There's a lot of winter left, and more freezing temperatures are forecast for the month of February. After a cold snap, animal rescues are overrun with calls and emails to help. But have you asked yourself what you can do to help? Rescues simply can't do it alone.

WHAT HELPS:

Bring the cat inside for one night. Or every night. A basement. A bathroom. A spare room. A garage. You are helping. Call friends, neighbors and family who care too. Work together to help that one animal. Why do you feel that you need a rescue to help make a difference? Provide daily feeding to keep the cat's weight on. Calories are burned faster when they are cold. Provide fresh drinking water daily. Add a bit of sugar to raise the freezing temperature and add a few calories. Make a shelter.

WHAT DOES NOT HELP:

Calling/emailing a rescue to get the cat and 'solve your problem.' Rescues need YOUR help right now. Doing nothing and blaming the rescue for not helping. Getting angry at rescues who simply cannot help because of financial or capacity issues. If you think they aren't doing all they can do, you are wrong.

The overwhelming number of homeless pets is a community issue. If you want to be mad at someone, please be mad at the pet owners who refuse to spay and neuter their pets or the ones who get pets then dispose of them when they are no longer convenient. Or the cities or counties that do not offer any animal control options for their citizens after hours or at all.

If you think saying no is easy for rescues, think again. They lose sleep thinking about it. They spend hours and hours. contacting other rescues to try to get help for them. Staff and dedicated fosters and volunteers are overwhelmed and exhausted. Every kennel is full, and they are feeling very defeated right now. If you want to help, donate, or please sign up to foster or volunteer.

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