The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry team spent the weekend packing up non-food donations like beds, trees, bowls, towels, blankets, and so forth. That’s when we realized something problematic – we are going to run out of food at the end of May.
We know you came through for us in February and March. We thought it would last a bit longer.
The State of the Pet Food Pantry
We are up to 48 households/caretakers – that’s 960 pounds of dry food. These folx take care of stray and homeless cats, work hard to keep their own pets healthy, and help our communities. We are so very proud to be able to support them as pantry volunteers. Three of our caretakers pick up food for others – so 3 trips takes care of 7 households. We are green(ish)!
Here’s a little reel I made about our Fort Faulsey colony starring Pretty Girl. (@Pghlesbian)
Things have changed a bit – we moved our pantry distribution and donation drop-off a few blocks down the street. That means we get out the wagons and haul the distributions from the actual pantry to that location every Sunday morning. We also lug donations from that spot back to the pantry location. It is a bit of a time commitment we hadn’t planned for.
We are searching for new sources of food donations – we are considering going to car rallies and tabling. Open to suggestions. We might be teaming up with The Parking Pad.
But now we get to the part where we have to say no.
After May, we will not be distributing canned food b/c our storage is too hot and sunny. We’ll have that food available by request and for rescues. This means we need more dry food! I just went out now to feed the colony and that area is already warm. I don’t love that. But our options are limited. We told everyone this past week so they can have a month to adjust their pets food intake if necessary.
The problem with this pet food pantry with any food pantry – there’s never extra food for everyone who needs it. Some of our cat colonies are over 40 cats, one person feed close to 80 cats. But others have 2 or 3 and still deserve support. That’s why we distribute based on household, not the number of animals. But when someone is literally out of pet food a week early – that’s hard.
There’s never enough food. The pantry is filled, then empty. Sure we have little bit on reserve – some kitten food, some special diet food, and a wee bit in case (yet another) homeless cat finds its way to one of us.
How food pantries try to say yes as much as we can
Most pet food pantries distribute 4lbs of dry food to each household, repacked from larger bags into ziplocs. Other pantries distribute one 15 lb bag of food. We decided early on the repacking wasn’t viable. We base our allocation on what we have on hand and sometimes the size of the bag itself – we do occasionally get 40 lbs bags. Or a giant box of dog snacks – that we can repackage.
Cases of canned food is easy – rip it open and toss 20 cans in each distribution. A case is usually 24 cans, but not always. And we don’t have enough to give each household that extra four cans.
Some pantries say “you get what you” and that’s understandable because we can’t control our donors. We keep a list of what people will and will not accept along with dietary health needs. We prioritize the health concerns, usually urinary and/or kidney function. Otherwise, you do get what you get. If you cats won’t eat the food we have, we aren’t going to force you to take it. Or convince them to try it – LOL.
A food pantry, including a pet food pantry, is intended to be a supplement. 11 lbs of dry and 20 cans of wet won’t feed 40 cats for a month. We urge people to set a little aside because some months the weather delayed things by a week. Our caretakers talk about stretching pet food with people food – not always nutritious, but warm and filling for a few days. Cats can eat a lot of fruits and veggies, but not all. Very important to avoid the dangerous ones. Cats apparently like watermelon.
Too many of our folx rely on us exclusively. Saying no when they ask for extra or more is incredibly hard because how do you explain that to a cat or a dog?
How can we turn no into a yes?
So we are going to increase our outreach to the community and try to increase the dry food we’ll have on hand in the coming months to offset the lack of canned food.
We are trying to find volunteers to install a donated shed that will be shady. We are looking for a patio umbrella to put over the distribution bins – we have a base. We are asking volunteets to help us haul the very heavy bags of food two blocks each Sunday AM because its so much easier that way.
There’s never any extra, never enough.
Anything you can do to support these families and caretakers is appreciated. Here’s how
- GoFundMe bit.lyGivePghCatFolx
- Venmo @ PittsburghLGBTQ
- Paypal.me/PittsburghLGBTQ
- Amazon Wishlist bit.ly/TheRuffList
- Chewy wishlist bit.ly/TheChewyList
Donations can be dropped to:
- 1213 W. North Avenue Pittsburgh 15233 (steps to the bins)
- 1440 Faulsey Way 15233 (a backyard address so there’s no house)
Look for the yellow #PghCatFolx yard signs and patio bins
You can register for the food pantry at bit.ly/PetFolxPetFoodPantry Don’t let me deter you – just help you have realistic expectations and sometimes we may have a waiting list. But our neighbors are generous and good.
Items
- Dry food, ideally 11-20 lb bags, cat and dog
- Dental treats
- Paper plates, bowls, and towels
- Cat litter
- Dishes, bowls, beds, pet supplies
- Towels, sheets, blankets – no comforters, no pillows
This is when we have to say nope!
One thing that does disappoint me is when someone dumps their broken or filthy items on us. Especially used litter pans that haven’t even been cleaned. If you aren’t going to clean it, we aren’t. Of course we are not giving literal trash to our caretakers. I’ve gone through a box of contractor bags disposing of this sort of ‘donation’ – more work for us and that’s dismaying. When it comes to litter pans, only brand new. Same with scoops.
And there’s a reason no one will accept pillows. Just throw them into a textile recycling bin or away. Please.
Conclusion
Please help us support the neighbors doing this important work. It is kitten season making healthy cat colonies vital to our communities.
We need over 960 lbs for June. That’s 50 20lb bags. Any portion you can contribute helps.
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