Beamer’s Happy Tail

Little Beamer was born with limited vision, hearing and mobility, in a barn to a feral mom. He was surrendered to VOKRA by a local animal hospital and brought into foster care. Despite his physical limitations, Beamer played and explored his foster home just like any other kitten. He also loved getting pets and hanging out with his feline foster siblings. Beamer just needed his future guardian to keep a clean space to help him get around and have some patience as he navigated a new space. Eventually, he found his perfect match with his adopter Jen.

After his adoption Jen spent a lot of time with Beamer on his physio and walking exercises. All that hard work paid off and Beamer went from barely using his back legs to climbing and diving off his five-foot-tall scratching post.

“We had to Beamer-proof the apartment we had for him. He cannot be barricaded or confined as he’ll tear thru anything you build like child’s play,” said Jen.

Beamer now lives the good life with Jen and his feline siblings, Max and Kink. He spends his days napping on a heated kitty bed and running around the house playing with Max and Kink, or just about anything else he can find. Jen tells us that, like most cats, Beamer loves to sleep on (or steal!) anything comfortable, with baby blankets being his preferred choice.

Despite his rough start in life, Beamer’s the perfect example of never giving up and persevering through adversity.

“Beamer, even with all that goes on with his medical issues and all the help he needs, has been an amazing and awesome addition to our family. He’s always doing something to make you laugh,” adds Jen.

You can keep up with Beamer by visiting his Facebook page, The Beamer Diaries.

Would you like to share your Happy Tail? Email us at [email protected].

 

Volunteer of the Month – June 2018

Glenn CutcheyCan you believe we’re half way through 2018 already?! The days are flying by quickly and summer’s almost here, which means at VOKRA we’ll be busy juggling kittens, cats and fosters as people head off on vacation. But one of the people who never seem to take a vacation is our Volunteer of the Month for June, Glenn Cutchey. Here Glenn tells us in his own words why he volunteers for VOKRA:

 

This is my third year as a volunteer driver for VOKRA. My duties include food and litter deliveries, transporting cats and kittens between the Operations Centre, foster homes and vets, picking up donations and medications, and helping to transport the VOKRA booth to and from special events. Earlier this year I joined the trapping and recovery team after attending co-founder Maria’s trapping course and I’ve also converted a bedroom in my apartment to a foster home for shy and semi-feral kittens after attending co-founder Karen’s cat care course. I’ve just successfully socialized my first batch of three kittens that were trapped earlier this year, finding a forever home for one and the other two went into regular foster care. I made videos of the kittens during their socialization and posted them to YouTube for potential adopters to see and to help educate other people interested in fostering shy and semi-feral kittens. I’m looking forward to working with the next batch and will continue to document the process in hopes it helps other socializers or fosters. Additionally, I’m working on joining the I.T. and database team and the video and photography team. I am always looking for ways to help.

Glennandluci

Glenn with his cat Luci

I’m a veteran and retired computer programmer and I originally joined VOKRA as a meaningful way to keep active and social. I was given a VOKRA flyer, from a friend, 11 years ago when I was wanting a buddy cat for my original resident tabby tom, but I found my Luci and so I didn’t adopt a cat at that time. I did find that flyer again three years ago when I wanted to start volunteering somewhere so I took it as a sign from the universe and applied to volunteer. Since drivers were in most demand, as still is the case today, I eagerly accepted the role and considerate the best use I put my car to.

I really enjoy helping all the wonderful people at VOKRA. I’ve never met such a selfless and caring group of people. From my experience I found many volunteer jobs have a lot of personal politics and attitudes attached to them, but at VOKRA it really is all about the kittens. From the people at Ops to the foster homes, I think everyone is a real hero and am just happy to help them do their good work.

My most memorable experience was early in my driving days, I was sent to recover two semi-feral 10-month-old kittens that became too much for the foster to handle. I was supposed to bring them back to Ops for evaluation, but when I arrived at the foster’s home, they hadn’t managed to get the cats into the carriers so I offered to help. Being new and thinking I had some sort of special talent for communicating with cats, since I’ve had many and they were all wonderful, I thought I could just outsmart them. Was I ever wrong! We got the first one into a carrier but the second one panicked and attacked my hands. My hands got all bit and scratched up and the cat still won. You learn a lot about yourself when you get beaten up by a kitten. From that day forward I always say I am just in training… always in training. Especially now that I have some videos online and people are saying they recognize me from the videos when I introduce myself and they think I am some kind of expert, one lady even called me a cat whisperer, but I just say “no, I’m still in training”

My most moving experience was just this year when I came into the Operations Centre to pick up food and litter for my regular delivery just as four ice cold newborn kittens were rushed in. I just stood in pure awe at the sight of these poor tiny kittens being brought back from the brink of death.

Last year I was at the right place at the right time to rescue a cat in my neighborhood who had been abandoned and was starving and in distress. I called Ops and told them about the situation and they said I could bring the cat in if I could catch it. A few neighbors who were worried about the cat helped me get it into a carrier and I brought it right in. He was so thin and dirty and I thought the cat had given up on itself. The next week I came into Ops and the cat was still there but I hardly recognized him. I even asked if that was the same cat I rescued. He was so clean I asked if they bathed him, but no, he had regained his dignity and cleaned himself up. It was so heartwarming to see him take pride in himself.

Working at VOKRA fulfills my natural desire to help serve my community (a remnant of my military training no doubt). I don’t really have any favorite cats, but my favorite part of my job is coming into Ops and tickling chins. I especially feel honoured when cats tagged with “Caution: Unpredictable” or “Warning: Bites” allow me to give them attention and they don’t live up to their reputation with me.

THANK YOU Glenn for your tireless efforts and dedication to the kitties! Your service is truly appreciated!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA is always in need of volunteers, especially as we head into the summer months. If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

#FosteringSavesLives

This bunch of semi-feral kittens needed lots of socialization before they were ready for adoption.

Cats and kittens are ready for adoption when they learn to trust and accept us humans. As many of the cats in our care come from the streets they’ve often had limited or negative experiences with people. By caring for them in a stable and safe home environment, our foster moms and dads are helping to charge their view of humans, which is life changing. Fostering allows these cats and kittens to grow and transform into confident kitties who will then find their forever homes.

As each cat or kitten is unique, the way foster parents socialize with them is different. For example, feral or semi-feral kitties see humans as potential predators and so they’ll run away and hide. They may hiss at you when you try to pet them or lash out by swatting or biting. In this situation the caregiver must be slow and patient. You start by sitting wherever they are – close but not too close – and make sure you have some tasty treats. As you have food, they’ll start to associate you with good things. The more they see you as non threatening, the more they’ll warm up to you. Eventually, with patience, love and persistence, an adoptable kitty emerges.

Fostering’s not only a positive experience for the kitties, but also the foster parents! It’s very rewarding to help cats and kittens get adopted. A little time and patience goes a very long way and watching them grow and learn to accept and love humans is an extraordinary feeling. Foster parents not only have immense love for kitties, but also the desire to put time and effort into giving them the best life possible. Unconditional love is given to each cat and that love changes their lives for the better.

Clawdette’s one of the 26 kittens Erin’s helped save so far by fostering.

Erin, a long time foster parent, shares a memorable story:

“My very first foster turned into my very first foster fail! I took her on while living in Australia. I had some extra time on my hands, so I asked the vet clinic close by if they had a sick or higher-needs cat that needed fostering. They were so happy since they just had a feral kitten brought in. She was extremely hissy and completely terrified of humans, so they needed her to go somewhere else aside from the vet clinic. I brought her home and got her settled into the bathroom. After hiding under the sink in the bathroom for the entire first afternoon through to the night, the next day I went in there to stay with her and do my own thing while being with her. After doing that for the morning, she came out from under the sink, crawled up on my lap, had a bath, curled up on my lap and went to sleep. I knew at that moment that I would not be giving her back at all, ever. The rest is history!

She is very much attached to me (and only me) and not great with other animals. But because of my experience with her we’ve gone on to foster 26 more kittens since then. She was my introduction into fostering and paved the way for all these other kittens to come and be a part of my life. I’m grateful for every day that we have together! And seeing how she has grown from an incredibly hissy and terrified kitten to a much more confident and happy cat, has shown me just what fostering can do for a cat. It is a life changer for them!”

Sarah, a long-term VOKRA foster parent, has fostered two “pee kitties” so far. These are kitties who pee in inappropriate places for seemingly unknown reasons. After checking with a vet to make sure there are no underlying medical issues, she goes through all the other potential reasons, such as stress and anxiety, disapproval of the little box shape or litter type, habits or any other thing she can think of. She notes all the occurrences of inappropriate peeing and the surrounding circumstances to find the patterns and modify the environment as needed. She’s just like a detective!

With one foster, all the kitty required was a larger box with deeper litter. With the other kitty, Zoey, all she needed was to have all enticing soft items, such as towels and bath mats, off the floor so the only target for pee was the litter box. All these “pee kitties” simply needed was a person with the patience to understand what they want and the willingness to create a consistent environment for them.

Sarah weighs in on why being a foster parent is an amazing opportunity:

Ziggy’s one of Sarah’s former “pee kitties”. Happily she was recently adopted and now has a new forever home.

“I started fostering when I was living on my own after having moved to Vancouver by myself. I grew up with cats and adding a cat to my home seemed like a no brainer! However, as a student, I was unsure about my long-term plans so fostering allowed me to have a furry companion without committing before I was ready. It’s also so rewarding to see them improve and go off to new homes with excited new owners! And, of course, I feel like I’m helping with the larger problem of cat overpopulation and reducing strain on VOKRA as a rescue organization so that their main focus can be on those cats with greater medical needs while healthy kitties can enjoy the comfort of a home rather than a shelter environment. It also allows me to help teach others about the importance of fostering and how much fun it is!”

Fostering saves lives and we have more than 350 foster parents to thank for that! Many of our kitties need to socialize with humans and learn to accept them before being adopted and our foster homes offer the best opportunity for them get the fresh start they need. One at a time, fostering produces a transformed, adoptable kitty ready to find a loving furever home!

At VOKRA we’re always looking for new foster parents to help save more lives. We provide all the food, supplies and other equipment necessary to our foster homes, as well as ongoing support and advice. You simply provide the care, attention and love.

We have a variety of fostering situations as we take in orphaned kittens, feral kittens, pregnant mothers, mothers with kittens and adult cats. Each year we need temporary homes for more than 1,400 kittens and cats! If you’re interested in learning more about fostering, please visit our website at vokra.ca/fostering.

Raindrop and Steveston each grew up in difficult circumstances and came to us as semi-feral cats two years ago. They met in foster care where they became fast friends and are a great comfort to each other. They’re both still very shy, but we’re hoping an accepting and patient adopter will come along and open their heart and home to them.

Volunteer of the Month – May 2018

The May sunshine is shining a spotlight on our Volunteer of the Month, Nicole Neifert!

Nicole has been described as “The Original VOKRA Surrey Volunteer”. For more than 10 years she’s spent countless hours helping to get homeless and abandoned cats off the streets.

“I first met Nicole in 2008 when I started trapping for VOKRA,” said fellow volunteer Mona Boucher. “She was dropping off a cat she had trapped at the vet hospital.  Back in those days we didn’t have a postop space so feral cats were set up in kennels at trapping sites to recover from spay/neuter before being released.”

Eventually Nicole built an insulated and heated shed in her backyard to house cats recovering from spays/neuters and a host of other ailments and injuries.

Amy, Hans & Itty are just a few of the cats in Nicole’s life.

“Many times we’ve had cats stacked to the ceiling after a night or several nights of trapping and she never complains,” says Mona. “Over the years hundreds and hundreds of cats and kittens have come through her shed.”

As Nicole has a veterinary background, she’s a natural fit to care for the frailest, injured and sick cats trapped in Surrey. She’s seen miraculous recoveries and a fair share of heartbreak, but over and over again she puts her heart on the line to care for the cats in the greatest need.

Although Nicole doesn’t trap much these days, from time-to-time stray cats in need of help find their way to her yard.  She’s also quick to respond when there’s a cat in distress – up a tree or caught in a space where they can’t get out.

“Like most of us involved with VOKRA, a few cats have stolen Nicole’s heart and moved into her home,” said Mona. “Some of them are still with her today and some of them have crossed the rainbow bridge. She cares for her own cats and the rescued cats while simultaneously working and caring for her husband and two children. She’s an inspiration.”

In Nicole’s own words, “Everyday little things are done and add up to huge changes. Colonies fixed and fed, homeless strays warm in a bed again, lots of full bellies and raising the care and awareness of owned and stray cats. I’ve entered abandoned houses and left with cats and fish, I have dug up the dirt under concrete stairs to get an injured kitty, stood below a tree and prayed for the tree guy and the cat, a friend got stuck in a recycling bin while helping me get some kittens that had fell in, loaded my car to the bump stops with free cat donations, driven thousands of kilometers, scooped millions of poops, and cleaned just as many kennels. All of these things have accumulated to amazing changes in so many lives, including my own. It is an honor to be recognized but it is a gift to be part of VOKRA. I’ve been supported by so many amazing ladies.”

“I’ve learned so much from Nicole over the years and I look forward to many more years and many, many more kitty lives changed for the better,” said Mona. “Nicole is simply awesome!”

We couldn’t agree more! THANK YOU so much Nicole for your dedication. VOKRA was built through the hard work of volunteers just like you and we can’t thank you enough.

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

Brody and Bojangles’ Happy Tail Ending

Brody’s a special kitty who was born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH), a neurological condition that results in walking and balance problems. While he has trouble getting around on his own, he loves cuddles and is a happy-go-lucky kitty. Although Brody also suffers from poor eyesight, he’s otherwise healthy and enjoys the life of a pampered housecat like any other. He particularly loves the company of other cats and dogs so we knew he would make a great buddy to an existing pet in a family.

After two of her cats passed away from old age, Dolores decided it was time to again open her home to a cat in need and to find a friend for her other two female cats. She found Brody on VOKRA’s website and thought he would make the perfect companion for her “girls”, Nugget and Doodles. Then, several years after Brody came home with Dolores, she adopted Bojangles, another kitty with CH.

Brody adores having Bojangles in his life, as do Nugget and Doodles. Thank you Dolores for opening up your home to not one but two special needs kitties!

Would you like to share your Happy Tail? Email us at [email protected].

Come run with us on June 24!

On June 24, Team VOKRA will be participating in the Scotiabank Half-Marathon and 5k run/walk and we want you to join us. It might not change your life, but your support will definitely help change the lives of the more than 1,400 kitties we rescue each year.

Kitties like Timmy, a handsome gentleman cat who came to VOKRA way back in 2012 after being rescued from a shelter. Timmy’s diabetic which means he needs a shot of insulin twice a day to stay healthy. It’s very difficult to find someone willing to take on a kitty with health issues, so at some shelters cats like Timmy are often deemed “unadoptable” and end up being euthanized. At VOKRA, they believe every kitty deserves a chance at a happy, healthy life so Timmy will stay with them for as long as it takes for him to find the purrfect forever home.

Whether they’re kittens or adults, feral or tame, healthy or sick – VOKRA provides them all with the best care we can. But this does come at a cost.

You don’t have to be an athlete to join. And few on our team have ever fundraised before either (you only need to commit to raising a minimum of $50). All you need is a love of cats. This love is what unites us as a team and carries us all over the finish line!

It’s super easy to get started. To join Team VOKRA simply click here to register. And, as a bonus, each team member is entitled to a special preferred rate. To get the preferred rate be sure to enter one of the following PIN codes:

Half-Marathon discount code: 18VOKRA21K
5K discount code: 18VOKRA5K

Once you’re registered you’ll receive a link to your personal fundraising page so you can get started right away. And to help ensure you achieve your goal, Team VOKRA will provide you with a motivational emails to help you fundraise. We’ll also invite you to join the Team VOKRA Facebook group so you can connect with your fellow team members. So there’s no excuses! Sign up today and join Team VOKRA!

Be sure to reserve your Team VOKRA spot as soon as possible so you don’t miss out!

Don’t want to run? You can still help when you sponsor Team VOKRA today!

It Takes a Clowder*

*Clowder = a group or cluster of cats.

When Karen Duncan and Maria Soroski founded VOKRA back in 2000 it was headquartered in the basement of Karen’s Victorian home in Kitsilano. The plan was to care for very young, mostly bottle-fed kittens and, as often happens, things didn’t go according to plan.

Karen & Maria with longtime volunteer Shelley

Back in the day, VOKRA had a “staff” of approximately 10 volunteers and averaged 150 rescues a year. By 2008, that number had increased to 800 cats and kittens and in 2014 that number jumped to more than 1,800. After finding loving homes for thousands of cats and kittens it was about time VOKRA moved out of Karen’s basement and got a new home of its own. So in 2014 we opened our Operations Centre.

Since opening the Operations Centre (a.k.a. Ops), VOKRA has been very lucky to have an amazing amount of truly dedicated volunteers join us and help save the lives of cats and kittens.

Volunteers at our Ops making sure kittens are flea-free

Today, VOKRA currently has more than 400 volunteers working hard either behind the scenes or at Ops. We also have more than 550 foster homes, currently fostering or available to foster.

Just at our Operations Centre alone, there are an average of 168 volunteers a week! Here’s a quick snapshot of what it takes to make Ops tick:

  • Cat Care, Operations Support and Maintenance – 125+ shifts per week.
  • Medical Team – 17 volunteers
  • Reception – 20+ shifts per week

Our Operations Centre is also very busy with a large number of fosters who pick up food/supplies/medications for their foster kitties.

There are also hundreds of VOKRA volunteers “behind the scenes” who make things happen. We currenlty have 261+ volunteers on 48 teams, including:

Our event volunteers are always out in the community

Volunteer Recruitment- Adoption Counsellors – Adoption Contracts – Foster Coordinators – New Foster – Homes Interviewers – Kitty Health Checks – Medical Research – Foster Kitty Vaccination – Cat Behaviourism – Monitoring Health in Foster Care – Post Adoption Health Support – Vet Lab Reports – Fundraising – Events – Volunteer Committee – Communications – Photography – Kitty Biographers – Finance – IT – Database Administration – Foster Website – Trapping – Barn Placement – Drivers – Southlands Barn (where elderly feral cats and disabled kitties live) – and more!!!!

There never seems to be a shortage of cats to rescue

Sometimes it seems like we’re all chasing our tails trying to keep up – we’ve grown in leaps and bounds and, at times, are still going through growing pains. But we’re all here for one thing – the kitties.

Thank you to each and every one of our special volunteers who are a member of the VOKRA clowder. We wouldn’t exist without your dedication and support. Each and every one of you make a difference in the lives of kitties each day.

We’re always looking for new volunteers! If you’re interested in volunteering, visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.