Stafford Woman Builds Shelters For Stray Cats To Stay Warm

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — Mo Galbraith understands one person can make a difference in their community, no matter how small, by taking the time to do something good.

In her life right now, Galbraith, 23, is running a program called The Cat Shelter Project of Fredericksburg. She was inspired by her best friend who builds rain shelters for cats in Florida. Because Virginia winters are much colder, Galbraith recognized an even greater need for cat shelters in the Fredericksburg area.

"I saw a lot of cats crawling into storm drains and sheds or garages to stay warm. I had to do something," Galbraith told Patch.

Galbraith, who lives in Stafford County, makes her cat shelters from coolers (plastic or styrofoam) or storage containers, lined with additional styrofoam to double insulate, straw for bedding, and pipe insulation to line the hole where cats enter the shelter to help stop rain and snow from going inside. A brick is added to any styrofoam coolers to help add weight.

Since last November when she started the project, Galbraith has made 15 cat shelters. A GoFundMe campaign helps to raise money to sustain the project. With more donations, Galbraith can make higher-quality shelters by purchasing storage containers, which are larger and can fit more cats than the two or three cats that are housed in a cooler.

The Cat Shelter Project also has a Facebook page, where Galbraith solicits donations. "The shelters provide warmth and a safehaven for the cats during the harsh Virginia winters," the Facebook page says, "with temperatures dropping into the single digits or snow some nights."

After moving to the Fredericksburg area a few years ago, Galbraith said it took time to feel a part of the community. When she was working at Fredericksburg Animal Hospital as a staffer, "I truly felt a part of the community, working for one of the oldest vets in town."

"I've always wanted to do something good and with heart. This project seems to tick all the boxes," she said.

She has placed shelters in a feral cat colonies near Stafford courthouse, Stafford Hospital and the Fredericksburg Fire Department, according to a Free Lance-Star article. The shelters also are under the Chatham Bridge, in Chancellor Battlefield and in Oak Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, where Galbraith says people often drop off cats they no longer want, according to the newspaper report.

In November, a local resident, Anne Warlick, helped jump-start the project by donating five coolers, Galbraith said. "Without her, I wouldn't have been able to reach out to the community so quickly," she said.

The Stafford County Animal Shelter has approached Galbraith about a possible partnership to help with trap, neuter and release of feral cats to control the feral cat population in the area. A large number of animal welfare groups contend trap, neuter and release is a humane way to reduce the stray and feral cat population, while other groups are opposed to abandoning the cats after they have been neutered.

As a one-person operation, Galbraith said she is holding off on forming partnerships with local shelters or other groups because her main goal right now is to build as many cat shelters as possible. "The project is growing fast," she told Patch.

In terms of her professional life, upon leaving the vet's office, Galbraith is waiting to start a new job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Making winter shelters for feral cats could serve as "a stepping stone" to an eventual career in emergency management for humans, she told the Free Lance-Star.

Once she starts her job at FEMA, Galbraith plans to continue the shelter project in her spare time. "Surprisingly, the shelters do not take long to build," she said. Obtaining permission from property owners to place the cat shelters on their land, on the other hand, is the more time-consuming part of the project, she said.