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Crossfield cat shelter considers relocating to Airdrie, but finances an issue

A feline rescue organization in Crossfield is still on the hunt for a new facility. The Tails to Tell Animal Rescue Shelter Ltd., located at 1017 Hammond Ave. in Crossfield, is in need of a larger space to house its 45 rescued cats.

A feline rescue organization in Crossfield is still on the hunt for a new facility.

Tails to Tell Animal Rescue Shelter Ltd., located at 1017 Hammond Ave. in Crossfield, is in need of a larger space to house its 45 rescued cats.

“This [property] is very small and we don’t have enough storage,” said Colleen Holden, a volunteer and board member of Tails to Tell. “We don’t have a special room for new intakes. Cats come into the shelter and we should be isolating them from the other cats, but we don’t have that capability. We have separate rooms, but they’re open to the other cats.”

Currently, Tails To Tell operates in a 2,100 square-foot property in downtown Crossfield. Holden said to operate comfortably, the shelter would need to upgrade to a 3,500 to 4,000 square-foot facility.

She said finances are the main barrier to finding a more suitable location for the charity. While there are some vacant warehouses in Crossfield that could be remodeled to suit Tails to Tell’s needs, she said the charity’s board members have discussed the possibility of relocating to Airdrie.

However, she noted rent in Airdrie is typically more expensive than Crossfield.

“We’re limited on how much we can spend a month,” she said. “If we moved to Airdrie, it would be better for our volunteers, because most of our volunteers live in Airdrie. [But] unless someone was really generous, it’s not realistic, because we can’t afford the price of rent in Airdrie.”

Holden said she is unaware of any grant programs for funding facility-related expenses. Therefore, the additional funds needed to relocate and pay higher rent would have to come through donations and fundraisers.

“Grants are for reconstruction and special things like getting farm cats spayed and neutered,” she said. “It’s called trap, neuter, release. They give you grants for that, but for actual grants to help buy a building or pay rent – there are none for that.”

Like most non-profit societies, Tails to Tell’s financial situation has been impacted negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. Holden said the organization had to cancel its main annual fundraisers in 2020, including a Jail and Bail event in March and a harvest feast in October.

“Our fundraising has been very limited,” she said, adding the harvest feast would have gained Tails to Tell more than $15,000 in donations.

“We did have an online auction and we’ll have another online auction March 1, but those are just small,” she said.

For information on the upcoming auction, visit Tails to Tell’s Facebook page at facebook.com/tailstotell

Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19

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