Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

I write about the cats quite a bit, so let’s take a turn toward what’s happening behind the scene to keep this project flowing. This is my #NaBloPoMo contribution for the day. The pantry is pretty cool. Not this cool …

We currently have two volunteers – me and my neighbor, Marie. Marie houses the food in her second floor pantry, built in 1900. She has a drop-off/pick-up spot on her front porch. I have a similar spot in my backyard parking pad. We use patio bins to keep things dry and accessible.

The ideal size donation is 12-16 pound bags of dry food and any case size of wet food since we can easily open those to divide.

I put donations in my vehicle as they come in either from the wishlist or as a drop-off. Weekly, I drive to Marie’s house a few blocks away. Together, we unload the donations and haul them up to the porch and then up to the second floor.

Then we take a break. She keeps water and Gatorade in the second floor fridge for moments like these. Hauling cat food around is not for the faint of heart.

Next comes a review of the week’s distributions. We divide our households out into different weeks to manage the quantity of food. At the beginning of the month, we do a quick inventory to determine what the allotment will be for each household. Right now, we have been offering 12 pounds of dry food and 20-24 cans of wet food. It is not enough to cover a colony, but it does help.

We pull the items. Marie packs them in plastic bags, affixes a tag with the person’s name, and puts them into the bin on her front porch every Sunday afternoon. She keeps an eye out to make sure they are picked up and/or look for new donations. Her background in retail and stocking are invaluable tools to this entire process. I call her the pantry manager.

Once she gives me the thumbs up, I email folx using our Google group to let them know distributions are ready. They have from Sunday to Saturday evening to pick up. Anything not collected goes back into the pantry. Anyone with a unexpected delay or need can let us know and we’ll work with them.

This weekly email also contains updates about special or unique items. Dog food, special diet donations, and pet items such as small cat trees or dishes are offered to the caretakers. Since we rely solely on donations to distribute, we update them on our capacity to distribute the following month. This can’t be their sole source of food.

We do not break down large bags into smaller packaging because it is simply too much work. Sometimes we have to be creative to be fair and move the largest bags out to caretakers with the largest colonies. The ideal size donation is 12-16 pound bags of dry food and any case size of wet food since we can easily open those to divide.

I spend a lot of time drumming up donations. Our hope is to get through this winter with individual donations and then cultivate sustainable donations in 2025 with corporate and business partners. So I am constantly making memes from cat photos, updating Facebook groups and Nextdoor and other social media platforms. I create videos (not very well, but they do the job.) We both scan social media, especially Facebook, for folx giving away any type of pet food and try to get in the running to receive those items.

I make fliers, write press releases, and draft letters to send to potential donors. I manage the spreadsheet and registration form as well as the donor acknowledgments. Important note: Amazon no longer gives me the option to thank donors through their platform so it can be a challenge to connect with individuals.

I am also constantly encouraging people to register. Our focus is on colony caretakers, TNR feeders, and modest income households. Not everyone in those categories is going to trust out of the gate or feel comfortable sharing their information. The cruelty of neighbors and government officials keeps folx wary. So we have to earn their trust by showing up each month and connecting with trusted mutuals. Rescue groups are an important middle-person so those relationships have to be maintained.

This project is about the cat folx, not just the cats. It is important to keep that in mind.

All sorts of scenarios pop up: open bags of donated foods, wet bags breaking open, running low on basic supplies, storing unexpected large donations, households that don’t drive and cannot pick up their distribution, late night scrambling to get an emergency ration for someone who found a kitten or a cat. Small print on bags can be a real challenge for our middle-aged eyesight. LOL.

We are creating a hyperfocal newsletter for our Manchester neighbors so they will understand the work we are doing in our community. We plan to deliver that door to door both to save on postage and to build relationships.

Then there is the heartbreak. Beloved colony cats disappearing or dying. Caretakers who are too far away for us to support. Kittens and cats dumped on us even though we are not a rescue. Constant worry about having enough food to go around. Caretakers who stop responding to our email or texts – are they okay? Caretakers who feed cats their human food because they don’t have enough cat food.

Perhaps most important of all is the heartbreak and joy of being invited into the lives of the caretakers and households, to share their struggles with affordable housing and job security, to celebrate adoptions and successful TNR ‘mass trapping’ events, and to find other needed resources. We appreciate the work they do to care for the cats and other animals. Not only is it kind, it is good for the community. Well-fed ‘fixed’ feral cats with clean water and shelters are much less disruptive. Feral cats can be good neighbors if they have a caretaker.

Being a social worker and a very experienced retail/stocking manager are two different but useful skill sets to bring to this work.

My favorite part of the week is seeing the donations loaded into our vehicle, St. Gertrude or Gertie. It is satisfying reminder of neighbors supporting neighbors. Until I have to get into Gertie and crawl to find a bag or box that slid into a recess.

My least favorite part of the week is hauling those donations from Gertie to the second floor pantry. Ugh. Every week I say “we need an intern” to Marie. She responds “Nah, we got this.”

I also love sharing the stories from our caretakers and tails about the cats themselves (did you catch that wordplay?) The 70+ old veteran who mows lawns to earn cat food money. The woman whose determination to feed the feral wore down the reluctance of her landlord who did not want her to get hurt sneaking around. The 90+ caretaker whose colony grew smaller through attrition, not violence until at the time of her own death, there was one cat left who went to a rescue. The older man who closely monitors abandoned buildings for signs of new cats. The gruff folx who will hand feed a cat with bad teeth until a dental can be arranged through a rescue. The woman who spends four hours a day caring for colonies on top of her actual job because there’s no one else to help those animals.

Constantly scrounging for resources is exhausting. I’m pretty good with crowdfunding, but that is also a whole other level of work. However, we need cat food and money to buy cat food and other supplies. Marie has a never ending source of tricks to secure things like plastic bags, labels, and extra cases of good that I know come from her personal stash. She can always put her hands on scissors, sharpies, and notepads no matter where we are. She’s like a walking CVS.

We both have colonies and cats in residence. I manage two feeding stations known as Fort Faulsey and Marie manages one. She also manages a few new household members who need special care and attention. It is just two cats, but they need time and attention. They deserve time and attention.

I just spent time in cattic with some of my cats. Now I’m preparing the evening feed and charging laser pointers on my USB ports. I should be watching Grey’s.

We are so fortunate to have help. Gertie is a loaner from a friend who realized I had no vehicle at my disposal (Marie doesn’t drive.) Neighbors respond to late night pleas to pick up found cats. People I’ll never meet actually take my word that this is important, that this is a way to help neighbors based on my experience and assessment. They send food because I ask.

I’ll never take that for granted.

Who are those women behind the curtain? Social workers, cat folx, haulers, counters, creatives, communicators, purveyors of random bits of just what is needed, etc.

Where to Donate

• Two permanent drop-off spots at
  • 1213 W. North Avenue Pittsburgh 15233 (steps)
  • 1440 Faulsey Way Pittsburgh 15233 (backyard address)
  • Patio bins at both spots, Look for the yellow #PghCatFolx signs.
• Amazon Wishlist bit.ly/TheRuffList
• Financial donations
  • GoFundMe bit.ly/GivePghCatFolx
  • Venmo pittsburghlgbtq@gmail.com 
  • PayPalCharities paypal.me/PittsburghLGBTQ

What To Donate

• We need 15 bags of cat food 16 lbs or larger for our December distribution
• Dental treats.
• Literally any cat item.
• We do not need more cats.

And then we do it again the next week. Let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it again … here we come, here we go, we gotta stock (see what I did there?)