Whiskers ’n Wags Jubilee raises $77,000 for Fort Collins Cat Rescue

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic’s largest annual charity benefit, Whiskers ’n Wags Jubilee, netted $77,000 on March 1 to help finance the nonprofit’s shelter and low-cost spay/neuter clinic, a 22 percent increase over its 2013 event.

Nearly 300 guests and 50 volunteers were in attendance at the “Diamonds are Furever” themed Whiskers ’n Wags Jubilee, held at the Marriott Fort Collins Hotel. Live music was performed by the Dolce Musica String Quartet, and hundreds of generous businesses and individuals donated items to the silent and live auctions. Nearly two dozen artists also donated their talents to create the crowd-favorite Grand Cat statues, whose sale alone netted over $4,000 for the nonprofit.

The rescue opened a satellite adoption center in Loveland in fall 2013 to deal with an influx of abandoned cats after the floods. The Fort Collins shelter and Loveland center combined have now adopted out more than 6,000 cats and kittens since the organization’s inception in June 2006. Its clinic has performed more than 27,000 spay and neuter surgeries on dogs and cats since it first opened in March 2007.

In fewer than eight years, the organization has grown to employ two dozen staff members and has an annual operating budget of $1 million. The Whiskers ’n Wags Jubilee fundraiser plays an important role in supporting the nonprofit’s services and mission.

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic’s cat shelter is located at 2321 E. Mulberry St. Unit 1, Fort Collins, CO 80524. Its clinic is at the same address but in Unit 9. The new Loveland Cat Adoption & Resource Center is at 621 E. Eisenhower Blvd., Loveland, CO 80537. More information about the organization can be found on its website, www.FCCRSNC.org, or by calling 970-484-8516.