Thank You Dr. Marci Koski
We would like to thank Dr. Marci Koski of Feline Behavior Solutions for wearing several proverbial hats when it comes to helping and supporting Furry Friends.
Boasting a highly impressive scholastic and professional background, Marci Leah Koski received a BS in Biology/Ecology, an MS in Ecology, and a PhD in Fishery and Wildlife Biology. After completing her education, she worked for 10 years with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species biologist in their recovery program, supervising a team of biologists. But she eventually sought out a greater challenge, one where she could witness the results of her work more quickly. She received two Feline Training and Behavior certificates through the Animal Behavior Institute, then started her own cat behavior consulting business, Feline Behavior Solutions, in October of 2014 so that, as Marci says, “I could help kitties live their best lives.”
That same year, she began volunteering with the Humane Society of Southwest Washington and with Furry Friends. “I started volunteering with Furry Friends because the program I was taking at the Animal Behavior Institute had a field experience requirement,” Marci explains, “and I wanted to use that time to volunteer both at a small animal rescue and a larger animal shelter. I’m only volunteering for Furry Friends now, but my experience at both places gave me a lot of insight and great experience working hands-on with cats.
“Although I started out simply cleaning the Halfway House, I not only socialized with and medicated the cats, but helped out with any behavioral issues that arose. My experience afforded me the opportunity of familiarizing myself with every cat personality imaginable and provided me with the resources I needed for working effectively with them.”
A Board member since 2015, a Sponsor since 2020, Marci has been a Gold Sponsor of Furry Friends since 2022.
“My favorite part about being involved with Furry Friends, both as a volunteer and a Board member, is seeing how the organization has changed and grown,” she says. “We have so many amazing people who work and volunteer for us and that’s led to Furry Friends being run more efficiently and effectively. You can see it in the numbers: every year we find more and more cats homes!
Her biggest challenge is TIME, she admits. Her own business keeps her very busy with cat behavior work, limiting the amount of time and energy she can give back to Furry Friends. This is one of the reasons Marci chose to become a Sponsor. As her business has grown, she’s been able to donate more money to those causes she believes in.
“One of my proudest moments was coordinating the collaboration between Furry Friends and the filming of a movie called ‘Zombie Cats From Mars’ a few years ago! A friend wrote the movie and they wanted to use rescue cats as some of the cat ‘actors,’ so I selected five particularly social cats to star in the film. They’re currently working on a prequel follow-up to the film ... stay tuned!”
Marci’s volunteer work includes attending board meetings and providing support for those Furry Friends adopters facing feline behavioral issues, from cats not getting along to house soiling and so on. She wants to help Furry Friends maintain high retention rates, i.e. ensuring that as many adopted kitties as possible are truly in their forever homes. And, as for the issues she’s most passionate about -- animal welfare, women’s rights and the environment.
“I’m married to an amazing and supportive husband named Chris,” she says, “and we have four cats: Samantha, who’s 15 years old, and the mom of 15-year-old siblings Momo and Oliver. We also have another 15-year-old cat named Abbey who’s not related to the other three. And as a bonus, my mom and brother and his family also live in the area.”.
Before Marci started her business, she was active in roller derby, where her derby name was Gritty Cat. Currently, she loves to travel, read and crochet (mostly in the colder months), and sporadically create art via collage, drawing and watercolor.
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Furry Friends VIP Spotlights are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.
