Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Here’s the latest news from Purr Project, a non-profit, no-kill feline shelter located just north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, that provides homeless cats and kittens a recuperative stay with the ultimate goal of adopting them out to loving homes sterilized, vaccinated and disease free.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
The year seemed to be going smoothly until PANDEMIC! On March 20 we received the word that Puerto Vallarta was going into total shut-down except for essential businesses and everyone was to remain at home. That meant all our seasonal fundraisers and shelter tours were cancelled.
The PetCo Adoption Center closed for the next three months. When we were able to resume adoptions there in late June, it was limited to Saturday and Sunday. We are grateful that we were able to find homes for 74 kittens through PetCo in 2020. However, we took in a record 184 felines (mostly kittens) in that same period! We had another 16 adoptions through volunteers, fosters, and a few people who were escorted to the shelter specifically looking for a new furry companion to take home.
The tropical rainstorms of summer were not kind to us! In July we had trees crashing down all over the place and taking out our fences and the outdoor litter box shelter. We eventually hauled away 17 truckloads of branches from trees that fell or were trimmed back for safety. August brought the flooding, which is always traumatic for everyone, and a real mess to clean up! During this time we also lost several yard cats that simply disappeared.
The good news is that all our staff and vets and volunteers are safe and healthy today and the shelter looks great! We look forward to the time when we can once again receive visitors… who will be greeted by a bunch of cats at the front gate eager to welcome you!
VIRTUAL ADOPTIONS
We had two new Virtual Adoptions in December! Alison Lee chose “Pearl” as a gift for her daughter Addy who had always wanted a Russian Blue. Rachel Page chose “Alfonso” as a birthday gift for her friend Marc Wendorf. ‘easy to give a “Virtual” kitty as a gift for your special cat-loving friends… and you don’t have to worry about delivery dates!
VISIT OUR WEBSITE for more information on how you can support the shelter through this program. Scroll down on the ADOPT page to see some of the candidates, like “Cheeto,” who is waiting for his chance to be Virtually Adopted! He is also the Cover Boy for the PuRR Project 2021 calendar.
SHELTER UPDATE
Caring for 200+ felines of all ages is not a 9 to 5 job! It is a daily round of feeding, cleaning litter boxes, mopping out casitas, doing endless loads of laundry, raking the grounds and doing maintenance everywhere.
So our non-profit also supports four adults and six children who live at the ranch. The children have never known any other home. We are grateful to José, his wife Hilda and his brother Carlos, who have a lot of responsibility in maintaining a clean and safe environment for our many kitties!
We finally were able to get the plaques made for the two casitas renovated last winter… Linda’s Casitas, thanks to Fred Marshall, and The Bungalows, thanks to Terri and Gray Levi.
Fred made a special trip out to the shelter with our volunteers on December 17 to check out the casita dedicated to his late wife, Linda. He knows she would have been pleased with the results, and we are grateful for his generous support of our efforts to provide a place where stray and abandoned cats can live out their lives in peace and dignity.
FEATURED FELINE: MILLIE
Millie came to the shelter after she was abandoned in a carrier at Petco last March, just one week before the Covid shutdown. She was already about 4 months old and didn’t get a chance to go out for adoption for a few more months. By then she had a hard time competing with the cute little kittens and was always passed over.
She still lives in the shelter nursery and is a real sweetheart who deserves a loving home. If you are interested in adopting Millie or any of our furry felines, contact us at adopt(at)purrproject.com
GRACIAS! THANKS! MERCI! DANKE! ARIGATO!
We are so grateful for the incredible level of support from donors, volunteers and friends in this difficult year. The generosity shared has made it possible to continue our mission and gives us hope for the coming years. All the kitties send their thanks for recent donations from: Terri & Gray Levi, Gary Phillips, Melissa & David Wright, Mary & Bob Fitzgerald, Fred Marshall, Trudy Dixon, Kevin Dorff, Barb Aker, Carolyn & Gordon Whittington, Marleen & Kent Church, Donna Doherty, Trisha Aljoe (in memory of Maria O’Connor & Gretchen DeWitt) and Ron Harner from the estate of Nancy Quillen. Will McCallum also donated as a Christmas to his niece, Georgia Miller!
For more Kitty News & Photos, please visit PurrProject.com.
Purr Project is a Non-Profit shelter in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico that provides homeless cats and kittens a recuperative stay with the ultimate goal to adopt them out to loving homes. All of our residents have been sterilized, vaccinated and are disease free. We accomplish this through our own efforts as well as collaboratively with other animal welfare organizations. Both monetary donations as well as donations of dry cat food are most welcome – and much appreciated. Donations 501(c)(3) tax-deductible in the U.S. For more information, visit PurrProject.com or send an email to info(at)purrproject.com.