What could be better than being owned by a cat! That’s been my feeling since I was 12 years old and was gifted a splendid Blue Point Siamese kitten. After caring for the kitten’s mom and siblings while my brother and his wife looked for a home in a new city, they granted my wish and Kitty Blue became my first cat. Throughout the years she was followed by 21 more fabulous felines. The latest is Leila, who I recently adopted from Furry Friends.
Furry Friends is proud to announce that after several years of significant growth we have added our 2nd staff member to our team! Furry Friends Leadership saw the need to hire an Executive Director position that will help continue that growth and enable us to further help the community we serve. After 23 years in operation we are fortunate to continue to live up to our mission.
A note to our Furry Friends volunteers from our president Jaimie Garver. Furry Friends is a volunteer run organization. There is only one paid staff member which is our shelter manager.
The planning for the fall in person dinner auction goes on all year long. It takes many volunteers to make this auction a success. Lots of hours procuring the items, planning all the details, coming up with new ideas, finding supplies, creating the graphics, promoting the event, preparing the save the date and invitation mailings, meetings and so much more. All of this is done with volunteer effort.
If you have been around Furry Friends for any length of time you most likely have run into Diane Stevens. She has been one of the pillars of the organization since 2014 when she retired from her job in the Printing and Publishing industry.
A big shoutout to our Furry friends Voicemail Team! This task often goes unnoticed as it is not in the forefront for most volunteers or followers. This task however is one of the most important as it is literally a lifeline for some of the cats and kittens we take in.
Mary Jane and Michael Holland have been fosters for Furry friends since September 20th, 2020. Since then they have fostered 14 kittens and 1 mama kitty with only 2 foster fails.
Karen Grafmyre has been a volunteer with Furry Friends since October 14th, 2020. She is the AM shift lead for our Wednesday shift at the shelter and she helps with voicemails.
Danielle Chauncey has been volunteering for Furry Friends since November of 2019 and has since worn a few different hats. Starting out as a foster she has now joined the board of directors as the secretary.
Cynthia Johnson has been volunteering with Furry Friends since Summer of 2020. She is currently the Shift lead for Thursday AM at the shelter, a socializer, and on the board of directors as the treasurer.
Many people believe that any outside cat they come across is considered a feral cat. This is far from the truth. You may hear the term “community cat” this term is used to define any cat who is unowned and lives outdoors.
Furry Friends has completed the final phase of changing the Halfway House use from Residential to Commercial\Business, making it an official animal shelter. One of the reasons we purchased the property is because it was already zoned Commercial. For it to meet City of Vancouver approved as a shelter, we needed to change the use of the structure itself from Residential to Commercial/Business.
Cat rescue is not all about cute kittens and cuddly cats. It is sick cats, abandoned cats, one year olds on their fourth litter of kittens, cats with diseases, and unfortunately dead kittens/cats.
One evening, Furry Friends received a call from two of our very dedicated fosters, Veronica and Sam, about a tiny baby kitten found in a fireplace by their friends, who knew the right people to call!
Studies suggest that one very safe and effective form of stress/anxiety therapy, with absolutely no side effects, is to simply pet an animal! With stress and anxiety at an all time high, animals are our best “medicine.” Petting a furry friend for 10 minutes has proven effects on lowering our cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Not only are animals helping us, at the same time we are benefiting them by giving them the love and attention they want and deserve.
Furry friends receives all kinds of requests for help, some of these include properties that have been overrun by our feline friends. This can start with 2 cats and good intentioned owners. All it takes is for the cats to not be spayed/neutered and it can turn into a 30 cat hoard.
If you adopt a pet, please keep in mind that this is a commitment for the life of that pet. This poem was written with Hunter, a cat that Furry Friends rescued in mind. Although we don’t know 100% if Hunter was dumped it seems likely. Jenn Hutchman wrote this for all the dumped cats like him. Maybe one day people will realize this is not a solution to re-homing your pet.*
I got a new family when I was a kitten
They spent time with me all day
They fed me and loved me
And they really loved to play
Most of the cats and kittens that come to Furry Friends just need routine medical care, which can still cost from $200 to $500 per kitty. But then there are the handful of other cats that need a lot more care. For 2021 we had to perform several eye removals, a couple amputations, many dental procedures and more. We have spent about $126,000 on medical for 2021 alone. Here is a story about one kitty that is currently going through a lot.
We would like to welcome Cynthia Johnson as the new Treasurer for Furry Friends. As Treasurer she will also be a part of the Executive Committee. She replaces Helen McCann who is newly retired and wishes to pursue some other interests at this time.
Here is what Cynthia has to say about herself:
Furry friends could not operate without the help and experience of all of our volunteers and fosters. Some have played many vital roles over the years. One of those amazing people is Chris Kiefer. She had this to say about her time with Furry Friends.
What a year 2021 has been! Furry Friends has many exciting things that have happened and even more exciting things still to come. Some of our accomplishments include medical saves, amazing adoptions, spay/neuters, new services and the ability to hire paid staff.
Jazmynn Hoffman is our second paid staff member for Furry Friends! She is our House Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. She also assists with adoptions, intakes, babysitting kittens for fosters, and she recently started fostering kittens herself.
The adoption of Sofi and Sable from Furry Friends prompted Nanis and Philip Gilmore to build their own, scaled down version of a kitty “catio.”
The holidays are the perfect time of year to give back to the charities and organizations that you feel most passionate about — and if you’re a cat lover, Furry Friends is the perfect place to share some holiday joy. There are lots of ways to help cats & kittens during the holiday season and, really, anytime. For so many of us it seems like our homes are already filled with “stuff”, making us feel that it makes no sense to give one another even more “stuff”.