International Cat Day was established in 2002 and is celebrated worldwide on 8 August. Credit: Kryšpín Charitable Cat association.
Brno, July 17 (BD) – On Saturday, 12 August, the Kryšpín Charitable Cat Association will mark International Cat Day with a fundraising event at Club Šelepka in Brno, featuring shopping at the dobroČIČinný bazaar, an exhibition of cat photo collages, a cat mini counselling session and a screening of a documentary about a cat shelter.
International Cat Day was established in 2002 and is celebrated worldwide on 8 August. “In Brno, we are celebrating this international holiday for the third year with a charity bazaar to help abandoned cats in shelters,” said organiser Lenka Němcová from the Kryšpín Charitable Cat Association, which helps raise funds for the operation of selected private Moravian shelters. The 10 shelters included in the fundraising are currently caring for 1,092 cats between them, until they can find new homes.
The charity bazaar will offer items for both humans and felines, including second-hand goods as well as beautiful new handmade products donated for the sale. This will be complemented by an exhibition of cat collages by the Brno artist Kateřina Dubovcová, a mini cat counselling session and a screening of a documentary about the longest-running cat shelter in Moravia.
Many people may not realise that there are no municipal cat shelters in South Moravia, only private ones, as is the case throughout the Czech Republic. Without these private shelters, thousands of cats would be without help.
“It is surprising, because of course there are many times more abandoned cats than dogs,” said Němcová. The official capacity of registered shelters in South Moravia is 1,382 cats. However, most of the places (1,191), are offered by volunteers, without help from the state. Among the thousands of cases that private cat shelters dealt with last year in Moravia were kittens dumped in a plastic bag in the forest, a cat with a shattered jaw after a collision with a car, and a cat with a plastic tube around its neck.
The Kryšpín charitable cat association was founded in Brno during the pandemic, and provides financial support for around 10 verified private shelters, mainly in South Moravia. The association runs charity auctions and benefit events, runs e-shops, and is seeing 834 regular donors of 100 crowns per month, who would together give CZK 1 million a year. There are currently 252 such donors. The charity also runs a public collection with the transparent account number 2501927911/2010.
As of 21 June, the shelters supported by the association were caring for 883 cats. These include seven in South Moravia: Abandoned Cat’s Paws, Cats at Katka’s, Flíček Cat Depository, Tibet Shelter, Jiřina Skoumalová Asylum, Jana’s Depository – A Chance to Have a Home, and Znojmo Cat Asylum, as well as Gaia Hanušovice Asylum in northern Moravia. Brno Max and Sissi Cat Home will also be represented at the bazaar, so the total number of abandoned cats being supported by the event is 1,092.
“We would like to thank everyone who helps us financially, including those who castrate or adopt a cat from the shelter,” said Alžběta Blašková, who has been running her shelter for 15 years. “The advantage of adoption is not only that our cats are vaccinated, dewormed and neutered, but we also know how to choose a companion that is tailored to your needs, mainly by personality.” Blašková’s shelter will be the focus of the documentary presented at the charity day.
