by John Dowd
Heidi’s Kittens has had some huge adjustments over the past yr. Namely, the organization has been granted its personal 501(c)3 nonprofit standing. According to Heidi Schnarr, founding father of the cat rescue, the rescue break up from All Hearts Rescue in June of 2023. In September, they grew to become their very own stand-alone nonprofit.
This change is most necessary as a result of it would now enable them to obtain direct donations to assist them rescue, rehabilitate and rehome cats and kittens. They additionally held adoption occasions all through the summer time, together with one on Main Street, in Stevensville, one in Missoula referred to as PetFest and one in Hamilton referred to as WoofFest. They additionally now maintain adoption occasions a number of instances a month and work with organizations like Tractor Supply and PTSA, in Lolo.
The rescue has additionally obtained donations from the Rapp Family Foundation and from Stevensville High School. After all this development, Schnarr stated, “We feel better positioned this year for emergencies and to continue to support our local needs.”
Schnarr stated she’s been networking with different rescuers. Now, her rescue group has 16 foster houses and extra folks volunteering on a regular basis. “People know that our cats are happy and healthy,” stated Schnarr. When talking on the expansion, she added, “It just hasn’t stopped and I foresee it growing and growing.”
The rescue has 4 board members and has related to a statewide transport community to assist get cats to houses in Montana, and past.
According to Schnarr, “We have had kittens adopted to all over the state; in December kittens traveled to Billings, Belgrade, Butte and Kalispell, to name a few destinations. We think we have an adopter in Alaska flying down this month as well!”
When requested why she does what she does, Schnarr stated, “It’s just important to me to minimize the suffering.” According to her, there are numerous cats being euthanized on daily basis, and solely extra because the pandemic, which is when she began her rescue. Schnarr expressed the significance of getting cats spayed or neutered and adopted, talking about individuals who might have pets and never have the ability to afford to have them altered or cared for. She is hoping to get the phrase out for folks to hunt assist in the event that they want it. “We’d rather that than something awful happening to the animals,” added Schnarr.
For folks keen on Heidi’s Kittens, extra data may be discovered on the web site, heidiskittens.com. However, Schnarr stated that their Facebook web page is extra updated with data and photographs. She additionally needed to update readers that the cat within the lead picture for the unique article that ran within the Bitterroot Star, Lucy, has since been adopted.
