A new community effort has launched in Gustine to address what many residents say has become one of the town’s most urgent animal welfare issues: the growing number of abandoned and feral cats.
The initiative, called the Gustine Community Cattery, is led by local resident and longtime animal advocate Melodi Busch, who has been supporting cat rescue efforts on her own for years. Busch stresses that this cannot be a one-person mission. “First of all, we need a rescue that everyone can be a part of. A task of this magnitude cannot be accomplished by one person or even a handful of people,” she said. “I get contacted by at least eight people weekly and have even had kittens dropped off on my doorstep. The need is great.”
Her long-term vision is that the community, not just a small group of individuals, steps up to support the animals that live here. “My hopes and long-term goals are to have Gustine as a whole take care of all the animals, not think that a couple people have the time and finances for this,” Busch said. “I am hoping that Animal Control gets a hand on the feral population or that the city calls in our county TNR (trap-neuter-rescue) program and has them come in to get this under control.”
The Cattery’s work involves emotional and financial strain. Some animals are rescued in time. Others are not. “A rescue that really touched my heart was one last week that we could do nothing for. We lose so many monthly, but an abused, broken kitten just breaks my heart,” she said.
The list of expenses is long: medical bills, medications, syringes, formula, blankets, food, litter and litter boxes, kennels, transportation, spay and neuter surgeries, inoculations, and microchips. “That is not even a full list,” she stated. Busch says lack of public understanding is one of the group’s biggest obstacles. “Community misunderstandings are the biggest challenge right now. If we are not all working toward a goal, it will not work. Pointing the finger to blame will never help. It is not someone else’s problem. We are in this together.”
One message Busch feels strongly about is ownership and responsibility. “This is not my rescue, Frank’s rescue, or Jose’s rescue. This is Gustine’s. Be part of the solution, not the problem.” So far, the Cattery has received one donation of cans for recycling, two donations toward spay and neuter costs, and a donation of items for their table at a community event later this month. It is a modest beginning, but Busch remains committed. “We all need to be informed on just how many we lose because we do not spay and neuter,” she added.
The Cattery is currently seeking:
• Donations of aluminum cans and plastic bottles, which are recycled to fund veterinary care
• Monetary donations made directly to Tru Blu Vet in Newman under “Gustine Community Cattery”
• Volunteers who can help with trapping, transporting, fostering, socializing kittens, or community outreach
• Community members who want to work with the City and Animal Control to expand TNR efforts
Residents interested in helping can contact the group through the Gustine Community Cattery Facebook page. Busch says it best: “We are in this together. If we cannot get everyone involved, including the city and animal control, the county will need to step in.”
