Saturday, 25 November, saw a dream come true for the Louis Trichardt SPCA with the official opening of their new cattery.

The SPCA started 2017 with a goal, based on a dream that was born in 2016, and that was to build a new cattery in the coming year. “It was a dream that scared us beyond belief. It kept us awake at night and extremely busy this past year too. How would we ever be able to afford this dream?” said the SPCA team.

The SPCA team knew that their current cattery was in dire need of an upgrade, but was wishing for a brand-new cattery simply a bridge too far? Would they ever be able to raise the needed funds to turn this dream into a reality?

“The distance between a dream and reality is called ACTIONS and that is exactly what we set out to do. We grabbed every opportunity we could to raise funds for this dream; stalls at markets, events and functions … but of course our day-to-day running costs always come first and foremost and the little we could save, meant that our dream would take quite some time to become a reality,” said the SPCA team.

Well, that all changed when the Gilfillan family stepped in. “And this is the point where our dream became reality and our reality became a dream! With their amazing donations, from the material to the builders, before we knew it our cattery became a dream come true. Words will never be enough to express our deepest appreciation. Nothing compares to the feeling of seeing our cat’s enjoyment and freedom in a space created solely for them,” said the SPCA team.

The SPCA also expressed their deepest thanks to Andy and Elsie Went, who they said are literally part of the SPCA family. “Andy created and built all the play structures for our cats and they are nothing short of amazing. We appreciate your kind hearts and your creative and talented hands more than you will ever know. We and our animals are so blessed to have you as a part of our SPCA,” said the SPCA team.

The SPCA thanked all who came on Saturday to show their support and love for the animals. “What would we do without a super supporting community such as ours? If you have not seen our new cattery yet and all the amazing felines we have up for adoption, be sure to make your way to our SPCA,” invited the SPCA team.