You Love Cats and Want to Help

Cats are adorable, and like us, you want to help them find forever homes where they can be safe and spoiled to bits. Maybe you follow local rescues online and find yourself cheering every time a shy cat gets adopted or a litter of kittens finds a foster home. Maybe you’ve visited a shelter before and thought, I’d love to help with this someday.

For many people, the first thought is volunteering in the shelter. But sometimes that isn’t possible.

Maybe you live too far away. Maybe you’re under 18. Maybe your schedule is too busy. Maybe transportation is difficult. Maybe you have allergies, family responsibilities, or simply aren’t able to commit to regular onsite volunteer shifts. There are so many things that can get in the way! And that can feel disappointing at first.

But here’s something important to know:

You do not need to volunteer inside a shelter building to make a real difference for cats in your community.

In fact, many of the things that keep rescues running happen outside the shelter itself. Community support, fundraising, supply donations, fostering, social media sharing, and advocacy all help cats receive the care, safety, and healing they need while they wait for loving homes.

Why Shelters Have Volunteer Requirements

At Caring for Cats, our on-site volunteers work directly with cats who may be scared, stressed, sick, or recovering from difficult situations. Many responsibilities require training, consistency, and long-term commitment.

Volunteer age requirements and scheduling expectations exist to protect both the cats and the people caring for them. Cats thrive on routine and predictability, especially while adjusting to shelter life.

But that does not mean people who can’t volunteer onsite are unable to help. Far from it.

Meaningful Ways You Can Help Cats

Organize a Supply Drive

Shelters always need supplies, especially the following things:

• Bags of Dry Cat and Kitten food
• Litter
• Cleaning supplies
• Treats
• Paper towels

A supply drive at a school, workplace, scout troop, church, apartment building, or neighborhood can help the shelter. Even small collections help rescues stretch their budgets further so more resources can go toward veterinary care and supporting the cats we have who need extra time to be ready for adoption.

Run a Fundraiser

Fundraising is one of the most impactful ways to support animal rescue. Organizing, coordinating, and working with others to raise money or supplies is a perfect service project, and will demonstrate to your future colleges or employers that you have the initiative to step in to help and the drive to make a difference for others.

Shelters like ours have a lot of costs. Medical expenses add up quickly for shelters and the donations you raise from your community can help provide:

• Vaccines
• Spay and neuter surgeries
• Dental care
• Emergency treatment
• Prescription food
• Medications

Fundraising Ideas

A fundraiser does not need to be large to matter.

Any amount you raise will be put to good use by our shelter volunteers. Here are a few simple fundraising ideas that work well for kids, teens, families, workplaces, and community groups:

• Bake sale
• Lemonade stand
• Cat-themed craft sale
• Garage sale
• Birthday fundraiser
• Car wash
• Pet photo booth
• Read-a-thon
• Walk or fitness challenge
• Online donation campaign
• Restaurant partnership night
• Workplace, community, or school donation drive
• Coordinate with a local retailer on a donation drive

The best fundraiser is simply the one you are excited enough to follow through on and have fun with. Get creative and get your friends involved!

Share Caring for Cats Social Media Posts With Your Friends and Family

One of the easiest ways to help cats is helping more people see them.

Sharing adoption posts, fundraiser announcements, or shelter updates on social media expands the reach of rescue organizations and helps connect cats with potential adopters and supporters. Post about donating to our organization, and ask your friends and family to become sponsors.

This may seem small, but visibility truly matters for nonprofit rescues like Caring for Cats.

Sometimes one shared post or learning more about an organization is all it takes for the right person to become a supporter, or an adopter.

You’ll find our posts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and NextDoor.

Helping Cats Helps Communities Too

Caring for Cats was founded by members of the community who simply wanted to help vulnerable cats.

More than 25 years later, that same community spirit continues to guide everything we do. We are a volunteer-driven organization powered by people who give their time, compassion, and energy to help cats feel safe, heal, and find loving homes.

Our volunteers care for the cats each day. Foster families open their homes. Donors help provide food and medical care. Supporters like you share adoption posts, attend events, organize fundraisers, and spread the word about our mission.

Together, those small acts of kindness create something much bigger.

At Caring for Cats, we’ve seen supporters of all ages come together to help vulnerable cats feel safe and loved.

Every person who helps, whether through volunteering, donating, fostering, fundraising, or spreading the word, becomes part of that larger community effort.

That is how cats find homes. That is how rescues continue. And that is how a community changes lives together.

Every Act of Kindness Matters and Young People Make a Difference

We want young people especially to know that just because you may not be old enough to volunteer at the shelter yet does not mean your support is less important. Young people often bring incredible creativity, energy, and heart to rescue work.

When you organize donation drives, host birthday fundraisers, share social content, collect supplies, and introduce entire communities to rescue organizations it matters tremendously. And when the day finally comes that you are old enough to volunteer directly, you’ll already understand that helping cats is not just about working inside a shelter. It’s about showing up for them however you can.

A donated bag of cat food matters. A shared adoption post matters. A fundraiser matters. A caring community matters.

Cats are helped every single day because people choose to do small things with great love.

Thank You Emily & St. Francis Middle School

We’d like to say a thank you to Emily, a student at St. Francis Middle School and member of the student council.

Emily was recently given the opportunity to donate $100 to a charity of her choice and selected Caring for Cats. She didn’t stop there, she organized the purchase of supplies and personally delivered the donations to the shelter alongside her mom.

It was wonderful to meet her and see her compassion in action. Support like Emily’s reminds us that the next generation of animal advocates is already making a real difference for cats in our community.

Ready to Help Cats in Your Community?

If you’d like to organize a fundraiser or supply drive for Caring for Cats, we’d love to hear from you.

You do not need experience to make a difference. Small community efforts help provide food, medical care, enrichment, and safe shelter for cats while they wait for loving homes.

Here are a few easy ways to get started:

• Check out our current wish lists
• Choose a simple fundraiser idea
• Set a small goal
• Invite friends, classmates, coworkers, or neighbors to participate
• Share your fundraiser on social media
• Have fun helping cats!

Some supporters raise a few dollars. Others organize drives through schools, workplaces, scout troops, or community groups. Every effort matters.

If you’re interested in supporting Caring for Cats through a fundraiser, donation drive, or community event, contact us at: cfc@caringforcatsmn.org

We’d be happy to help you get started.

A big thank you to two of our wonderful Cat Tales readers, Jude and Breyonna, for showing such incredible kindness to the cats at Caring for Cats!

Breyonna, one of our frequent Cat Tales readers, recently celebrated her cat-themed 7th birthday in a very special way.

Instead of gifts for herself, she asked for donations for the cats at Caring for Cats. She brought in cat food, gift cards for Target, Menards, and Petco, and even created a beautiful cat drawing for the shelter. Her thoughtful generosity and ongoing dedication to reading to the cats mean so much to all of us.

Jude recently joined us for Cat Tales – Kids Reading to Cats and not only spent time reading to the kitties but also brought donations to help support their care. The cats loved having him visit and share stories with them.

Thank you, Jude and Breyonna, for sharing your love of cats and helping make a difference for the kitties in our care!