Alyona Kravtsova and her daughter Natalia are also helping those tailed ones who were evacuated from the Kursk and Belgorod regions to find a new home, Vesti Don reports. The Kravtsov family from Rostov has been engaged in volunteer work related to the rescue of cats and dogs for more than eight years. Alena and Natalia started with a cat cafe when they were trying to open a business and make money, thinking that their tailed friends would attract visitors to the cafe.
"We thought that a cat cafe, called it a CATtage, was a great idea that would allow cats to find homes, people to have a good time, and us to earn money from our favorite business. We set ourselves strict limits – no more than ten cats in a cafe, including those taken from the street. But already on the opening day there were 12 of them. In three days, 15. In a week 18. We reached the number 28 pretty quickly. The business plan failed miserably. There were very few visitors, the cats barely earned enough to feed themselves, and we didn't earn anything at all,’ said Alyona Kravtsova.
The situation changed a year after the opening of the CATtage. Disaster struck in Rostov, a terrible fire mowed down almost an entire street on Theater Square, many animals died, and even more were left homeless.
"On the day of the fire, we were standing on the Theater Ramp with carriers in our hands, because we couldn't stay away. We took out fourteen cats and three dogs in three days. Our population has dramatically increased to 42 at cat cafe and five cats at home. That's when one of our subscribers suggested that we announce a day of help, like other shelters did," Alena continues, "and we were able to raise money for cats and victims of the fire. Since then, business at the catcafe has picked up as well.’
And in 2020, the cafe had to be closed. It was from this moment that the Kravtsov family had a cat house, which became a shelter not only for cats. Alyona and Natalia decided to move away from the entertainment venue format forever and focus on helping and rescuing stray animals. They built a large house where 270 cats, 55 dogs and even two raccoons were placed.
"My house is a shelter. Cats and raccoons and some dogs live in the house. These are the elderly, chronicles, and the disabled. The rest live on the neighboring plot. I built them large, comfortable winter shelters with panoramic windows, heating, and large outdoor pools. My daughter is an adult, lives separately, and comes to help in her free time. She's a vet, she treats animals. I have to do the cleaning and everything else," says the owner of the shelter.
Since March 2022, the Kravtsovs have been transporting and receiving the heaviest animals from frontline towns for treatment. Alyona and Natalia rescued 486 cats and 49 dogs from Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Volnovakha, Donetsk, Oleshek, Goloi Pier, Kursk and Belgorod regions. Some of them have moved to new families after treatment, but most are still waiting for new owners. In just 8.5 years of the existence of the house of cats and dogs "CATtage", more than one and a half thousand cats and more than two hundred dogs have been placed in good hands. Currently, there are 327 animals under the care of the CATtage.
Photos from the personal archive of Alyona Kravtsova.