What To Donate to a Guinea Pig Rescue

Guinea pig rescues sometimes defy the human imagination.

At a typical rescue on any given day, in any city across the world, volunteers and staff work countless hours planning events, coordinating intake and adoptions, providing care, scheduling veterinary appointments, emailing, Facebooking, blogging…whew! And, in the midst of a hyperactive schedule, all is done on a tiny pip-squeak of a budget.

Fortunately, there are kind Humans like you who help fuel the success of these amazing organizations by donating time and money. But what else do rescues really need? What kind of donations can they put to good use?

Some of the answers might surprise you!That’s because several weeks ago I reached out to five guinea pig rescues and asked the question: “What donations do you need?” The staff I spoke with were incredibly friendly, informative, and willing to share their needs with a wider audience.

The answers I received ranged from the assumed (money!) to the unexpected (gift cards). I heard back from five successful rescues that were willing to go on record and fess up to what they really need from you.

This What To Donate to a Guinea Pig Rescue guide is a collaborative effort between wheek.it and the following guinea pig rescues:

• Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue in Elanora, Queensland (Australia)
• Orange County Cavy Haven in Fullerton, California
• PIGGIE POO® Arizona’s Small Animal Rescue, Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona
• Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue in Lewisville, Texas
• Wee Companions Small Animal, Inc. in San Diego, California

Donation List

1. Bedding
2. Food
3. Cage Items
4. Money
5. Cleaning Supplies
6. Cloth Towels and Scraps
7. Gift Give-Aways
8. Unusual Items
9. Full Donation Request List

#1. Bedding

Bedding ranked #1 “most wanted” on the list of items needed. This really isn’t much of a surprise, as bedding is probably the first thing that would come to mind for most people when making a drop-off donation to a guinea pig rescue. Guinea pigs need them some bedding, and that’s just the way it’ll always be.

Below is a break-down of each rescue’s specific bedding needs:

• Kaytee Aspen Bedding (8 cu. ft.) and CareFRESH Ultra Pet Bedding (Wee Companions)
• Wood shavings, newspaper, and shredder paper (Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Newspapers (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Softwood bedding (Piggie Poo)
• Towels, fleece, rugs or other clean soft washable bedding (Orange County Cavy Haven)
• Large packages of CareFRESH bedding, Aspen or kiln-dried pine shavings (Orange County Cavy Haven)

#2. Food

Guinea pigs require a near-constant intake of hay and pellets, so it’s only natural to see food near the very top of each rescue’s wish list. From pellets to hay to veggies, each rescue I spoke with has a diverse range of needs when it comes to food donations. Please be sure to contact any rescue you wish to donate food items to before you make a purchase, you never know what each rescue will need!

Here’s a list of the specific food needs of each rescue I spoke with. While pellets, hay, and veggies are all a common theme, some of the specifics may surprise you:

• Gift certificates to Sprouts, Sam’s, or local grocery stores for weekly veggies for the animals (Texas Rustlers)
• Fresh fruit and vegetables, pellets, and hay (Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Oxbow Cavy Performance [Alfalfa Based] and Oxbow Bunny Basics/T [Timothy based] (Wee Companions)
• Timothy hay, Oxbow brand pellets (Piggie Poo)
• Plain guinea pig pellets (Kleenmama, Mazuri, or Oxbow) and Timothy hay (Orange County Cavy Haven)

#3. Cage Items

Water bottles, food bowls, and hidey huts, oh my! If you’re shopping around for a new pigloo or two, especially if you’re making purchases online, how about you add an extra pigloo or food bowl to your order to send to a rescue who needs it?

• Huts, water bottles, and food bowls: anything to put in cages for foster set-ups (Orange County Cavy Haven)
• New or used C&C cage supplies (grids/connectors/coroplast) to use for our foster homes (Orange County Cavy Haven)
• Guinea pig water bottles and food bowels (Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Unwanted animal enclosures (cages/carriers/housing/aviaries ) (Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue)

#4. Money

Who doesn’t love a little bit of extra cash? Monetary donations are always your best bet if you’re looking to make a quick hit donation that you know will be appreciated by the rescue. Every rescue can put money to good use as monetary donations allow rescues to funnel funds into areas where their rescue is most in need.

Here’s a link to each rescue’s website where you can make a direct donation:

• Wee Companions Small Animal, Inc. in San Diego, California [donate]
• Orange County Cavy Haven in Fullerton, California [donate]
• Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue in Elanora, Queensland (Australia) [donate]
• Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue in Lewisville, Texas [donate]

#5. Cleaning Supplies

Yes, guinea pigs are adorable. But they can also get pretty dirty. So, one would naturally assume cleaning supplies to be near the top of the list for donations. In fact, two rescues — Wee Companions and Texas Rustler — had cleaning supplies at the very top of both of their lists.

White vinegar, paper towels, and bleach top the Wee Companions Wish List while Mel, Board Member of the Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue, reported that their rescue needs vinegar, paper towels, and toilet paper.

Here’s a break-down of each rescue’s cleaning supply needs:

• Bathroom supplies: cleaners (Pledge and Windex), toilet paper, Glade plug-ins, etc. (Piggie Poo)
• Vinegar, paper towels, and toilet paper (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• White vinegar, paper towels, and bleach (Wee Companions)

Fortunately, white vinegar and bleach can be relatively inexpensive, and can be purchased in bulk at local grocers and dollar discount shops. Paper products can also be fetched for a bargain, just hop over to Google and do a search for “[BRAND NAME] coupon”. Making a donation doesn’t have to be expensive, but it can still go a really long way! And who doesn’t love shopping for a bargain?

#6. Cloth Towels and Scraps

Towels, cloth scraps, and cleaning rags are always in high-demand, as they can serve a variety of purposes. The next time you’re replacing your cleaning towels, how about sending a big, ol’ box over to one of the rescues below?

I think that sounds real nice!

• Microfiber cloths (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Old towels (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Towels (Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Carpet samples (Wee Companions)

#7. Gift Give-Aways

Wendy Anderton — who handles marketing, grants, and public relations for Piggie Poo — explained that their rescue uses gift cards to grocery stores, large pet shops, and big-box stores like Wal-Mart, along with fun novelty gifts to include in gift baskets that they give away at events.

So, send Wendy an email and check to see what gift cards she needs. Then click on over to Gift Card Granny and pickup some discounted gift cards.

#8. Unusual Items

File this under “Items You Never Would Have Thought To Donate”. Below are a few of the more unusual items that the five rescues I spoke with need. Although you can probably guess as to what use these items will be put to, it just goes to show you that you can never know what a guinea pig rescue may need until you reach out and ask. I found the most unusual item requests to fall under two main categories: Utility and Office Supplies.

Utility

• Dritz Extra Large Safety Pins – size 3 (Wee Companions)
• Ziploc Bags (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Trash Bags (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Microwave and Stand (Piggie Poo)
• Ice chests, EZ-Ups, and 4′ or 6′ folding tables for events (Orange County Cavy Haven)

Office Supplies

• Paper for printing (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue and Wee Companions)
• Envelopes and postage stamps (Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue)
• Copy cards from Kinko’s or Office Depot and (Orange County Cavy Haven)
• Digital cameras to photograph shelter pigs (Orange County Cavy Haven)

Full Donation Request List

Below is a sampling of the items each rescue sent as their ideal “Wish List”. Please look through each list and visit their website for more information on what items you can donate.

Orange County Cavy Haven [Wish List]

• Fleece and towels (to line cages – both for fosters and for events)
• New or used C&C cage supplies (grids/connectors/coroplast) to use for our foster homes
• Huts/water bottles/bowls – anything to put in cages for our foster set ups

Cavy Angel’s Guinea Pig Rescue [Wish List]

• Fresh fruit and Veg
• Fresh mix/ Pellets/hay
• Bedding (e.g. Wood-shavings, newspaper, shredder paper, etc)
• Towels
• Guinea pig water bottles and food bowels
• Money

Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue [Wish List]

• Vinegar
• Paper Towels
• Toilet Paper
• Ziploc Bags
• Trash Bags
• Newspapers
• Paper for printing
• Envelopes
• Postage stamps
• Microfiber cloths
• Laundry detergent
• Dish/Hand soap
• Old towels
• Gift certificates to grocery stores for weekly veggies

Wee Companions

• Bleach
• White vinegar
• Papertowels

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