Printable View

We began 2008 with tremendous accomplishments. As mentioned in the last newsletter, we are the proud owners of a feline shelter. Although we have not begun remodeling the building, we have begun putting it to use. Our first temporary residents moved in early March. Another major accomplishment was the request by the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine for Cat Haven to be the lead agency for its monthly spay/neuter program.

As we begin a new year I want to remind everyone why we do what we do. The Mission of Cat Haven is to improve the quality of life of the people and cats of our community by (1) rescuing and providing care, shelter, and adoption services for abandoned cats and kittens in a “no-cage” environment; (2) advocating routine sterilization of cats and kittens for population control; (3) fostering an understanding of responsible cat and kitten care; and (4) providing help and guidance to the people of our community in matters of animal health and welfare. Bottom line – for our feline friends.

Now, for our key 2008 goals:

1. Turn the building into a “great” feline shelter;

2. Increase the number of adoptions by 100;

3. Increase our feral TNR program’s sustainability by increased donations from people we help and by getting a grant;

4. Increase feral and fix-a-feline spay/neutering 20%;

5. Double the number of active volunteers;

6. Increase board member visibility to the organization.

At our annual meeting I was asked what was the limiting factor for growth. The answer is simple – we need more volunteers. If we just had foster home space for 4 kittens, we could save an additional 24 kittens for each new home. If we had just 8 more adoption day volunteers we could easily hold more adoption days, find more rescued felines a loving home, and save more lives.

And finally, let me say a heartfelt thanks to the board, to everyone who adopted a Cat Haven cat, to those of you who donate money to pay for the things we do and to our volunteers who provide an incredible number of hours to help our feline friends.

If anyone is interested learning more about Cat Haven or in new ways to help Cat Haven, just drop me an email.

John McChesney