The first kind of freeze is seasonal. Our town (in Northern Manitoba) is right now receiving its first large snowfall about 3 weeks earlier than usual. As a shelter manager, I am sad to see the snow come as I know that there are a lot of homeless cats and even some kittens that are living outside and who are now desperately trying to stay warm and to find food. Even though we have saved numerous cats from freezing this winter…there are too many more that we can’t save. Too many more will be on their own in the harsh winter season.

The second kind of freeze that I hate is a shelter ‘freeze’. We are a mini-shelter. We unofficially have a maximum limit of 10 cats that we can comfortably take in under our care – both in space and financially. But, for several reasons, we are at l5 now. Today, I’ve had to announce that, yet again, we have to put a freeze on intake…just like many other shelters across Canada. This means that if there are cats in distress, we cannot take them in. It makes me so sad to say ‘No’. I feel even sadder to think that these beautiful animals are outside and cold and in some cases starving even as I write this.

While there’s not much we can do about the first type of ‘freeze’ – the weather - we all can do something to reduce the necessity for shelter ‘freezes’. First of all, sharing the cats pictures and information on social media is so helpful and helps us find homes for the shelter cats and every new adoption could open up a space for the others in need. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/254702881320200/ and sharing the link to this website regularly on your timelines would also help. Secondly, people can choose to adopt from a shelter instead of picking up a ‘free’ kitten from an advertised litter. Many times, I think some of those kittens eventually end up in the shelter. Another way people can help is to open their homes and hearts to foster a cat or kitten while they wait to be adopted. In addition, constructing a winter shelter in your yard would save some lives as well and buy the shelter some time until we can take the homeless in. Finally, and most importantly, we can all make sure our own cats are spayed or neutered and continuously advocate for and share the benefits of spaying and neutering.