Feline Friends: Purina Canada Happy Paws & Hearts Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Purina Happy Paws & Hearts grant helped Feline Friends strengthen our day-to-day operations and directly support the cats in our care by offsetting essential costs such as food, veterinary care, parasite treatment, and spay/neuter services. This support allowed us to maintain a high standard of care while increasing our adoption capacity. Cats and kittens who come into our care tend to be infested with fleas, lice, and worms and require vaccinations and other vet expenses. With the support of this grant, they were placed into foster care, received parasite treatment, vaccinations, and spay/neuter surgery, and were ultimately adopted into loving homes. Overall, this funding helped us successfully place 78 cats into permanent homes this calendar year and continue actively supporting 99 cats currently in our adoption program, ensuring they are healthy, comfortable, and ready for adoption.
How many pets did this grant help?
We had 78 adoptions and currently have 99 cats in the adoption program.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Poppy’s (first photo) story began outdoors, where she and her three siblings were surviving a hoarding situation with no shelter and no medical care. Their tiny bodies were overwhelmed by fleas, lice, and worms. When they finally came into our care, they were given warmth, safety, and the medical treatment they desperately needed. In foster care, Poppy and her siblings healed, grew strong, were spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and ultimately found loving homes — exchanging a life of hardship for one of comfort and security.
Ravna (second photo) entered our program as a frightened kitten trapped alongside her siblings and three adult cats. What we didn’t yet know was how sick she truly was. Ravna was battling a severe infection caused by a bot fly embedded in her neck, leaving her weak and unable to care for herself. She required fluids, force-feeding, and round-the-clock care during her first critical days with us. Thanks to intensive medical treatment and dedicated support, Ravna made a remarkable recovery. Once healthy, this resilient little kitten was finally able to leave pain behind and start her new life in a forever home.
Max’s (third photo) journey was one of quiet endurance. For at least two years, this adult cat lived outdoors, exposed to the elements and slowly losing his fur due to untreated medical issues. When one of our volunteers noticed his worsening condition, we stepped in. Max was safely trapped, examined, and given the care he had gone without for far too long. As his health improved, so did his spirit, and soon, Max traded the uncertainty of outdoor survival for the warmth of a loving home.
These stories represent the heart of our work: meeting cats at their most vulnerable moments and giving them the chance not just to survive, but to truly thrive. All the cats mentioned here have been adopted.
