The cats of Bemposta
About AAVE
We’re a newly formed small non-profit association in Bemposta, Portugal, working to improve the lives of the village’s street cats.
Bemposta is well known locally for its large cat population. If you’ve been to this tiny village, you’ll have seen them: a tail rapidly vanishing under a gate, a ginger shape asleep on a warm wall at four in the afternoon. They’ve been part of this village for as long as anyone can remember.
But life on the street isn’t easy. Cats need reliable food and clean water, access to veterinary care and, importantly, sterilisation to prevent more kittens being born into an already large population.
What we want to do
One of AAVE’s main priorities is sterilisation and humane, long-term management of Bemposta’s street-cat population.
We want to help local cats access sterilisation and veterinary care, while working with the relevant authorities and veterinary services towards an effective and sustainable programme for the village.
And that means the males as well as the females. Sterilising males can reduce behaviours such as roaming and fighting, while sterilising females prevents further litters.
Alongside this, we aim to provide responsible feeding points with dry food and clean water and help with veterinary care when cats are sick or injured — from parasites and wounds to the ordinary problems that are much easier to treat early than after they’ve been left for weeks.
Why rehoming isn’t our main aim
People ask us about rehoming, which is a fair question.
Some of Bemposta’s cats are social and would be perfectly happy in homes. Kittens can often be socialised, and when a cat genuinely needs a home, we’ll do everything we reasonably can to find one.
But many adult street cats have spent their lives outdoors and aren’t conventional pets. Removing every cat from the village isn’t realistic, nor is it what AAVE is trying to achieve.
We’re not trying to empty Bemposta of cats. They’re part of the village.
What we want is to reduce the constant cycle of new litters, sick kittens and an ever-growing population, while improving the health and welfare of the cats already here.
Sterilisation is central to that.
We currently foster several kittens that probably wouldn’t have survived without help, and they are unlikely to return to the streets. But there are already many charities and shelters trying to find homes for cats. AAVE’s main focus is helping the cats here and working towards sustainable population management.
Where we’re heading
Bemposta is our first priority because this is where we’re based and where we see the situation every day: cats needing food or veterinary attention and new litters adding to an already substantial population.
In time, we’d like to help other villages and the cats living in them too.
How you can help
Sponsor a cat. A small monthly contribution can help towards a particular cat’s food and veterinary care, and we’ll keep you updated on how they’re doing. You can also become a general sponsor, and businesses can support us too.
Partner with us. If you run a business and would like to help — through regular support, services, supplies or contributing towards veterinary and sterilisation costs — we’d love to hear from you.
Send food or supplies. Dry food, carriers, cages, blankets and other useful supplies all help.
Give us a hand. If you’re nearby and would like to volunteer with feeding, transport, monitoring or other practical work, please get in touch.
Thank you for reading this far. It matters more than you’d think. 💚🐾
