Samantha builds winter shelters for feral cats and helps feed them

Who are you: Samantha Grice, Managing Editor, Chatelaine.com

What was your kindness deed: My thing is being kind to cats. All cats, for sure, but feral cats in particular. Over a year ago, I found a family of homeless cats living in a backyard near my house. I contacted Toronto Street Cats and Annex Cat Rescue and a volunteer came and helped my husband and I trap them. The kittens were young enough to be adopted (we kept little Frankie and love him so much it borders on obsession, his sister Zooey was also adopted), but the adults were not able to be socialized as they had never been around humans. We had them spayed/neutered so more kittens wouldn’t be produced and then released them back to the neighbourhood. We then helped build winter shelters at the Toronto Humane Society shelter build and put them in a safe spot so they don’t freeze. We share nightly feeding duties with a neighbour. It’s ongoing kindness to cats.

Why did you want to do this? Well, the question is more: How could I not do it? How could I knowingly leave these kitties out in the cold without food or shelter? Impossible.

How did it make you feel: When I look at my cat Frankie sleeping beside the fire on a cold winter night, I can’t believe how lucky he is. I know his mom and dad are lucky too as they have shelters and food once a day but I wish I could do more. There are so many feral cats on the streets. I want to help them all, which I can’t, so I’d like to send the message to everyone that if they see feral or stray cats, take a moment and call a rescue association to see what you can do. By getting the cats spayed and neutered we can stop more cats from being born and end the awful suffering (starvation, hypothermia) that befalls these animals.

How did they respond? Frankie responds with purrs and cuddles, the street cats are timid but they seem pretty happy when we show up night after night with a big bowl of food for them!

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