One of the most frequent questions I am asked is, "Oh, don't you just want to keep them all?" It's time for the honest answer. No. I have a cat. One cat. She knows she is my one and only. I may care for dozens of others, but I only share bits of cheese and licks of ice cream with one.
I want to rescue them all. That's why I became the President and Operator of Oregon Coast Small Animal Rescue. As we grew from just a few cats, to a few litters at times, we quickly recognized the need to operate as an independent organization, rather than as a volunteer for a parent organization. Thus, a few caring people joined together to create this nonprofit and serve the community by reducing feral cat populations.
Our process is very straight forward. If we get a pregnant cat, we care for her through her delivery. We provide medical care if she needs help, and later we will spay her so that she never has to do this again. We care for her kittens. We are experienced at dealing with lactation issues and bottle feeding. We raise them, attempting along the way to find them a family to love. We get them fixed. ALL of them, no exceptions.
If folks call us up with a litter of kittens that lost their momma, we feed them, raise them, and fix them. If someone surrenders an unfixed cat to us, we fix them. If someone has a stray poking around their workplace, starving and scraggly, we feed them, clean them, and get them fixed. See the strategy?
So, in the end, how do I avoid keeping them all? Not quite as simple. Our current strategy is social media and the development of our new website, and our most successful program is our "Foster-to-Adopt", in which you get to raise the kitten, but we still pay for the kitten to get fixed, as that is our mission. Not everyone finds a home by the time they make it to their appointment dates, and they go to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter to be exposed to a larger population in Newport.
I hope this overview of our operating strategy answers another question people have had for me; why we need donations if we charge a fee for adoption? The biggest reason, is that the current $50.00 fee does not cover the cost of fixing even a single cat. Add in the food, medical attention for sick/injured cats, the cost of transporting them to and from the vet at the other end of the county or the time and effort by our dedicated volunteers and board members, and you can see that we operate on the generosity of the public we serve.
The donations and volunteers are everything to us, and every bit gets used to care for those cats that come into our care. This new website is our effort to show our donors where their loving contributions go. I pay for its hosting and built it myself as a gift of my love to this organization. I encourage you, friends of cats and rescuers, help us spread the word and continue with our mission.
Robin Wedertz, President of the Board
Oregon Coast Small Animal Rescue
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