Myakka City sanctuary takes in senior and special needs cats

Whether those in need walk on two legs or four, Cindy McCollough is ready to help. 

The former Manatee County paramedic is the founder and operator of TANKS Inc., the Tending Abandoned Needy Kats Sanctuary. 

The nonprofit organization has operated out of McCollough’s home in Myakka City for the past seven years, but was started in 2009 at her home in Sarasota. 

In 2001, before the 501(c)(3) designation was official, McCollough had taken in 10 cats because she noticed a pattern while volunteering at the Sarasota Humane Society.

“The senior cats would sit there and pine over their owners and just give up,” McCollough said. “I was trying to help, even if I’m the last one that’s holding them before they say goodbye.”

The goodbyes are the hardest part of running TANKS, she said. They’re also a regular part of the work. McCollough only takes in senior and special needs cats. 

TANKS has two board members and one volunteer, in addition to McCollough, so she takes on the lion’s share of caring for 50 cats, which is the sanctuary’s limit. 

It costs about $4,000 a month between food, cat litter and flea medicine to care for them, and McCollough said donations dwindled after the COVID pandemic in 2020 and again after Hurricane Ian in 2022.

With five acres, McCollough also has five steers and seven beagles. It takes about two hours each morning to feed the animals and another two hours at night to put them to bed. 

Most are outdoor cats that live in the barn, many of which are feral cats that came from Sarasota County Animal Services.

Every cat is neutered and chipped. While many of them could hop the fence, the majority don’t. Those that do, explore and then return to the food source. 

Walking around the property, there are cats on rooftops, fence posts, cars and at your feet. One had taken over the seat of the John Deere lawn tractor. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

One of McCollough’s next door neighbors keeps chickens just over the fence. Every once in a while, she sees one of the cats wandering around with them. 

All of the animals get along. Although McCollough said some of the cats behave like teenagers in high school. The orange cats have formed a clique. 

There are two cats that live inside. Wink is missing one eye, and Pixie has a brain tumor that causes occasional seizures. 

McCollough has cared for cats through mange treatments, kidney issues and cancer. The worst case was a saddle thrombus, which is a clot that stops blood flow to the hind legs.

“I got home, and he was out by the street screaming,” McCollough said. “I was sure somebody hit him. I took him to the emergency vet, and he had a clot.” 

Those are the hard times, but the good times come daily. A smile overcame McCollough’s face as she talked about her nighttime routine. 

“They like Temptation treats,” she said. “Before I close the barn down at night, I toss the treats, and everybody comes running.” 

McCollough is 61 years old and has loved animals since she was a child. Until the age of 8, she lived on a farm in Smithfield, Ohio. 

At 9, she moved to Florida with her family. A TV show called “Emergency!” also premiered that year. The lead characters were paramedics and firefighters.

From that moment on, McCollough knew what she was going to be when she grew up. The only reason she’s not also a firefighter is because she wears contact lenses and didn’t pass the required vision test. 

McCollough has sacrificed for the cats. She would have preferred to stay on with Manatee County after 23 years, but staff is required to be on call during disasters. She needs to be on call for the cats during those times. 

Instead, she found a happy medium working part-time for a private ambulance company. She worked a 12-hour shift on Saturday, and Pastor Lynn Howell from the Myakka Family Worship Center and his wife stopped by to let the dogs out and check on the cats.  

The church is one of a few organizations McCollough stocks with pet food and supplies. PetSmart and other stores donate the goods, and McCollough makes the deliveries.

But sometimes even the helpers need help. Two items would pretty much complete McCollough’s wish list: Wet cat food for the senior cats with dental issues and non-clumping kitty litter because she changes it out every single day. 

“I don't have kids,” McCollough said. "(The animals) are my kids."