Furry Friends: A Love-Filled Lifeline for Cats
This article was the featured article Vancouver’s Messenger Magazine March 2025
Furry Friends: A Love-Filled Lifeline for Cats
By Diane Stevens, Furry Friends Marketing Director
Founded in 1999 in a volunteer’s home, Furry Friends has grown to become the largest "cat-only" rescue organization in the area. What started with a small group of passionate individuals has blossomed into a full-fledged shelter supported by 200 dedicated volunteers. Over the years, Furry Friends has made significant strides, adopting out 725 cats and kittens in 2024 alone, setting a new record for the organization.
Jenn Hutchman, Furry Friends’ Executive Director, shares, “Without our help and the support of our community, many of these cats would have faced euthanasia, been left to fend for themselves on the streets, or continued to contribute to the overwhelming overpopulation issue.” The crisis of homeless, abandoned, and abused cats in the region is at critical levels, prompting Furry Friends to focus on the most vulnerable.
As Marketing Director Diane Stevens explains, “The number of cat hoarding situations we encounter in Clark County is staggering. Many of the cats we rescue come from these heartbreaking environments.”
Despite the overwhelming need, Furry Friends does not receive city, county, or state funding. The organization relies heavily on fundraising and small grants to keep operations running smoothly.
Kitten Season: A Year-Round Challenge
As the weather warms, the influx of kittens begins, with more and more showing up in people’s backyards. What was once a seasonal issue has now become a year-round challenge. In January 2024 alone, Furry Friends was caring for 75 cats and 57 kittens. Hutchman reflects, “We try to save as many kittens as we can with our limited resources, but it breaks our hearts when we must turn people away.”
Each kitten can cost between $400 and $800 in medical expenses and care until adoption. By spring, Furry Friends often has as many as 150 kittens in their care. Since kittens require individual attention, they are housed in foster homes. With a network of 45 dedicated foster families, the shelter can provide the level of care needed. While the shelter itself houses around 35 cats, the bulk of the cats, especially the kittens, are cared for by these volunteers. In 2024, Furry Friends’ volunteers collectively donated over 148,000 hours of service.
Spay and Neuter: A Vital Step in Overpopulation Control
Furry Friends provides initial check-ups, vaccinations, and parasite control in-house, but the essential spay and neuter surgeries are conducted by external veterinarians. As Hutchman notes, “Spaying and neutering are the key to ending overpopulation. Cats can become pregnant at a very young age, and the cycle continues.”
In 2024, Furry Friends facilitated 770 spay and neuter surgeries. These procedures are one of the shelter's biggest expenses, as they must rely on veterinary offices or clinics. However, Furry Friends is working to reduce these costs and increase efficiency. They are fundraising for the construction of a medical building on their Vancouver property, which will allow them to perform spay and neuter surgeries and other medical procedures on-site. This would reduce reliance on external sources and streamline the process.
Additionally, Furry Friends plans to launch a much-needed TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program for Clark County and surrounding areas to address the ever-growing population of stray and hoarder cats.
Adoption Process: Giving Cats a Second Chance
Furry Friends offers a simple and convenient adoption process. Interested individuals can view available cats on the organization’s website at furryfriendswa.org. If they find a cat they’d like to adopt, they can fill out an application for approval. Once approved, a meet-and-greet is scheduled, and Furry Friends’ flexible adoption hours make it easy for the public to meet the cats promptly.
Additionally, Furry Friends hosts regular adoption events at the east Vancouver PetSmart (130 SE 192nd Ave) every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, where potential adopters can meet cats and kittens looking for their forever homes.
Furry Friends' story is one of compassion, dedication, and hope for countless cats and kittens in need. With the help of volunteers, donors, and the community, Furry Friends continues to make a difference, one cat at a time.
Giving Back to the Community
· Cat Food Pantry. Sometimes the difference between keeping your cat or having to relinquish them can be not having the means for a few months’ worth of food. One of our Furry Friends missions is to help keep pets in their homes through temporary hardships by supplying food. All food has been donated to Furry Friends. We can also help supply food for feral colonies.
· Pet Resource Page. We have a pet resource page on our website itemizing organizations that can help the community with spay/neuter, pet food, and medical assistance that can be found at: http://furryfriendswa.org/pet-resources/.
· Education. We publish cat education stories for the public as a way of educating them about the best ways to care for their own cats and the feral cats in our community. Cat Tale stories are written by award winning writer and Furry Friends volunteer Nomi Berger. http://blogs.columbian.com/cat-tales/
About Furry Friends
Furry Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit no-kill cat rescue serving Clark County, Washington and adjacent counties. Founded in 1999, we are an organization that rescues and then adopts out homeless, relinquished, and abused cats. We shelter and care for them as long as it takes to find them forever homes. For more information about Furry Friends, please visit the website at https://www.furryfriendswa.org/ or contact us at information@furryfriendsWA.org.