We must have changes in place in our space by the end of the year. If this does not happen, we run the risk of fines or even more drastic solutions such as closing the space. We are counting down the days.
By the end of the year, we must have the changes to our space in place. If this does not happen, we run the risk of receiving fines or even more drastic solutions, such as closing the space and distributing our animals to other entities. We must have beds hanging on the walls and we must build a partition in the existing space.
We are counting down.
We had an inspection, and in order to continue our project we have to change facilities because the space we are in does not have all the necessary conditions to be able to take in more animals. In order to take in more animals we need 1 recovery room, 1 maternity room and 1 infirmary. We only have 2 in this space. The ICNF and the Sintra City Council are trying to help us so that we can continue, but they cannot turn a blind eye to the existing laws. The Sintra City Council is trying to give us a piece of land so that we can build a shelter from scratch, but this is a process that will take a long time. Temporary solution until we have the definitive space: Construction. Build a partition so that we have 1 infirmary and put beds on the walls (about 100) so that all the existing cats have their own space. It is worth noting that we have many beds for our boys, there are enough beds for all of them, but many are on the floor or on tables, and what is requested are fixed points so that we can know how many animals we can have in the space. We have already requested several quotes, one of which was €5,500 (just for the beds), but we are trying to reduce these amounts as it is a high amount.
O nosso espaço é cheio de cor
About the author
The association was born from a dream. Sónia is an animal lover and has been involved in animal causes since she can remember, with her main focus being cats. Little by little, she has been creating conditions to improve the lives of nobody's cats.
She started by building shelters, and at home she would take in the sweetest cats to give them up for responsible adoption. However, as more and more sweet cats needed to be rehabilitated, she decided to rent a space to have better conditions to take them in, since she could no longer do it at home alone. In the middle of the pandemic, Sónia rented a space. It was a huge risk, but her dream of helping nobody's cats was even bigger.
Four years ago, Sónia's dream came true with the help of several friends.
The Sintra Cat Village Association was set up a few months after Sónia rented the first space. Over the years, many people have joined this project and some of them are Sónia's right-hand man. The Association has had its ups and downs; there are days when we cry a lot, but there are also days when we smile a lot.
With the number of requests for help to foster kittens and the increasing number of abandoned animals, the space where the Association was located no longer met the necessary conditions for the well-being of our boys and in January 2023 we moved to a larger space with better conditions. However, we know that we need to make improvements to have better conditions.
Our struggle is daily and our financial difficulties are many, because with more than 120 adult cats, the expenses are not easy to bear considering that we only survive on donations.
Every month we are responsible for:
- Rent - €770
- Electricity, water and internet (so we can access the PC) - +-350€
- Cleaning - €500 Cleaning is very important and fundamental in a shelter. Unfortunately, due to a lack of volunteers, we have to resort to external services to ensure daily cleaning.
- Food - €750
- Patés - +-1,800€, As we can't control the food each one eats, with the paté we know what they are eating, the math is easy to do for 120 cats (some eat more than one paté or others eat a special paté for 1€...) at 0.50€ each paté gives 60€ per day x 31 days gives 1860€
- Veterinarians - This part is the hardest of all. Last year it was more than 40 thousand euros. We have already calculated the amount for the first 4 months of this year and the amount was 14,778.08 euros (or around 3,700 euros/month).
After 4 years dedicating ourselves to this cause, after 4 years giving our boys a home and after having found permanent homes for so many who have passed through our path, we do not want to throw in the towel, we do not want to give up this fight, we want to continue to do our best for them.
Simão, conheceu o que era um lar, conheceu a rua e agora descança como um Rei até encontrar quem o queira adotar
