Happy Cat Sanctuary seeking fosters, volunteers for animal overload

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Happy Cat Sanctuary is overflowing with cats this year following a surge in rescues. The shelter is looking for help to manage all of the felines and for people to adopt.

Debbie Jensen, who has been a volunteer at the sanctuary for over three years, said there are now over 140 cats in the shelter’s care.

“It’s a lot of cats and there are still more coming. I haven’t seen anything like it before … it’s like a landslide this year, the cats just keep sliding down,” said Jensen.

“We figure that COVID-19 had a lot to do with it. People got cats for their kids when they weren’t at school, now they want to get rid of their cats.”

Jensen explained that many people are simply dumping their cats at surrounding local farms or finding even lesser ways to dispose of their unwanted pets.

Two cats recently rescued by the sanctuary, she said, were found in a dumpster behind the local Walmart. 

Though some adults are housed at the sanctuary proper, the majority of the cats are kept in foster homes until they are ready to be adopted into their forever homes. Fosters homes, however, are themselves apparently in short supply. 

“Even our fosters are full. I have no more room at my house. If I have to, I can take a couple more kittens, but I’m still overcrowded as it is,” said Jensen.

“We haven’t got a lot of volunteers and I think it’s because of COVID-19, nobody was filling applications and coming in and stuff like that. We’re really short on foster homes.”

Fostering, she explained, is usually a two-to-four-month commitment to house a cat until it is ready to be adopted. This includes all of the animal’s vaccinations, tattoo, microchip and spay or neuter. 

During the duration of the foster, the Happy Cat Sanctuary covers the costs of the animal’s food, litter and medical expenses.

“You just have to give the cat a nice warm house to stay in and be loved until they’re … ready to go to their forever home,” said Jensen.

Alongside monetary donations to cover vet costs, the sanctuary is also currently in need of donations of cat litter for its furry residents.

Applications to become a foster can be filled out on the Happy Cat Sanctuary website. Photos of all the cats available for adoption are also displayed online.

Due to a lack of volunteers at the sanctuary location itself, it is currently only open by appointment for people to come in, meet the cats and learn about the adoption process.