I don’t know how I ended up here, in this situation. I was the girl who believed that if you do good, good will return to you. That kindness matters. That love wins.
For years I’ve been rescuing abandoned cats in a small, rural village in Croatia. Not because I wanted to become “a rescuer” – but because one by one, they kept showing up. Sick. Starving. Injured. Forgotten. And I couldn’t look away.
Today, there are more than 80 of them. About 30 live with me – in a room I gave up renovating for myself. The rest are scattered around the village. I know every one of them.
I feed them, I treat them when they’re sick, I sit next to them when they die. And I do it all completely alone.
I work in another country. I commute over 200 km every day and work 10-hour shifts – just so I can afford to buy the cheapest food, deworming pills, and the occasional vet visit.
My monthly income is about 1300 euros. My expenses for them are between 900 and 1300 – depending on how many are sick that month.
I rarely buy some clothes. I live with my parents. I have no partner. No children. No siblings. Just me, them, and exhaustion.
People laugh at me. Say I’m crazy. That I “care more about cats than people.” But the truth is: I’ve never felt more invisible in my life. I didn’t choose this as a mission – I just couldn’t let them die in the cold.
I’m not looking for pity. I just needed to say this somewhere out loud: I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed. I cry quietly almost every night.
And I don’t know how long I can keep this up. But I also don’t know how to stop – because if I turn my back on them, who else will care?
If you’ve read this far – thank you.
Sometimes the only thing a person needs is for someone to say:
“I see you.”
If anyone has suggestions for support or how I could make this more sustainable, I’d truly appreciate it. I also have a Ko-fi page, but I can share it privately due to Reddit rules.
Comments
You’re a hero to these animals, you have karma on your side, at the very least. Keep your head up.
Sounds like you’re running a cat empire, but maybe it’s time to recruit some minions to help out
You can’t take care of anything or anyone if you don’t take care of yourself first.
Focus on yourself OP, I love what you’re doing but you have to put yourself in a situation where you can help without it being detrimental to yourself.
If you suddenly lost your job or were unable to go because of burnout or some health problem, what would happen to the cats?
Sometimes we have to make these small sacrifices in order to progress in life. Focus on yourself and put yourself in a position that is easier for you to rescue.
Hot take here but if you aren’t also neutering/spaying these cats you’re doing more harm than good by enabling them to multiply in an unsustainable way.
If you’re fixing them as well then keep it up and I’m sorry 😢
it’s amazing what you are doing and i’m incredibly proud of you. i wish i had the will to do this. i know it’s hard right now, but i hope things get better for you soon <3
I see you, and I’m so very impressed. ((Hugs))
Your story reminds me of Sasha’s Shelter – just with different kind of animal and in a different country. He rescues dogs in Serbia. I’ve been supporting him on Patreon for years. Perhaps you could look into that and how he promotes his shelter and adapt some of his tactics so you could at least lift some financial weight off your shoulders.
Also I don’t know what you’ve tried already but maybe you could put up some posters in the village that you’re looking for volunteers to help you with the cats. Even if it’s just a lone teenager, who would respond to your call for help it’s better than doing it all alone on your own.
You may also send me your ko-fi. If I see prove your story is real and there are cats in need and a person nearby who’s willing to actively help then I’m more than glad to at least help financially.
The key to cats is population control. I am very happy you feel purpose in caring for them. We all know( well most people do) how rapidly cats can reproduce. I would work on keeping my numbers down and letting the cats that are there live out their natural lives as best you can offer, definately without reproducing. Wishing you only the best! Take care of you!
You need some kind of nonprofit or something to help. Maybe start a tiktok or something to help bring in money.
I completely understand. I have the same issue, except with birds and the occasional critter. I know it’s a selfless, thankless job. You must look after yourself though. You cannot help them if you’re not okay.
Have you thought about posting your adventures? Perhaps if you opened up your world to social media, you would feel less lonely. I see tons of people who post their rescue videos online and they not only receive emotional, but also financial support.
I wish I knew what to say to help. Thank you for all you do…you have an amazing soul.
You can’t burn yourself to keep others warm op, it’s a lovely thing what your doing but you’re hurting yourself you need to look after yourself 1st then help a couple cats at a time otherwise it’s just a losing battle there’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish if that’s how you see it not that taking care of y9urself is selfish
God bless you, Cat Lady. I’ve done cat rescue too, in a much smaller way. See if you can recruit some volunteers for help 1-2 hours a week.
Step back and get yourself healthy. Beat…🙏🏻
Wishing you the best. This is very kind of you. I hope you can get help soon to help them 💚
You’re a beautiful person, but you matter too.
Please take care of yourself too 💛
I just want to tell you thank you. from a world away and as a dog person. thank you.
Definitely look into promotion options – do you have a go-fund-me?
Hey OP. I relate to this so much. I’m an animal lover myself and I adore cats. Seeing any animal suffer breaks my heart. What you are doing is admirable.
But.
You’re neglecting yourself. Taking care of others is importent yes, but not if it means you’re giving up on yourself. Pour some of that cat love towards yourself. When have you done enough? How many more cats will you expect yourself to take responsibilty for? 20 more cats? 30 more? It might be time to make a difficult choice. You deserve a good life OP and you deserve some peace in all of this.
You’re a hero darling, my upmost respect to you but take care of yourself. The kitties want you to be well, happy and healthy too. Thank you for being a ray of light in this god awful world x
I see and hear you.
Sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing you can do.
You have stretched yourself too tight like a rubber band. And your sides are starting to fray meaning its not long before you break.
So you will have to do something very hard. Learn to step back and let nature take its course.
You don’t need to stop helping. But you need to cut back to what you can afford to do.
Becuase if you don’t take care of yourself at the same time. There will be no one to help the cats in the future
Maybe advertise for volunteers?
Have you ever considered stating a spay and neuter program? You would be addressing the issue proactively.
You are my hero. Really. What you’re doing is amazing.
You seriously inspire me and give me hope there’s still good in the world
What a beautiful person you are. But take care of yourself first. I think you should also look at it more seriously like a proper sustainable charity where it doesn’t rely solely on you, and burning yourself out.
Maybe you could get someone who’s passionate about your cause from reddit to help you with a website or setting up things like that, so other people can help you from afar.
You sound like an angel to me. I salute you x
Are there any TNR options in Croatia? That way at least you can control their numbers and stop the population from growing.
I see you, earth is a terrible place for angels
I understand the situation you are in. Anytime I rescue an animal, the first thing I do after getting them medical attention (if any needed at all) is look for people to adopt them. I understand that you live in a place where many may not be willing to adopt, but what about people at your workplace or anyone else in that region? the cats that live with you will be hard to give up. You can try for other cats. That will lessen your burden.
Is there any way to contract with the vet you use to get these cats fixed so they can’t continue to reproduce? In the US there are programs where anyone can drop off feral cats and they get spayed/neutered and released.
I see you. I appreciate what you are doing. I wish nothing but the best for you.
listen to me. your struggle is seen. i really wish it was easier to be a person filled with empathy in this world. i also hope it becomes easier for you to care for yourself. love yourself. i know you’re struggling, and you deserve to take a break. know that people like you are who we mean when we use the word humanity. breathe, and listen to the brag of your heart. someday in the future, you’re going to be past this, and you’re going to be proud of the compassion you were able to show these cats. from the bottom of my heart I feel for you and i hope you find some love for yourself in that loving heart of yours.
I see you. Trust me, what you’re doing matters. It matters to every kitty you help and they appreciate you. It’s hard. But also, you can’t help any of them if you’re not taking care of yourself. Try to find as much balance as possible. I TNR in my neighborhood and pay for their food and vet bills and it’s expensive, but more than anything, it’s extremely emotionally exhausting when I lose one (which happens often due to their circumstances). Luckily for me, I have a job that allows me the luxury to help them out of my own pocket and not struggle financially. If there’s anything I can do, please message me.
From one cat rescuer to another:
Very gently… you are going about it the wrong way. This is not sustainable.
The more you feed them, the more they reproduce. You are creating a never ending loop that is already surpassing your capabilities.
The sick girl you rescued, will go on to have six kittens with the injured boy you rescued. Those six kittens will need their own food and medicine, and will go on to reproduce with even more kittens.
The ten cats you have in your backyard (for example), will have daily territorrial fights with each other for a territory near you, injuring each other. And then you will need more medicine and vet visits.
Also, they will not save resources for hunting, as they have free daily food. They will spend all their free time fighting for sex and reproducing. And then they will have their kittens in your area because there is more food.
Illnesses will start spreading rampant because the population is larger than what the ecosystem of the area can sustain naturally. I promise that the largest clusters of sick cats I see in my town, are the ones with the most amount of food offered by humans on a daily basis.
This amount of population will grow exponentially and will unavoidably become dependent on you. And if something happens to you or you need to move away or suddenly cannot care for them for any reason, they will not be able to survive without you.
A good rescuer needs to also practice good population control.
My personal philosophy is this: If nature was going to remove this individual cat from the population and I went against it, I ruined the natural balance by adding one number to the natural population. So, the least I can do is sterilize that cat. I know it’s expensive but trust me, it’s an investment of preventing future food and medicine for a bunch of kittens. Whoever gets saved from death, gets neutered.
Secondly, obviously if you see a cat hit by a car on the road, you will take it and try to save its life. Build a small covered shelter in your yard (like a large cage) with blankets, insulation from cold, food and water. Injured cat can stay there until it recovers or dies. You can buy antibiotics from the vet and that’s all you need really, for big wounds. Perhaps a painkiller/antiinflammatory too. There is nothing really that the vet can do in most cases. Most other treatments are entirely supportive. Viral treatments are also just supportive. You cannot afford surgeries. They can still live pretty normally if they stay with three legs or one eye. If they have a hit in the head, they most likely die anyway. If they get hit anywhere else, they tend to have miraculous rates of recovery. Their bodies are amazing. Food, protection and some antibiotics can do wonders. Then, neutering and releasing back.
Thirdly, healthy cats do not need to be fed dry food, or any food. Or dewormers. Let nature be nature. Wean them off your assistance. They need to hunt their own food. Cat populations in your village existed before you, you did not give birth to them (perhaps you just grew the population). There is always something for cats to hunt and eat. If there is not enough food for all of them, it means you produced more cats than sustainable. You need to wean them of (by slowly feeding them less and less) until they move away, start hunting, and yes, some of them will fight each other as all animals do. And cats get old and sick and die, like all of us will some day too.
And finally…if you see a case of sick/injured in front of you, then it’s “your call”, it’s “your turn” to help out. But don’t go around looking for cases. You are only one person. Feral cats are a very resilient animal. I hope I helped. Feel free to ask more.
I see you 🫶🏻
I fell in love with a pregnant cat whilst on holiday in Cyprus. She came to see with me whilst I was reading a book in the garden.
The pool lady said she was only a year old and that she feeds and looks after her. There are tonnes of stray cats in Cyprus and she said that the locals don’t like animals.
It made my heart break. I only had one night of cuddles with her but she made such an impact on me when I was feeling down.
Needless to say, now I’m back from holiday I wonder if the babies are ok.
Luckily I don’t live there or I would be doing the same as you, I reckon.
You’re a good person.
I hear you and I see you. Take care of yourself OP.