It’s all “fur da kitties” at Happy Cats Haven. The Manitou Springs-based nonprofit has teams of volunteers who not only help cats find their “furever” homes, but ensure that they and their new families will be happy together.
This is the ninth year that HCH has participated in the Give! campaign, and it’s been advantageous in multiple ways.
Happy Cats board members and other volunteers have witnessed the mutual benefits of collaborating with other participants, have broadened their marketing efforts after going through Give! workshops and have boosted their development and donor-care skills, thanks to guidance from experts.
“Lastly, it has been truly encouraging to find so many people in the Pikes Peak region who care about the felines and are willing to support them through not only financial donations, but also time and talent,” board member Laura Ettinger-Harwell said.
Give! proceeds are always earmarked for general operating expenses, which are constantly on the rise.
By the end of the year, they expect total expenses of $70,000 in veterinary costs and $20,000 in food costs. That’s a significant increase over last year’s totals.
Year after year, HCH has accounted for 11 to 12 percent of all feline adoptions in the Pikes Peak region.
“Not bad for a tiny but mighty feline rescue,” Ettinger-Harwell said.
This year’s goal for monetary donations is $50,000, “which will help us with the everyday expenses of running a shelter: medical care, food in their bowls, litter in their boxes, a roof over their heads and love in their hearts until they can find their forever families,” said Maria Williams, development coordinator.
Last year, Happy Cats took in $48,000 during the Give! campaign.
“That was our best year to date in the years we have been with Give!,” Ettinger-Harwell said.
Not surprisingly, the coronavirus has affected animal shelters. Happy Cats Haven has seen hardship surrenders increase by 111 percent over 2019 statistics.
Causes may include people adopting while locked down, then realizing they didn’t have time and energy for pets when they returned to their offices. Or they lost their jobs and couldn’t afford cat food and veterinary care.
But the nonprofit has a way to reduce surrenders, no matter the cause. In the past year, Happy Cats has helped more than 70 families keep their pets by addressing behavioral issues.
Volunteers follow up with adopters two weeks, two months and two years after they take home their new “fur children,” and are available whenever adopters have questions.
The nonprofit also has an onsite behavior team, 13 trained volunteers who help care for the traumatized cats and kittens that come into the shelter.
“They create a behavior plan and work to help these shelter kitties overcome the fear and stress that are causing behavioral issues, helping to move them to adoptable status,” Williams said.
Feline behaviorist Carole Galloway of Colorado Cats, a Black Forest-based cat-boarding kennel, works with HCH to assess adopted cats and their behavior.
Then, the team develops solutions with the families, keeping the cats in the home.
Happy Cats also offers behavior workshops, including clicker training with founder and Executive Director Sara Ferguson, and Ask Miss Kitty, available at happycatshaven.org/helpline.
The shelter couldn’t do all this without volunteers.
“Being a volunteer at Happy Cats Haven is fun, fulfilling and vitally important to our success as a shelter,” Williams said.
But she and Ettinger-Harwell emphasize that it’s not all about playing with kittens.
“It’s important to us to match task to talent in our volunteers,” Ettinger-Harwell explained. “If they have a specific skill or area of interest, we want to ensure that the volunteer experience is a win-win-win for them, the cats and for the shelter.”
Happy Cats also can use donations of Gerber meat baby food; check happycatshaven.org/help-us/donate/wish-list for more ideas.
“Our favorite success story is the one where we have a cat come through our doors who is shy, scared or lacking confidence, and they blossom after receiving a consistent routine full of play and affection,” Williams said.
If you need any more motivation, December is National Cat Lovers Month and Dec. 5 is Celebrate Shelter Pets Day.
UPCOMING HCH EVENT
Sunday, Dec. 12: Happy Cats Haven will host a family-friendly make-and-take crafting event at Board & Brush Colorado Springs South, 3663 Star Ranch Road, No. 3663. 2-5 p.m. The suggested donation is $15 to participate, but it’s free to stop by and learn more about HCH’s mission. Information: happycatshaven.org.