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The Cat Chronicle – July 2025

The Cat Chronicle – July 2025

17,000 Happy Tails & Counting
With the recent adoption of Gustavo, SAFE Haven passed a milestone: 17,000 adoptions in its 31 years! With an estimated 100,000 pet cats in Raleigh, 1 in every 6 cats came from SAFE over the past three decades.

To reach this point, it’s taken 34,000+ hours of expert care from our dedicated staff; 60,000+ hours of volunteer time, from cuddling to cleaning; and your support, whether you adopted, volunteered, donated, or cheered us on. Thank you for helping us reach this milestone!

Vax & Chip Clinic
Despite the heat, our amazing staff and volunteers helped a record-breaking 70 dogs and 144 cats get vaccines and microchips on June 28! Vaccination against rabies and distemper helps reduce these preventable, but fatal diseases, while microchips help increase the chance you’ll be reunited with your pet in case of an emergency. We appreciate everyone bringing out their furry friends and protecting them.

99% Save Rate!
We’re proud to have been recognized by Best Friends Animal Society for achieving no-kill status in 2024. While the award recognizes those who maintain a 90% save rate, SAFE Haven went above and beyond with a 99% save rate!

Thank you to the adopters, fosters, volunteers, donors, partners, and everyone who believes cats deserve a chance. Here’s to saving more lives together!

 

Save the Date

    • July 4, 2025: Closed for Independence Day

Thank YOU for Your Support

Click here to DONATE

Vax & Chip on June 28!

Vax & Chip on June 28!

When pets are like family, we do everything to keep them healthy and safe. Come get your cat or dog vaccinated and microchipped at our Vaccination & Microchip Clinic on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 9 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at SAFE Haven for Cats! Rabies and distemper vaccines are only $5 each, and microchips are $15. Supplies are limited. Vaccines and microchips will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and you must be in line by 12:30 pm for consideration if supplies are still available.

Vaccination and Microchip Clinic
Saturday, June 28, 2025
9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
8411 Garvey Drive, Suite 133C


Why Vaccinate Against Rabies and Distemper?

Rabies and distemper are both highly contagious and highly fatal diseases, but they are easily preventable. Vaccination is key to making sure your pet is protected. Rabies is also required by North Carolina law for all dogs and cats over four months old. Keep your pets protected, and help stop the spread of these serious diseases.

Why Microchipping Matters
If your pet ever gets lost, a microchip can be their ticket home. Only a small percentage of lost pets make it back to their families— just 22% of dogs and 2% of cats. But with a microchip, that number jumps to nearly 75%! A microchip the size of a grain of rice is inserted just under your pet’s skin that can be scanned by shelters or vets to identify and contact you. It’s quick, easy, and one of the best ways to make sure your furry friend stays safe, just in case they ever wander off.

Know Before You Go

    • Pet Cats: Must be in carriers.
    • Feral Cats: Must come in a trap. We will only be offering 1-year rabies for ferals; no other services are available at this time.
    • Dogs must be on a leash.
    • Payment will be taken at the event. We accept cash and major credit cards.
    • You do not need to register in advance for this event.
    • You may need to stand in line outside of our facility to wait for your turn to be seen. Please dress appropriately for the weather and bring water!

PRICES

    • Rabies Vaccination: $5*
    • FVRCP (Cats – Distemper) Vaccination: $5
    • DHPP (Dog – Distemper) Vaccination: $5
    • Microchip: $15

* The 3-year rabies vaccine is available for animals with a valid and current vaccination certificate. The certificate must be displayed at check-in. Otherwise, the one-year rabies vaccine will be administered. We must have the rabies certificate.. A rabies tag is not sufficient evidence of the pet’s vaccination status according to state law.
*The 3-year distemper vaccine is available for animals with a valid and current vaccination status. Please bring your pet’s veterinary records to the clinic and present them at check-in.

The Cat Chronicle – June 2025

The Cat Chronicle – June 2025

Vaccination & Microchip Clinic – June 28, 2025
Purrs, shots & wagging tails! Join us on Saturday, June 28, from 9 AM to 1 PM for our low-cost Vaccination & Microchip Clinic. Rabies and distemper shots are just $5, and microchips are $15. Cats (pet and feral) and dogs are welcome—services are first come, first served while supplies last. Learn more.

Kittens Showered with Love
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Kitten Shower! Thanks to your generosity, we now have more than 98 pounds of food and 40 pounds of litter to help care for the many tiny paws arriving this Kitten Season. We also received toys and more to keep them occupied! Speaking of kittens…if you find a baby without its mother, would you know what to do? The answer might surprise you.

Celebrate June’s Adopt a Shelter Cat Month!
There’s no better time to welcome a new feline friend into your life. Looking for your perfect match? Here’s how you can start your journey:

And even better: all our fabulous adult cats are available for just $25 until June 15! That’s less than a fancy pizza for a lifetime of love, snuggles, and purr-sonality. Your future best friend could be at SAFE Haven right now.

Save the Date

Thank YOU for Your Support

Click here to DONATE

Make This a Purrfect Summer—Adult Cats Only $25!

Make This a Purrfect Summer—Adult Cats Only $25!

Through June 30, the adoption fee for all adult cats (6 months and older) is just $25! Are you looking to bring a new feline friend into your life? SAFE Haven for Cats is celebrating the charm, grace, and love of adult cats with our special adoption event.

With municipal shelters overflowing and many cats being surrendered due to household changes, among other reasons, we want to help save kitty lives.

Adult cats often get overlooked in favor of kittens, but they have so much to offer.

    • Their personalities are already developed, so you know exactly who you’re bringing home.
    • They’re often calmer and less mischievous.
    • They’re loving and ready for a forever home.

Every cat and kitten at SAFE Haven is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and ready to fill your home with joy. They’ve also received a complete veterinary exam and been tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus!

Adopting a cat doesn’t just change their life. It will change yours, too. Meet your match and adopt an adult cat!

 

Offer is good through June 30, subject to change.

From Fire Ants to Foster Love: Stingray & Manta Ray’s Story

From Fire Ants to Foster Love: Stingray & Manta Ray’s Story

A Devastating Discovery. A Team Who Said Yes. Two Tiny Fighters.

A few weeks ago, a local community member was doing yard work when they disturbed a fire ant mound. At first, it seemed like a normal spring day. But minutes later, they heard tiny cries coming from a nearby woodpile.

Then, kittens started tumbling out from between the logs. The fire ants had found a hidden nest of newborn kittens and swarmed them.

A trained veterinary assistant living in the home acted swiftly, rushing the babies to an emergency vet. Tragically, five of the seven kittens couldn’t be saved.

But two sisters, later named Manta Ray and Stingray, survived.

When these tiny survivors arrived at SAFE Haven, they were fragile and in pain. They were still healing from the fire ant bites—on their feet, around their unopened eyes, and even inside their mouths. Their tongues were so swollen they could barely eat.

Here is Stingray when she arrived at the Clinic.

From the moment they arrived, our Cat Care Team sprang into action with emergency treatment. The kittens needed pain management, antibiotics, and around-the-clock monitoring. Ongoing daily evaluations were required to assess the damage from the fire ant bites.

Both kittens needed intensive bottle feeding every few hours, and due to the trauma to their mouths and tongues, they were placed on a specialty mouthwash to ease their pain and nutritional supplements to help them regain strength.

As they’ve grown, ongoing veterinary care, medications, and bottle-fed formula have become part of their healing journey. Their foster parent Fox, one of our devoted Cat Care team members, is providing a loving, safe environment, but that support comes with the cost of supplies, litter, formula, and vet follow-ups. Altogether, the cost of their full care is expected to exceed $6,000.

Today, we’re so proud to say—they’re still with us.

Manta Ray is strong, curious, and interested in all the other kittens around her. Stingray is smaller and has suffered the most injuries. She lost toes on each of her four paws, but that doesn’t slow her down. She zooms around the room, exploring and playing just like any kitten would.

We know $6,000 is a big number to ask for, but one we know we can meet with the help of this compassionate community.

SAFE Haven doesn’t turn away cats and kittens in need, especially not the most fragile ones. But the only way we can keep that promise is with your support.

Every single dollar donated makes a difference.

It helps cover the cost of these kittens’ recovery, buys formula for the next litter of orphaned kittens, and allows our Team to say “yes” when an emergency call comes in.

When you give, you’re not just helping Stingray and Manta Ray—you’re ensuring that SAFE Haven is always ready for the next kitten in crisis.

Please, if you’re able, make a gift today. These tiny survivors—and those still to come—are counting on us.