06/14/2026
Downeast Feral Cat Connections is the most deserving all-volunteer advocate for those who can't take care of themselves!
🥹🙏
I’m actually overwhelmed right now.
It’s pretty typical for me to be overwhelmed with kittens and cats that need us…
But this time I’m overwhelmed because our community, again, is supporting us in a way I never expected.
Don Best and Littlefield Gallery in Winter Harbor have paired to help us! Don is going to give a portion of his proceeds from the sale of his artwork to our rescue this summer and we are over the moon at the possibility!
THANK YOU, JANE AND KELLY!
AND ESPECIALLY DON!
Don’s beautiful carvings are amazing and I wish I could buy all of them! At least all the ones that have a kitty in the picture… ❤️
Thank you, Don for creating such incredible artwork, and for sharing your love for cats with us because we really could use your help and we are grateful!
We end up taking the kitties that fall through the cracks many times, while local shelters take the friendly cats and the cats that are more easily adoptable. In fact, we don’t really hear from our local shelters at all other than Sarah at the Messenger in Harrington.
I wish we had a relationship with our local shelters, and we keep trying. We do really incredible work and I really wish that we could work together, because they do incredible work as well and we could make a tremendous impact if we could work together.
The Ark did come through for some vouchers for a local human this spring and we are very grateful.
We are a state licensed shelter as well, but we are small. We are not a nonprofit and we are funded only by donations and adoption fees. We have volunteers and I work a full-time job at the BMV, literally 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week and when I come home, I take care of kitties every single day.
I am often cleaning litter boxes at 1 o’clock in the morning…
In my spare time, which really isn’t spare at all… I talk to adopters and I try to find homes for them all.
We have captured, fixed, vaccinated and cared for over 30 cats in Winter Harbor and a couple of different locations in this same community.
We spend at least $150 on every single cat that comes into our care, and many times it’s more like $500-$1000 while we collect an adoption fee for adults that is only $175 and $200 for kittens.
And that’s if they don’t have health issues…
We have cared for them, found homes for them and love them very very much.
Many of these Winter Harbor cats have been quite social and friendly. We’ve been able to find them good homes.
And this is not just about the Winter Harbor cats. There are many cats that we collect from Blue Hill, Hancock, Ellsworth, Franklin, Winter Harbor, Steuben, Deer Isle and many many local communities that do not have vet care and have serious difficulty finding resources to help them.
We can’t always help, but we do our best to help people find resources to help them care for these little cats and make sure they are spayed or neutered and vaccinated, so that they can actually have a very good life!
Without this basic healthcare, these kitties will suffer. There are many viruses that go around that can get them sick and even make them lose their eyes if they’re not vaccinated.
We absolutely need to stop the breeding cycle and help these little cats so they do not have to have litter after litter after litter and the boys don’t roam for miles to find females.
We do our best, but we are small. We are volunteers. We have little time and little funds.
Please, please please spay or neuter your pets!
Don’t let your cats outside. They are so vulnerable to predators and cars! We have more traffic than we’ve ever had and more predators are coming closer and closer to our homes.
Please keep your kitties inside if you want them to survive!!
Thank you to everyone that supports us, always, thank you. I cannot say thank you enough…
Thank you Don,  thank you Jane. Thank you to everyone involved in this project because it is an unexpected and especially awesome way to support us. We are very grateful.
🐾🐾
