“It Is Not Easy to Watch Suffering and Death”: Volunteers Keep Saving Cats

For 15 years, the Nine Lives association has tried to improve the lives of Osijek's abandoned cats, including animals that have known nothing but life on the streets. Its volunteers care for large numbers of cats, many of them seriously injured, disabled or abandoned as kittens.

The nonprofit operates without a local service or a shelter that meets the requirements for keeping cats. Volunteers often take the animals into their own homes, while a small group of members and outside helpers assist with transport and photographing cats. The association receives all of its funding from public donations.

More than four years ago, the group bought a property intended to become a cat shelter. Renovation has moved slowly because the facility must comply with regulations for animal shelters. The association says it has installed new floors, a roof, heating, ventilation, an outdoor cat enclosure, fencing, special pens and an infirmary, but it still has not met every requirement.

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The work is progressing slowly because public donations are our only source of income.

Veterinary bills cost about 5,000 euros a month, alongside food, litter and utility expenses. Donations do not cover even the primary costs, leaving little money for the renovation. The group also needs a vehicle to transport cats and says it cannot predict when the work will finish or when it can apply for shelter registration.

The association has opened a separate account for donations toward the shelter. It also points to free sterilization programs, including a city-funded initiative in Osijek, as an important way to reduce unwanted litters and animal suffering. Volunteers continue hoping that rescued cats such as Vera, Nada and Ljuban will find homes where they can leave their past experiences behind.

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Our primary costs are high, including veterinary expenses of about 5,000 euros a month, as well as food, litter and utilities, so nothing remains for the renovation.