Feline Canopy of Care, a nonprofit organization in St. Augustine, is committed to rescuing, healing and re-homing abandoned cats.
Sherrie Moore, the executive director, began Feline Canopy in 2013 and has devoted the majority of her life to helping cats in need. Moore grew up in “a house full of animals” and at one time had multiple indoor-outdoor cats running in and out of her basement. Her love for animals led her to work for a veterinarian in her 30s and continue to rescue cats on her own.
When Moore first started Feline Canopy, everything was coming out of her pocket. Since then, Feline Canopy has slowly gained new volunteers, people who are knowledgeable about marketing, and an increase in donations, allowing them to help thousands of cats.
Last year alone, Feline Canopy had 470 cats get adopted. There are currently around 200 cats in their rescue system, and through Feline Canopy's partnership with the Witty Whiskers Cafe in St. Augustine, people can meet up to 19 cats for adoption.
Feline Canopy is run entirely by volunteers who put their “hearts and souls into this,” and Moore feels very lucky to have such a dedicated team. Running a nonprofit comes with challenges, though. After the pandemic, cat food has tripled in price, and medical bills can run up to hundreds of dollars.
Moore explains that all these expenses are paid with donations; however, donations have tapered off, so they are now relying on their adoption fees.
As challenging as running a nonprofit can be, Moore finds her work very rewarding. Feline Canopy has had a huge success rate with cats found and deemed euthanasia as their only option. But they did not give up and have nursed cats back to health so they can be put up for adoption.
“We lose kittens when they are found too late, and our hearts break, but for every one we lose, we have some miracle case that we can be proud of,” Moore said.
Moore's hope for the future of Feline Canopy is to eventually open a thrift store so they can generate income, allowing them to expand their organization and continue to help “the community with all these cats in need.”
Feline Canopy is hosting a fundraiser at Odd Birds in St Augustine on Friday, Oct. 28. To attend this fundraiser, simply make a reservation for that day and mention you are going to support Feline Canopy. Odd Birds has created a specialty cocktail, “The Catbird,” where Feline Canopy will receive a percentage of its proceeds. In the restaurant, there will be an auction table set up where people can bid on items.
For more information about Feline Canopy, go to their website, fcocinc.org.
