Buddy The Cat Got The Surgery He Needed Because You Helped With The Food Bills

By: Kelli Brinegar
For more than five years, Kelli Brinegar has been using her ability to write and her passion for research to tell the tale of what cats are thinking and why. She has provided care to more than 30 cats in her lifetime.Read more
| January 24, 2024

Many cats arrive in rescue care in need of medical attention. Some cats need vaccines and surgery to be spayed or neutered, while others are seriously ill or injured and require extensive care. Either way, vet bills aren’t cheap in the rescue world. And neither is food. But with initiatives, like the GOODS Program, animal shelters and rescues receive much-needed food donations that help save cash for medical treatments. Buddy the cat is proof of the good work in action. He enjoyed bowls of tasty donated food while healing from major surgery under the care of the Pet Adoption & Welfare Services of Oklahoma (PAWS).

But what is GOODS? The GOODS Program is a pet food distribution initiative in the Greater Good Charities family that has been keeping hungry bellies full for over a decade. To date, the GOODS Program has delivered over 578 million meals to shelters and rescues nationwide. That’s more than 6,000 truckloads delivered to hungry animals! And you played a huge part in ensuring those trucks rolled out because you shop purposefully.

Shopping To Save Cats

When you shop with iHeartCats, every single purchase funds donations for felines in need. Whether you purchase a cute cat shirt for yourself or supplements for your cat, that cart full of goodies gives compassion. Through our partnership with Greater Good Charities and the GOODS Program, we ensure shelter cats receive food and other necessities while waiting for their forever homes. And Buddy the cat wants to thank you for your generosity because you helped him find his forever.

“Buddy was a young community cat living on the streets of OKC when he was injured, most likely hit by a car,” shared PAWS. “His colony manager called PAWS-OK when she found him limping, and our director picked him up.”

“Our great vet at Rockwell Pet Clinic saw him immediately and found his leg with multiple fractures, which were pinned with three rods. He convalesced in a PAWS-OK foster home for many months.”

During those many months, he ate a healthy diet of donated food that helped him heal. When the time came for adoption, Buddy quickly found his family, the rescue revealing, “He found a new home with a wonderful woman and her son who bonded immediately with Buddy’s shy personality.”

Because PAWS had that good food to pass out to their kitties, they had the cash needed to patch up Buddy and get him family-ready.

“Without the GOODS Program’s support/ the rescue would not have the funds needed to take care of cats in need like Buddy.”

But it all starts with you. Those donations wouldn’t make it to Buddy or any of the other kitties in need if you didn’t have such a generous heart. So, keep shopping and give more cats a chance to find their forever homes!

Shop & Give Back!

The following products provide quality food for shelters and rescues, helping them reserve more of their precious funds for medical expenses, supplies, and spreading the word about their adoptable pups and kitties.

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