Volunteering at Furry Friends since 2019, Kailen, who’s always loved cats, works two hours a week and subs from time to time as well. A shift lead on the Thursday PM crew, she enjoys making the wet food and mixing together flavors to give the kitties something different to eat.
Not surprisingly, what she finds challenging is trying not to adopt every cat coming into the shelter. What she loves, though, is seeing the different personalities of the kitties who arrive, and feeling that satisfaction and excitement when they eventually find their forever homes. She’s also deeply appreciative of the great team she’s been working with and how wonderfully they flow together.
Kailen’s proudest moment as a volunteer was seeing how a cat named Casanova came in as a scared, roughed up kitty and how he not only started trusting people but became such a cuddle bug. Needless to say, he still holds a very special place in her heart.
Before volunteering for us, she was working on her associate degree from Clark College and working at the same time. Once she received her degree, she had more free time and wanted to give back because she wanted the opportunity to do more to help. Currently working at New Seasons Market, Kailen has four cats of her own: Tinker (18), Dahlia (10), Ash (6) and Charlie (5) who was adopted from Furry Friends. Always feeding nearby strays, she’s interested in starting a TNR program for the strays in her neighborhood and surrounding areas.
Unabashedly obsessed with houseplants, she’s especially cautious to ensure that none are toxic to her four kitties, and readily admits her hidden talent is … that she’s double-jointed!
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Furry Friends Volunteer Spotlights are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.