When Annex Cat Rescue trapper and foster Lizzy responded to a call about a stray cat in 2020, she got far more than she bargained for. The cat, who Lizzy named Possum, wasn’t alone. She was living in the bushes on someone’s front lawn… along with her six three-week-old kittens. “The homeowner had cancer and was not in a position to help them, so she emailed ACR,” Lizzy explains. But, “the homeowner’s friend had been secretly feeding the cats. The friend was distraught and wanted Possum and the babies to stay outside so she could continue to care for them.” Luckily, once Lizzy and her partner P ..read more

Discovering a cat’s personality is one of the best things about bringing a rescue cat into your home. They often start out shy and scared, recovering from whatever their life had been like before, but you can watch them blossom into unique, sweet, and goofy cats. That’s what happened with Molly (formerly Cirilla), who was trapped as part of a colony living in a warehouse. She stayed with several fosters in an attempt to be socialized, ultimately ending up with Alex, a foster with the ACR. “Cirilla is my favourite cat I ever fostered,” Alex says. “Out of the, I think 10 cats I’ve had, she’s th ..read more

Looking at Nellie all cuddled up in her fuzzy blanket, you wouldn’t guess she was rescued from a cat colony. After being trapped for Annex Cat Rescue’s Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program, her rescuers decided to find this shy cat a forever home. “We’re thankful someone recognized that she deserved a good home,” says Shannon, Nellie’s new family. Nellie (right) with her big brother, who is also an ACR alumni After losing one of her cats in October, Shannon was ready to add another kitten. Her family has a long history with the ACR, and many of her cats, including Nellie’s brother, are rescues. Ne ..read more

There are adored cats, and then there is Fiona, who occupies the very heart of Zenia and Binoy’s home. You can hear the love in their voices when they describe the gentle white cat with brown markings, who was plucked from a backyard colony in the Keele and Dundas area in late 2020 at approximately age two, where she had been living with eight siblings and family members, all eventually fostered and adopted through ACR. “We are both animal lovers and were looking to have an animal in our life,” Zenia says. “I’m more of a cat person and Binoy is more of a dog person. But given the fact that we ..read more

Onyx and Sheldon have always enjoyed cats’ company and shared the love of Onyx’s two cats until their passing. Two years later, the couple felt ready to invite new feline companions into their home. “I knew we would look for rescue kitties to help take some cats off the streets, so I contacted Annex Cat Rescue,” recalls Onyx. After meeting on Zoom with ACR volunteer foster Sarah, the couple loved the idea of taking in two bonded brothers. “Sheldon wanted to name one of the kittens Quentin Collins, a character from a gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows,” says Onyx, who wasn’t keen on the name at fi ..read more

Tortie’s Happy Tail is a unique one. The story begins with Saoirse, a young veterinarian, who was living in Toronto with her roommate who is also a vet. They decided to foster a cat, and through her work, Saoirse heard of Annex Cat Rescue. Upon hearing that Saoirse and her roommate were both veterinarians, an ACR volunteer told Saoirse she had the perfect cat for her. By this point in 2019, young Tortie had already gone through so much in life. She had several health issues, particularly with her skin, so a pair of vets seemed to be an excellent match. Like many rescue cats, Tortie was shy at ..read more

Ruthie (formerly Petunia) and Cello came into the care of ACR when they were very small kittens. Cello was rescued from a dirty industrial site with the rest of his littermates. He and his brothers and sisters were given to Jacqueline for fostering. At the time, Jacqueline had recently lost her own cat, so the kittens came into the house when they were needed. Ruthie was a solo rescue lifted from the streets. Originally, Ruthie was fostered by Carol, one of the many fosters working with ACR.  However, due to a bad habit of urinating in places other than the litterbox, she was also sent t ..read more

It’s that time of year again, the Toronto Waterfront Marathon is back!  ACR is celebrating 25 years this year! Since our inception, ACR has provided compassionate cat rescue to help the most vulnerable cats in our city. This year, the call for help is even greater. Bringing in many sick kittens and cats to receive immediate life-saving care and utilizing all our resources to help them thrive and find their furever home. How can you help? One of three ways: Register to participate and raise funds. Donate if you can’t participate. Spread the word to help ACR raise funds. Here is ACR’s re ..read more

After losing a beloved cat in 2018, Annex Cat Rescue foster Dayna wasn’t ready to adopt again, but she missed having a cat around. So, she decided to foster. Her specialty was behavioral assessments of feral cats. Dayna would take in these cats and, over time, see if they would be able to integrate into life with people, or if they would have to return to the colonies. Life in the colonies was uncertain and insecure, so Dayna and the ACR team didn’t want to return cats there unless they absolutely couldn’t get along with humans.  Osmo (left) gets a hug from his buddy Finn (right) One day ..read more

Jinx, formerly Joni, was a feral cat visiting friendly strangers for food. Before coming into the care of Annex Cat Rescue, she was living outside in the cold winter days and seen crossing busy streets. She was placed in a foster home with ACR foster superstar, Sherri. About the same time, Claire was going through a rough patch in the fall of 2020 when she decided to adopt a cat. The pandemic disrupted the lives of many, and Claire was no exception. She was living alone for the first time in her life, had lost her job due to the pandemic, and was looking for a feline companion when she found ..read more