by Lucy Noland
Something about that cat.
There he sat, a little orange boy at the North Shore Animal League on Long Island. Little did that kitten know his entire life was about to take one amazing turn. Clare and Steve Morrison were walking into his world and would spoil him for 18 wonderful years. “We truly love all our cats, including the nine we currently have, but Mac will always be special. The best way to explain it is, he was my ‘fuzzy soulmate’,” says Clare. “It was Steve’s idea to start ‘Mac’s Fund’ to honor Mac after he lost his battle with cancer. “
Mac’s Fund finances something called TNR—trap neuter return programs—which helps outdoor cats live long and healthy lives while humanely dropping their populations. No kittens. No baby boom. This includes helping colony cats who need shelter from inclement weather. Mac's Fund is a proud sponsor of Catadelphia's Annual Winter Cat Shelter Building workshop where recently more than 300 volunteers built more than 400 outdoor kitty shelters.
Since its inception in 2015, Mac’s Fund has been responsible for more than 2500 community cats being spayed/neutered and vaccinated and finding homes for the socialized kitties. Kitties like Cargo. Clare got a desperate plea from the manager of a storage unit asking if she could help find a home for this sweet boy. Mac's Fund trapped him, brought him to a vet and with the help of a local rescue found him his loving forever home.
Clare’s nonprofit has also covered emergency surgery for more than 50 cats who would have otherwise been euthanized or, worse yet, left to suffer out on the streets. Take the kitten dubbed Neptune at ACCT Philly. Something bad had happened to the sweet little man. One of his back legs was shattered. Nonlethal Options for Animals swooped in to save him and Mac’s Fund helped cover his medical costs at Philadelphia’s 2nd Street Animal Hospital.
Neptune’s new name is Ned. And his new life is currently with his phenomenal foster mom, Susan Russell (yes, the same SJ Russell who’s behind this little company whose website you’re now visiting) and her patient husband Doug. Ned now has three legs. (In his opinion: “Don’t all kitties? I mean what would you do with a fourth??”) Ned is also awaiting his forever home. Hint. Hint.
Within its short existence, Mac's Fund has raised more than $20,000 for ACCT Philly (Philadelphia’s open-intake shelter) alone. At the launch of Mac’s Fund, they partnered with The Cat Shack and Clare and Steve donated $10,000 to kick things off. As Clare says, “We are happy to say we are still going strong!!”
Strong indeed. Just check them out: