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April Kibzey says she cannot sit idly by while cats freeze or go hungry outside her rambling home in central Vanier.

“As human beings, in a society that we created and live by, I think we’re all responsible for the domesticated animals that we’ve turned into our companions.”

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And so she is running an unofficial cat sanctuary in her tucked-away house on Montgomery Street — the one with the big, leafy yard — within spitting distance of the Loblaws on McArthur Avenue.

On the weekend, there were seven kittens from two different litters in a front bedroom, three cats recovering in the “quarantine” room, and various other felines lounging and skulking around the 19th-century home — more than a dozen in all.

Photo by Ashley Fraser / Postmedia

Kibzey, 46, is the driving force behind Save The Vanier Cats, which aims to domesticate stray cats to the point they can be socialized and adopted out.

In 2017, she says she managed to find homes for 177 animals, either kittens or strays that needed new homes. “I can’t see these cats starving and cold. Somebody has to do something.”

It isn’t cheap. So Kibzey, who works as a renovations contractor, goes door-to-door attempting to raise money, leaving handmade cards across the east-end and spreading awareness on small advertising boards. She has also started a GoFundMe page and works discount arrangements with an animal hospital.