Please help me to neuter and care for street cats in Spain

Hi I'm Debbie Black, a 75 year old pensioner, living in Spain.

For the past thirteen years I have been caring for, feeding and neutering the community cats of Canillas de Aceituno, a little Spanish town in the hills above Torre del Mar. I have taken over 500 cats to be neutered.

If the cats are not looked after, females will have three or more litters a year, most of the kittens will not survive to adulthood, but lead short, hungry lives. Those that cling to life will be subject to infections and will often lose the eyesight of one or both eyes.

Male cats will fight over female cats and over food, often losing an eye or having other serious injuries. The majority of cats will not live past the age of three. Many, many kittens will die in their first few days or months.

Neutering, feeding and looking out for injured cats completely changes their lives for the better. I trap at least once a month and feed about a hundred cats every day. I take sick cats to the Vet. I find homes where I can for suitable cats.

All this costs money. People have been extraordinarily generous, but my funds are now down to 80€. I pay for much of the food from my own pension, struggling to do so because food costs are going up all the time.

We are trying to plan for the future by applying to the Mayor for financial help, but it's been a year since discussions began, and we have had no definite offer, or future date given.

I am very lucky to have a small team of regular helpers for trapping and feeding. In 2024, with my team I neutered 41 cats at a cost of 2,100€, additionally many of them also needed a parasite treatment. I also paid 528€ for treating sick and injured cats, and 356€ for tests and vaccinations prior to homing. It is a real joy to be able to take a friendly, homeless cat out of a very hard life, and place in a warm, loving home.

I rely on donations to continue to neuter and care for the cats. I am so grateful for every gift large or small. Please help me if you can.

You will see all the cats I have taken for neutering in the past five years in this album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10157257743828970&type=3