What is the Nat’s Cats Project?

Nat’s Cats is a subsidiary of Help Willy’s Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal welfare charitable organization founded in 2006 by Mark and Sharon Paturzo of Durham, CT. Natalie, now a junior at Coginchaug Regional High School, first partnered with Mark and Sharon when she was in the eighth grade. Natalie noticed that dogs were often the face of animal rescue, and the needs of cats—especially feral cats—were often overlooked. So Natalie sought to collect food around the community to feed the feral cat population. All monetary donations and proceeds from her bake sale directly benefit the Help Willy’s Friends Spay/Neuter Fund, which helps to minimize the health struggles of future stray and feral cats in the Durham-Middlefield area.

How can you help?

Hopefully, you have noticed Help Willy’s Friends bins placed around the Durham-Middlefield community (e.g., at the Powder Ridge Veterinary Hospital). Keep a special eye out for bins with the Nat’s Cats logo. While dog food donations are always appreciated, cat food is preferred.

To make this project possible, the annual Help Willy’s Friends Pet Fair in Durham is Natalie’s main fundraising effort.

Feral Facts

• Sadly, feral cats are usually the offspring of lost or abandoned pet cats that were not spayed or neutered.
• Unlike stray cats, feral cats are not accustomed to contact with people and are typically too fearful and wild to be handled.
• Females can reproduce two-to-three times a year, and their kittens, if they survive, become feral without early contact with people. Cats can become pregnant as early as five months of age, and the number of cats rapidly increases without intervention.
• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the most popular strategy for improving the lives of feral cats and reducing their numbers. At a minimum, TNR feral cats are spayed or neutered so they can no longer reproduce, are vaccinated against rabies, and then surgically ear-tipped. Dedicated caretakers feed and provide shelter for TNR cats and monitor them for sickness.

Source: Humane Society of the U.S.

Check out www.HelpWillysFriends.org and “like us” on Facebook!Natalie was an eighth-grader at Strong Middle School, a resident of Durham and already an accomplished writer. Natalie originally composed this essay for the Help Willy’s Friends newsletter, but once we read it, we knew immediately that her words would explain the program better than any others.

The Nat’s Cats Project

No one can resist helping animals. Even for those who are not involved humanitarians, you can’t possibly ignore that tingly feeling that raptures your heart when you picture our fuzzy friends in need. However, for most those thoughts are reserved for the canine population. With their floppy ears and playful demeanor, dogs are the face of animal welfare. Cats in need are forgotten much of the time. Mark Paturzo of Help Willy’s Friends says that donations in their bins consist mostly of dog food. But feral cats are in a dire state.

Colonies of stray cats are multiplying rapidly and with consequences that most shelter advertisements don’t always mention. Cats are suffering; kittens are starving and running wild, commonly stricken with disease. Owners often dump their pet cats on the streets as they pack up and move without thinking anything of their dependable four legged creature.

Our feline friends need attention. That is the mission of the “Nat’s Cats” Project. Several Help Willy’s Friends’ bins have been placed around the area with the specialized logo of “Nat’s Cats.” While dog food donations are appreciated, food for cats would be preferred. I hope that these bins will strongly emphasize the need to feed feral cat populations. I will also be doing some fundraising to raise awareness for my project. All monetary donations will go toward the Spay/Neuter Fund that directly supports the prevention of increased of feral cat populations. I hope many will realize the importance of reaching out to stray felines.

So please, the next time your heart goes out to animals in need and you are considering making a donation, keep the forgotten feral cats in mind. Only we can change the future of those little lives.