If you follow me on social media, no doubt you’ve already come across my Purge FAQ post (I mean, it is pinned to the top of my profile). But with The Big Purge coming on April 21st, I wanted to share a little more information about my charity work.
You already know how and why The Purge started – but how did I come up with the name? Well, despite the cute, cat-themed marketing I use for my charity work I wanted to link this to horror somehow. If you saw the very first Purge posts, you’ll know I named it after the movie. (No, I haven’t seen the other films in the franchise – just the first one). Whenever I do anything “spring cleaning” related, no matter the time of year, I always think of it in terms of a purge, so that movie was the logical choice. Plus, it’s a name that still makes sense when it comes to clearing out books you no longer want, even if you haven’t seen the film.
And you already know why I chose the Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue, but why did I choose them as my charity partner? They have done so much for my cats that I wanted to be able to repay them somehow. One example is Finn. When he was a kitten, he and almost 90 other cats (including Bubs) were rescued from a hoarders house. There were cats of all ages – including pregnant females – so I can only image what the medical and food bills must have been. And Finn had an additional problem to deal with – his malformed eye. OSCatR was working with their veterinary partners to determine if the eye could be saved or if it needed to come out. And this was months before Mark and I adopted him and Bubs.
One we filled out the official adoption application, we were given a choice with Finn. We could either leave him with his foster family while the vet continued to deal with his eye (bringing only Bubs home to start). Or we could bring Finn home at the same time as Bubs, provided we continue to administer Finn’s eyedrops and bring him to all of his scheduled vet appointments. OSCatR would be covering all medical costs relating to the eye as it was something they were already dealing with – a pre-existing condition that needed to be resolved regardless of whether or not he got adopted. As we did not want to separate this bonded pair – and we are not squeamish when it comes to administering medication – we took both boys home and gave Finn the recommended care until the vet determined it was time for the eye to go. OSCatR paid for his eye surgery, as well as his (and Bubs’) neuter. The rescue always covers the cost of the spay/neuter.
That’s just one of my cats, and they’ve spent a lot of money on him. Their work ensured that Finn has the best quality of life possible – but that could not have been cheap, even with rescue discounts. At the very least, I would love to be able to repay OSCatR for all medical expenses they contributed to for all of my cats.
If I love cats so much, why don’t I foster as well? Again, we have Finn to thank for that. About a year and a half ago, a friend reached out on behalf of another friend who was in a bit of a pickle. They were looking for a safe place to house their cat for a few months while they were going through a tough time. They did not want to surrender her or give her up, and they didn’t want to go through the Ottawa Humane Society as there was a risk she could be euthanized. Although this former OSCatR feline – Luna – did not like to be around other cats, the family was desperate and took us up on our offer to house her.
Luna lived in our spare room for about six months, and had supervised social time with Max, Minerva, Finn, and Bubs. From day one, Finn was madly in love with her. And although Luna never warmed up to the other cats, she came to love Finn back (although not as fiercely). Out poor, loving, and social boy was devastated when Luna’s family took her back. Given his chronic anxiety and health conditions, he required lots of vet visits, medication, and gabapentin in the weeks after Luna was gone.
Although I would love to foster again someday, my priority is my cats. I cannot risk Finn’s physical or mental health again. He loves so intensely that it would devastate him to have to say goodbye to fosters on a regular basis. So for now, fundraising through The Book Purge is my way of helping OSCatR. And I will keep doing that as long as people keep donating books.
We’re up to 11 households that have donated books so far, and I’m confident that number will keep growing. Although the 2024 fundraising goal is only $1,000 I would love to keep increasing that goal each year that I keep doing this. So please help me raise money for the cats! Come on out to the Square Lemon Spring in Bloom Craft Market on April 21st and treat yourself to a previously loved book while helping your local cat community.
