2023 Year End FF President’s Report
What an amazing year 2023 has been for Furry Friends! We have faced many challenges—and many successes-- throughout the year, but the one thing that has always shined through is our commitment to the cats in our care. We started the year with a goal to rescue as many cats as possible, and we are proud to say that we have exceeded our expectations. We have rescued hundreds of cats and kittens from many different situations and found loving homes for them.Our focus has been on injured, ill and stray cats, and on hoarding situations. When we decided to focus our efforts on cats that were most in need, we found amazing improvements in the lives of the cats we saved. Focusing on the neediest not only helped the cats, it also provided valuable education to owners and the community about the importance of spay/neuter and reaching out for help. As of December, we have adopted more than 600 cats and kittens, another record-breaking year. However, we are not just focused on the number of cats we help, we strive to provide the best quality of care for each individual cat. Our efforts have brought amazing growth to the adoption numbers. The Furry Friends team of dedicated volunteers has worked tirelessly to provide the best care for these cats. From ensuring they are fed and healthy to giving them the love and attention they deserve; our volunteers have truly gone above and beyond. Because of the more than 180 dedicated volunteers, the cats in our care never lack attention. We have teams for feeding and cleaning, medical teams, and teams for socializing where the volunteers’ duty is to just spend time with the cats. As we reflect on the past year, we are filled with gratitude for the love and support we have received. The generosity of our community has allowed us to continue our lifesaving work and make a difference in the lives of so many cats. Looking ahead, we have big plans for the upcoming year. We hope to expand our outreach programs, continue to reduce the cat population through spay/neuter initiatives, and provide even better care of the cats at our shelter. We are excited about the new medical building coming in the next few years that will give us the opportunity to spay/neuter more cats, as well as start an official trap-neuter-release (TNR) program. We also want to continue to raise awareness about the importance of adopting from shelters and rescues. There are so many amazing cats waiting for their forever homes, and we believe each one deserves a chance at a loving family. We are incredibly proud of all that we have achieved in the past year, but we know that there is still so much work to be done. With continued support, we are confident that we can make an even greater impact on the lives of cats in need. So, all in all it has been an amazing year, full of opportunities for us to come together as a community and fulfill our mission to help homeless, abused and relinquished cats. I look forward to the years ahead and the impact we can have by living our mission every day. Lastly, a huge thank you to all of our leadership, volunteers, sponsors, donors and supporters, we could not continue on with this life saving work without you. Here’s to another year of saving lives and finding forever homes for our furry friends! “
Jaimie GarverFurry Friends President
ABOUT FURRY FRIENDS
Furry Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit no-kill cat rescue serving Clark County, Washington and adjacent counties. Founded in 1999, we are an organization that rescues and then adopts out homeless, relinquished, and abused cats. We shelter and care for them as long as it takes to find them forever homes. We have adopted approximately 635 cats and kittens for 2023 which is a record for us. Without our help, and the help of our supporters, many of these cats would have been euthanized, left on the streets to fend for themselves, or continued to over-populate the community with kittens. While only having three employees Furry Friends is also supported by more than 180 community volunteers who come from diverse backgrounds to contribute their time, skills, and talents for the cats. There is also a team of active volunteer board members. In 2023, our volunteers donated over 40,000 hours of service.
OUR MISSION
The Mission of Furry Friends is to help homeless,relinquished and abused cats by:• Spaying or neutering.• Providing medical care and foster homes until permanent placement of these cats into safe, nurturing homes.• Educating the public regarding the care andresponsibility of cat ownership.• Collaborating with other pet rescue and companion groups to accomplish a no-kill status in the State of Washington.
