Helping Cats Abroad: Cuba
Recently I visited Cuba and spent time with the street cats there. Travel has always been something that I’m equally as passionate about as animals so getting to combine both any time I can is amazing!
Entry to Cuba depends on the current politics and right now one of the options offered is to “Support the Cuban People” which is how we obtained our visas. But, if you know me, you know if I can find a way to help out animals I’m going to do it. Through a bit of searching, I was able to connect with an organization that has done major events throughout Cuba in order to spay/neuter and vaccinate the street animals as well as peoples pets. This group is called The Spanky Project and I connected with their President, Audrey, who lives in Long Beach, California. She has a network of caretakers and veterinarians across Cuba. Through this network she is able to determine what items are in most current need and then can give a list to anyone traveling to Cuba (like I was). Other times she is able to go and arrange mass spay/neuter and vaccination clinics. Since COVID, these have slowed down a bit but she is currently in the (paper)works of restarting them.
I was extremely impressed with the street animals in Havana, Cuba! The cats aren’t “shoo-ed” out of restaurants and they are, for the most part, very friendly. You’ll see them eating scraps and playing out on the streets and often times they’ll come up for a pat from you. It was so heartwarming seeing that they are treated decently, especially seeing caretakers out and about in the mornings and evenings feeding.
When packing to head to Cuba, after asking those we were going to visit with what they needed, we loaded up an extra suitcase with goods for the Cuban people as well as for the veterinarians, animal caretakers, and animals there we were meeting with. These items included hygiene products (as things we may deem as ‘easy to find here’ are not nearly as accessible there), pens, paper, and Clorox wipes for the veterinarians, flea and tick medicines, cat treats, and my kitties sent over some of their toys for the cats there to love on and play with.
Through this organization we were lucky enough to be connected to these two angels Angelo and Amelia who are some of the community cat caretakers in Havana. They, along with others, feed and keep an eye out for the street animals there. If one of the cats that is expected for meal time doesn’t show up or is late you can bet that these two go looking to find that kitty! (And you can always count on Angelo to tell you the story of how he met Amelia “back in the day, she was stunning in her red polka dot dress”).
If we needed help finding where they would be, Audrey told us we just needed to ask around for the “Protectora de Gatos (Protector of Cats)” and everyone in Havana would be able to point us towards Amelia at Angelo’s art studio. Angelo’s art studio is also the kitchen for these meals to be prepared, as well as a recovery space for any cats that have recently undergone a surgery. Every morning Angelo goes to the local market to see what is in season and fresh and available and then brings the ingredients home for Amelia to create the cat food. “Cat food” as we would recognize here in the U.S.A. is in extremely limited supply, so they do the best they can with the ingredients they can gather. This can include mashing bananas or squash in, along with the dehydrated bits Amelia has that she rehydrates to mix in. When they go out into the street to feed, they stay with the cats while they eat. If any cats are late or not showing up, they will go looking for them to be sure to account for them all. After meal time, Amelia cleans up the food bits on and saves what she can. This way, they do not leave the streets dirty either, which seems to be of emphasized importance (at least in the city of Havana).
I cannot wait to return to Cuba. The kitties there stole my heart! If you have Cuba in your travels any time soon, or would like to send donations these caretakers need, don’t hesitate to reach out to The Spanky Project (or I can connect you directly to Audrey if you message me).