FAQ

Please email katskrittersmb@gmail.com if you have a question for which you cannot find a response here.

Q: Where are you located?

A: KKR operates out of rural Manitoba, with most of the animals sheltered at our rescue director’s home south of Sperling, MB. Some of the animals are fostered in homes in the surrounding communities.

Q: What are your hours of operation?

A: KKR is not open to the public. We are not a typical shelter and therefore do not have a facility that is suitable to accommodate visits from members of the public. The rescue is operated by our rescue director from her home/property. Due to our focus on providing an environment that is ideal for helping the challenging/special needs animals in our care to thrive, which includes our unique cage free set up, we cannot safely accommodate visitors. Our priority is to the animals in our care – minimizing their stress and managing their environment so as to not give them opportunities to “fail”. Occasionally, during periods where we have less animals, or more easy going animals, on site we will try to accommodate visitors by appointment, if possible. **Please note that we cannot accommodate drop in visitors! An appointment is always required.

Q: How can I contact you?

A: Email is best – katskrittersmb@gmail.com There is not a phone number to call because we do not have a public shelter facility.

Q: I sent an email or message but haven’t heard back. Why?

A: Our director currently operates the rescue more or less on her own and also runs a pet daycare/boarding operation from the same location. At times, there may be up to 75 animals in care. The safety and well-being of the animals must always take priority and, therefore, providing the care they need takes up a great deal of time. We will do our best to respond to emails and other communications as quickly as possible, but please be patient and realize it may take a few days. If ever a week or more has passed with no response, please try again as it is always possible your message never made it through the first time.

Q: Do you accept volunteers?

A: KKR is always in need of help with various areas of rescue including animal care/chores, transporting animals, supplies, donations, etc., working at events and fundraisers. Volunteers are especially needed for planning and carrying out fundraising ideas and events!! We also would benefit greatly from someone taking over management of the website and accounting. COMMITTED, RELIABLE, REGULAR volunteers are always needed. Our largest need is for off-site volunteers to assist with transport, fundraising, and events. Email katskrittersmb@gmail.com to request a volunteer application. **For safety reasons, we are not currently in a position to accept any on-site volunteers that are under 18 years of age. We do have many tasks kids can help out with from home, or otherwise off-site, so feel free to inquire about how your young animal lovers can get involved to help us help animals in need!

Q: I’m not interested in adopting but love animals, can I come see the animals?

A: The short answer is “no”. Our priority is to the animals in our care – minimizing their stress and managing their environment so as to not give them opportunities to “fail”. Kat’s Kritters Rescue operates cage free, and specializes in providing permanent sanctuary to animals that are high needs – either due to health or behavioural challenges. Some of the Kritters are very shy, or feral, and others may have behavioural issues that make it unsafe for them to interact with strangers. Any time someone comes onto the property, this causes a lot of over-excitement for the dogs, which can be problematic in a cage free environment. Our current set up, while wonderful for the animals in care, is not designed to accommodate visitors. We are working on plans for the future to have a separate building on site where we could more easily, and safely, accommodate on-site visits. The safety and welfare of the animals in care, and any visitors needs to be taken into account, and we appreciate your understanding of this. Occasionally, during periods where there are less animals on site, or more social animals, and where we have volunteers lined up, we may be able to arrange an appointment for a visit. Priority for visitors will be given to potential adopters, donors, and sponsors, but can not be accommodated during very busy times.

Q: Where can I find details about an animal I am interested in?

A: Each available animal has a profile on our website. Please note that in November 2020 we phased out our adoption program so will no longer be adopting out animals from our rescue directly. The majority of our friendly, healthy, social animals will be transferred to other reputable organizations for adoption once they have received all vet care and are ready to find a new home. You can learn more about our Sanctuary (permanent resident) animals on our website or social media pages.

Q: How do I know which animals are available to adopt?

A: Please note that in November 2020 we phased out our adoption program so will no longer be adopting out animals from our rescue directly. The majority of our friendly, healthy, social animals will be transferred to other reputable organizations for adoption once they have received all vet care and are ready to find a new home. The animals that remain in our care for reasons of health or behaviour will join our Sanctuary program and will remain here, or in a qualified foster home, as permanent wards of the rescue.

Q: If I am interested in a cat or dog to adopt, what do I do?

A: Update: Please note that in November 2020 we phased out our adoption program so will no longer be adopting out animals from our rescue directly. The majority of our friendly, healthy, social animals will be transferred to other reputable organizations for adoption once they have received all vet care and are ready to find a new home.

Q: Why do I need to submit an application before I can meet an animal?

An application is extremely important for many reasons. Our small rescue focuses on providing permanent sanctuary to “unadoptable” animals, and the animals we do have available for adoption generally have very specific needs that must be met in order for them to succeed. The priority is to find the home best suited to each particular animal’s needs. Not every adopter is the right fit for the animal they are interested in. An application provides us with answers about the environment an animal will be living in, what type of lifestyle the adopter leads, about other animals in the home, children, etc. Based on our knowledge of the animals in care, we can then determine if it seems like a potential match, or if we can direct you to another animal instead that would be better suited. We do not want to set an animal up to fail, or ever put either an adopter or animal at risk, so having knowledge about the person(s) interested in adopting the animal before we allow a meeting is integral! While it may be disappointing to be turned down to adopt a specific animal, please understand that we are only making decisions that we feel will benefit the animal AND YOU in the long run! We want both the animal and the humans to be happy, not just one or the other!

Q: I’m worried something may go wrong, do you let people take an animal as a trial before they adopt?

KKR considers the first 2 weeks AFTER adoption to be a trial period. During this time if, despite your best efforts, things are simply not working out, then you would arrange with us to return the animal to rescue and receive a full refund of the adoption fee. Part of the contract you sign at the time of adoption also states that, even beyond 2 weeks, if EVER you cannot or do not wish to keep the animal you have adopted, it MUST be returned to rescue.

Q: What are your adoption fees and what does the fee include?

Currently, dog/puppy adoption fees are $200.00 and cat/kitten adoption fees are $60.00 or you can adopt 2 cats/kittens for $100.00. A donation of your choice, either monetary or supplies, is also required in addition to the adoption fee. All animals are sterilized, tattooed, current on vaccinations, dewormed, and have had any other vet care required while in rescue (ex. dental work, additional surgery, antibiotic treatment, etc.). We also heartworm test adult dogs and FeLV/FIV test most cats. Dogs are on heartworm prevention and flea/tick prevention the entire time they are in the care of the rescue.

Q: I am interested in fostering, what do I need to do?

A: We are currently only looking for long term/permanent/qualified fosters for animals with behaviour or health concerns. Please email katskrittersmb@gmail.com to request a foster application form to complete. We will then process the application and do our best to find an animal in need of fostering that would be well suited to your particular environment and abilities. Some animals require more experience or have higher needs than others, so we do not always have animals immediately available, but we do need reliable fosters on an ongoing basis! NOTE: We need foster homes that are within 30-40 minutes of the Sperling, MB area. We are currently not in a position to accept foster homes that are in Winnipeg or otherwise too far from our area due to the difficulties involved in arranging transport, delivery of supplies, and distance from our veterinary clinics, etc.

Q: Do you adopt animals to homes where they will be primarily kept outdoors?

As a general rule, no. For a variety of reasons, we generally adopt animals to indoor only homes. We do recognize that some animals thrive and do very well residing outdoors; however, we strongly feel that the risks to an animal, both physically and mentally, are too great in most cases. Animals adopted from KKR are expected to be a part of the family and, as such, we expect that they will be living in the home with their human family. NOTE: There are exceptions to every rule. Different animals have different needs and we do certainly have animals pass through rescue at times that would make for great indoor/outdoor, or outdoor (barn/shop) pets. If you are looking for an outdoor pet, feel free to submit an application and we can recommend an animal to you. Please note that we have specific requirements that need to be met for any pet that would be kept outdoors.

Q: I plan to declaw the cat I want to adopt, why won’t you adopt to me?

We, at KKR, are adamantly against declawing. In fact, many veterinarians are even starting to refuse to perform this procedure and it is BANNED in many places, including Manitoba as of 2019. A cat needs it’s claws and if you are not willing to accept that claws are part of a cat, then a cat is not the right pet for you. Declawing is an unnecessary mutilation that causes physical and mental distress to an animal and the result is often a variety of medical and behavioural problems (biting, failing to use the litter box, antisocial behaviour, regrowth of the nail bed causing severe pain) much worse than a cat scratching the furniture. Declawing is not just removal of the claws but an amputation of the toes! If comparing to a human, it is the equivalent of cutting your fingers off at the first joint. There are numerous alternatives to declawing, including Soft Paws which are small rubber covers that are glued over your cats nails, purchasing scratching posts and pads, trimming your cats nails regularly, and more. Please do your research before ever considering having a declaw performed on a cat in your care. We recommend the documentary ‘The Paw Project’.

Q: What type of donations does the rescue need the most?

A: Our greatest expense is always our veterinary bills/animal care and so monetary donations are always our biggest need. As we provide full vetting to all animals prior to transferring to adopting rescues, and because we generally have many animals with heavy medical or behavioural needs that remain in our care for extended periods of time (or permanently), our expenses are always very high on an ongoing basis. Please know that ANY amount is a help to animals in need and no donation is considered too small! If many people donate just a few dollars, it combines to help a great deal! Supply-wise, we are always in need of canned cat/kitten food, clumping kitty litter, wood/paper pellet kitty litter, bleach, multipurpose cleaner, lysol wipes, paper towels, laundry detergent, hand sanitizer, scratching posts and pads, enrichment items such as toys and chews, and the list goes on! You can see our full wish list, and learn more about donating, by clicking HERE.

Q: How do I donate to help the Kritters?

A: Please click the donate link to see all the ways to donate!

Q: If I donate, will you issue me a tax receipt?

A: Only organizations registered through Revenue Canada as a charitable organization can provide tax receipts for donations. KKR is currently operating as an unincorporated non-profit, and has not sought charitable status. We cannot issue tax receipts for donations received.

Q: What is involved in sponsoring an animal?

A: Click HERE to learn about sponsoring! An animal sponsor will make a donation towards the care of a specific animal in rescue. You can learn more about sponsoring a Kritter elsewhere on the website. Kritter sponsors help the rescue greatly because we focus on providing permanent sanctuary to the majority of animals in our care, or transfer the adoptable ones out to other organizations, which means we do not have income collected via adoption fees. Every animal that enters our rescue received top notch care and has all of their needs met. This is very expensive, especially as some animals remain in our care for extended periods of time! You can choose to sponsor full or partial veterinary fees for a specific animal, be an annual sponsor for a Sanctuary Kritters, sponsor a spay/neuter for our subsidized program, and more! A sponsor will be publicly acknowledged in the animal’s online profile. You can also choose to be a partial sponsor for an animal.

Q: I’ve heard that Kat’s Kritters Rescue has a Vegan Policy. What does that mean? Do the animals get fed vegan diets? Do you only adopt to vegans?

A: In 2018, KKR introduced an internal policy regarding our events and fundraisers. We strongly believe that ALL animals matter, not just our companion animals. In order to align with our Founder’s values, we do not wish to exploit one species of animal in order to support another and, as such, will only host fundraisers that are cruelty free. The events and fundraisers that we hold, along with any volunteer events, will serve vegan food and be free of animal products. We simply wish to extend our compassionate views to all animals!

All animals in the care of the rescue are fed species appropriate diets. We do NOT advocate for feeding your pet a vegan diet, especially cats, as they are obligate carnivores. Our policy is in regards to our events/fundraisers only.

We have phased out our adoption program so adoption policies that need to be met are those of the adopting rescues, not KKR. Adopters most certainly do not need to be vegan as that has no bearing on one’s ability to provide a permanent home for an animal in need. Our policy is in regards to our events/fundraisers only.