Craig Street Cats receives anonymous $15K donation for vet bills

Craig Street Cats has received some extra help from an unknown donor to help knock down its veterinary bill.

The mysterious benefactor gave $15,000 to bring down the non-profit's nearly $30,000 vet bill, executive director Lynne Scott told CBC Radio's Up to Speed host Ismaila Alfa on Monday.

"It means so much," said Scott. "It will help hundreds of cats."

Scott said the non-profit's annual budget is close to $500,000, with nearly $100,000 of that money going toward veterinary care.

"[It makes a] huge difference," she said. "It's hard for people to wrap their minds around how much it costs to do what we do."

The donation comes a few weeks after the non-profit was faced with another hefty bill to repair some of its winter shelters for feral cats after a fire destroyed them on Oct. 7.

Scott said the shelters that burned down are often the difference between life and death for feral cats.

"It's not unusual for cats to lose their ears, their tails, or even be frozen solid to the ground in our brutal weather," said Scott. 

She said an increase in feral cats has become a problem in Winnipeg — but for Scott, it's one with a clear solution.

"The only thing that has ever worked, anywhere in the world, is trap, neuter, return," she said, describing a strategy where cats living outside are taken in to be neutered and then returned to their homes outdoors.

"They live out their lives, they control rodent populations and the [feral cat] population goes down over time," she said.

Scott said even in areas of Winnipeg where this strategy has been implemented, they've seen a marked decrease in feral cat populations.

"It's a dramatic difference," she said.