Book of Dreams: El Dorado Hills group offers shelter for abandoned and surrendered kitties

Heads up, cat lovers.

If you’re concerned about the growing number of felines being abandoned or surrendered by owners in the greater Sacramento region due to the pandemic, you can aid hundreds of them with a financial gift this holiday season, says Anna Boruk, operations director of the Fat Kitty City Sanctuary near El Dorado Hills.

Fat Kitty City is Northern California’s only no-kill outdoor rescue home for felines. It is nestled within a 20-acre natural setting and it needs donations for food and winter shelter housing for as many as 600 felines that are dropped onto its doorsteps.

The center is asking Book of Dreams readers to help raise funding for next year’s supply of wet food plus $5,000 to cover the cost of completing a rehabilitation facility started some years back and $1,000 to buy some small insulated cat houses to protect the most vulnerable during the cold, wet weather.

“Before the pandemic, we were affiliated with an organization called Greater Good that supplied us with wet food,” Boruk said. “We haven’t been able to get any for a long time because they are not getting food from their sources.”

Fat Kitty City also used to rely on cat food donations dropped off in barrels at local PetSmart and Petco locations. “But they can’t let us have barrels due to COVID,” she said. On top of that, COVID-19 forced the center to cancel its annual fall fundraiser.

Having wet cat food is essential, especially this winter. The operation can run through 100 to 250 cans of wet food a night, depending on the size of their cat population.

“Many of our residents are of a more senior population, who already have some problems chewing,” Boruk said. “Some have no teeth, and they also need the additional nutrition and moisture they get from wet food to sustain them through the winter.”

And then there’s the shortage of cat houses. The sanctuary has six buildings that provide shelter from the elements, “but we would like to buy additional cold weather housing for our feral kitties that are too shy to join one of our kitty condos and interact with volunteers.”

Funds needed for protected cage

Also, the center needs a financial boost to finish a partially built “cage project” that allows staff members to acclimate newly arriving cats.

“We need to have them in a protected space when they come, so we can observe them and work with them if they have behavioral or medical issues.”

The cage project was started by volunteers some years back, but was never completed because they couldn’t find qualified help.

“We are hoping these funds will help us find a commercial contractor to complete the project,” she said.

Adding to the stress of operating during COVID-19, there is a growing demand for the group’s services. Fat Kitty is among the few private rescue operations open 24/7 during the pandemic, she said.

Since May, the number of abandoned or surrendered cats and dogs has increased. Some people turn their animals over to the shelter because they can’t afford the food or veterinarian bills. Others leave their animals behind when they move.

“We are bombarded … our phones are constantly ringing,” Boruk said.

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Boruk was knee deep in trying to gather resources to rescue a colony of 30 cats abandoned in an El Dorado trailer park. She heard there were threats on site to poison them.

“Two of the cats were run over by cars, none are neutered or spayed and no one is managing the colony,” she said. “So we are trying to bring in the El Dorado Animal Rescue and our own rescuers and trappers to help save them. ”

Henry Brzezinski is manager of El Dorado County’s Animal Services, which licenses the cattery and works with it regularly.

“It helps that Fat Kitty City exists,” he said. “It somewhat lightens our intake of adult cats, and we are still inundated as well. We haven’t been as overwhelmed with adult cats this year, but we have had a late kitten season, which we can adopt out. They have taken special needs cats from us that need more long-term care or need to go into a hospice-type situation.”

With a financial boost, Fat Kitty can continue its mission.

“We give a home to kitties that are displaced and don’t have another place to go, kitties that would not have survived a traditional shelter or on the streets,” said Boruk. “We give them safety, an ability to live out their lives with dignity and make sure they have lots of love.”

And food.

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.