Where does the money go??

Where the Money Goes

Let’s talk about where the money goes.

Because from the outside, it can look like there’s some kind of steady support keeping things moving. But that’s not really how this works.

There’s no regular funding stream here. No reliable weekly income for the work being done. Just a couple of generous supporters helping in practical ways — litter supplied by one, kibble by another — and everything else filled in quietly from somewhere else entirely.

Wet food is still bought as needed. Along with fuel, vet costs, traps, bait, and all the small ongoing expenses that don’t look like much on their own, but never really stop adding up.

Then there’s the reality of the work itself.

Cats don’t arrive in neat schedules. They come and go on their own terms. Some days nothing happens. Other days everything happens at once,  like cameras constantly triggering, traps needing resetting, food disappearing faster than expected, and plans changing hour by hour.

And when a cat finally does need vet care, it’s never predictable. Desexing, injuries, illness,   the kind of things that can’t wait, and don’t adjust themselves to whatever else is going on.

So the money doesn’t disappear.

It gets absorbed immediately into whatever is happening right now,  feeding, trapping, travel, vet work, equipment, and the constant in-between costs that come with trying to stay one step ahead of a moving situation.  And when that runs out, the gap is quietly covered the only way it can be: through personal cost, time, and persistence.

There was a couple of small donations recently.  By a couple of sales of my art cards,  plus a couple of straight donations....That helped. It genuinely did. But it also highlights how rare that kind of support is, and how much relies on stretching everything as far as it will go.

This isn’t a funded operation.  It’s a patchwork system held together by practical support where it exists, personal input where it doesn’t, and a constant cycle of problem-solving that doesn’t really pause.

But there are still the wins. A trap finally works at the right moment. A cat that’s been avoiding everything slips up just once. A small success that turns into a real outcome instead of another missed chance.

And that’s what keeps it going.  Not because it’s funded.

But because it still works — just often enough to matter.