caring for cats is expensive and the communities that are most impacted by cat overpopulation are often the areas with the greatest financial need. If it is a struggle to afford housing, buying food for community cats is a budget buster and paying for spay neuter is completely out of reach. Can you imagine seeing the suffering outside your door every day without any resources to help? That one stray reproduces and becomes 5 and then 15 and then 30. When you help with donations of cat food and assistance with spay neuter you are improving the lives of the people caring for those cats.

2. Community Resources

Animal shelters and animal control officers are expensive. The cost of building, staffing and maintaining those facilities can make up a huge percentage of a town's budget. Because of the expense, there will often be one shelter serving multiple towns. When your town has a contract with a public shelter in a different jurisdiction, your town may be charged a fee for every animal they bring in. In our area it can be as high as $150 to $200 per animal. Housing, feeding and vetting impounded cats is also expensive. When you help a community member with a cat problem, you are saving your town a significant amount of money by keeping them out of the shelter system.

3. Mental and Physical Health

Research has shown that owning a pet is good for our mental and physical health. For many in our communities, their pet is the most important relationship in their life. Yet adoption fees and veterinary costs for spay neuter and vaccines can be out of reach for many people. Can you imagine not being able to have a pet because the costs are too high? Many of you work tirelessly to spay neuter homeless cats and get them into homes. Often, those homes are in the neighborhoods where you are helping. How many times have you heard people say, "We'd love to take that stray in, but we can't afford to get him fixed." Your efforts make cat ownership possible for the people who need them most. This helps the humans AND the homeless cats they adopt into their homes.

As we begin 2025, we want to thank our readers for caring about community cats. Whether it is homing a stray, taming a kitten or doing large scale TNR, your work is helping people in your community and improving the lives of community cats!

01/01/2025

Happy New Year to all our family, friends and followers!

31/12/2024

For anyone wondering, the first three photos are the “Before”, and, obviously, the last three are the “After”.

Phase 4 upgrade complete!

Think I’ll take the rest of the year off 😺

24/12/2024

To all the Caregivers, Rescuers and Animal Lovers - A very Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays from all of us here at RSL Haven!

22/12/2024

RSL Haven upgrades, Phase 3 complete. A few before and after pix, with one of Chief Inspector Rachel on the job.

20/12/2024

Sharing...

17/12/2024

Thanks to everyone that donates locally! ❤️❤️❤️

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17/12/2024

Anna trapped last night at a 3rd colony Big Love has just started to sponsor, but she only caught 3 ear tips and one opossum. But she will keep trying to get them all fixed and ear tipped. If you are feeding a stray- please email me for info on grant covered spay/neuter ear tip. If you just remove kittens without putting in some work to get the adults fixed-then youre part of the problem.
Please spay and neuter all pets and keep your pets inside for their safety and the safety of Florida’s wildlife. [email protected].
****We need cat food!!! We feed about 60 indoor only cats at the Sanctuary and about 45 colony cats. We spend money every single day. Thank you!! Ship to or drop off: 819 W Whitmire Dr Melbourne Fl 32935.

15/12/2024

14/12/2024

RSL Haven Upgrades - Phase 2 complete!

13/12/2024

Happy Gotcha Day, Oona!

11 years ago today, Oona was the first of nearly 50 cats trapped and relocated to a safe place from Gleason Park in IHB after the town banned the feeding of all feral cats. A small group of individuals joined together to save them. The effort was dubbed Operation GPK and nearly all of the park’s resident cats were rescued before the allotted time ran out. Many thanks to Carla M, Mackenzie Q, Mary M, Lynn Z, Eleanor S, Dennis G for the love and dedication to these kitties.