My name is Dylan, and my dream is to create a nonprofit to support some of the forgotten cats in my city, Colorado Springs.

My passion is for stray and feral cats, and I’ve quietly been working to help as many of them as I can over the last few years. I feed multiple colonies each day, get sick or injured cats medical treatment, trap, fix, and release newcomers, and foster those who show signs of becoming pets. I’ve already placed a few in forever homes, and I hope that number keeps growing. In the meantime, I’ve spent countless hours building relationships with these cats and giving them what safety I can.

So far, I’ve done most of this with no financial support, but I’m grateful for the small community of people who’ve already stepped up to help. I’ve now taken the first steps toward building something bigger than myself by filing the paperwork to start a nonprofit, the Feral Friends Foundation.

The long-term vision is to create something sustainable for the cats who fall through the cracks of the shelter system. I want to build a network of volunteers, fosters, and community caretakers. I want to create a small sanctuary for cats who have nowhere else to go. And I want to support the people who are already doing this work alone by offering food, supplies, and a sense of solidarity. The more of us there are, the more cats we can help, and the fewer that will be left to suffer in silence.

I’ve taken many of these cats into my own home, and that’s often been the hardest part. I lost my cat Einstein in November to heart disease. He was a dumped pet I took in from a feral colony, and the one who showed me my passion for socializing the spicy ones. Last month, my cat Ned, who I’ve had since he was a kitten, needed radioiodine treatment for hyperthyroidism. And Whiskeyjack, once feral and now one of the sweetest, most grateful pets I’ve ever had, recently went from his first vet visit ever, to a full mouth extraction, to a hospitalization for a urinary blockage, all in just a few months.

These emergencies have wiped out my savings and left me with significant debt. Pet sitting is my main source of income, and while I’m doing all I can, it’s not enough. It’s unlucky that so much happened at once, but vet bills are part of the reality when you take in the cats no one else will.

I want to be transparent. Some of the funds raised here will go toward covering my own expenses. I’m not asking for help so I can rest or escape. I’m asking so I can keep showing up every day to do the hard, necessary work these cats need someone to do. Every dollar that helps me stay afloat helps them too. The nonprofit is just getting started, and I want to build it right, with honesty, with care, and with a real chance to grow.

I know there are people out there who want to help and have the means to do it. If you’re one of them, your donation won’t go to waste. It will keep me on my feet while I keep feeding, trapping, caring for, and fighting for the cats no one else is looking out for. If you want to know exactly what your money is being used for, I also have an Amazon wishlist here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q57BF97GLXCS/. If all you can do is share this, I’m grateful for that too.

And if you’re local and want to get involved—fostering, volunteering, or just learning more—find the Feral Friends Foundation on social media and reach out! I haven’t found anything in life more rewarding than this work, and I’d love to share it with others.