Phillips Public Library helping Catkins Animal Rescue
Donations of pet food and supplies being collected for volunteer-run rescue facility in Fifield
Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 11:08 PM CST
Cathy Peters THE-BEE
The Phillips Public Library is currently hosting a drive to collect pet food and supplies for the Catkins Animal Rescue facility in Fifield. The collection will continue until Feb. 6, according to Nancy Genisio, who adopted two kittens from the shelter. According to its founder Laura Rycroft, all donations to the non-profit 501(c)(3) animal rescue shelter are tax deductible. Among the items on her “wish list” are any brands of canned and dry dog or cat food, specific brands of food for diabetic cats or sick pets, cat or dog carriers, folding kennels, litter boxes, cat litter, leashes, collars, cat and dog toys and treats, cat beds, scratching posts or climbing trees, blankets, large garbage bags (with drawstrings), rolls of paper towels, bleach and laundry soap.
“We are a small, volunteer-run rescue group that began rescuing cats in the Ashland area several years ago,” she said. “Since starting our cat rescue, we have expanded to rescuing all breeds of dogs as well and, in 2007, moved most of our pets to a facility in Fifield.
Because none of the animals rescued are euthanized, the shelter only accepts them when space is available. Rycroft noted that she and the volunteers who help her are always looking for foster homes for the rescued animals, not only to make more room in the shelter, but as a way to prepare the animals for adoption.
“The pets themselves learn how to interact in a home environment and seem to have a less stressful introduction to a new home than an animal that has been caged,” she said. “The more homes we find for our pets, the more animals we can take in. We cover all the medical and food costs of the pets in foster care but always appreciate any food provided by the foster families.”
Since moving to Price County, Rycroft said, she has found there is no plan to manage the stray cat population. She said most of the animals at Catkins Animal Shelter are a result of this situation.
“We are looking for farm homes for some of our cats, those who would be good mousers and be happy living outdoors,” she said. “We get lots of calls about feral cats that people want humanely trapped. There is no adoption fee for these cats, which we sterilize so they don’t add to the overpopulation problem. If anyone thinks they might like to have a farm cat, please contact us.”
The shelter also accepts owner- surrendered pets when there is enough space and works with many other shelters and animal control facilities. Rycroft noted that the “no-kill” shelter she operates often takes in animals that have “run out of time.”
“While growing up in Chicago, I volunteered to work with feral cats, but after working for the Best Friends Animal Shelter in Utah, decided to focus on animals that could more easily be socialized and become adoptable,” she said. “What makes our animal shelter different from most others is that our cats are not kept in cages, but live in a small indoor/outdoor house which is air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter.”
Cats that need to be quarantined due to health issues have their own private quarters, Rycroft stated. The rest either “hang out in the house named “Harold’s Hideout,” named for her first rescued kitten, or are allowed to mingle with their foster families’ personal pets, whether they are dogs or cats.
“We find this approach allows us to know our cats best,” she said. “We are able to judge what kind of home they would do best in and if they have any special needs.”
It is important that she have compassion for the people who, for a variety of reasons, are no longer able to care for their animals, Rycroft stated. That is sometimes hard to do when pets have been abandoned or neglected, but she noted, her husband has stated that being compassionate contributes to her success in caring for these animals.
According to one of the people she has helped, Rycroft is “the Mother Theresa of animals” who has a “genuine love and affinity” for them and is “diplomatic when dealing with people.” She is described as “a one-woman task force with a unique combination of compassion, common sense and computer skills.”
Licensed by federal, state and local governments, Catkins Animal Rescue works with public health departments, animal control officials, veterinarians, animal shelters and similar organizations in Price and six other northern Wisconsin counties. It is operated completely by volunteers, Rycroft stated, and the money from the adoption fees “goes right back to providing for the animals.”
“Last year, we found adoptive homes for 69 cats and 28 dogs, but we are always looking for more,” she said. “We would also like to find additional volunteers, foster homes and someone who could do some carpentry work at the shelter. I hope one day to have a large enough facility to take in and provide more services for cats, dogs and other domestic animals.”
For more information about Catkins Animal Rescue, call 715-681-0022, e-mail catkins_wi@yahoo.com
