Kitten season is here, which means shelter cages are filling up with youngsters. This is a time when many sick, stressed, and scared adult cats get passed over in favor of helping younger, healthier, more confident cats find homes. We don’t want them to get left behind, but we can’t help them alone.
In 2014, Cat Town opened America’s first cat cafe to give the Oakland city shelter’s most at-risk cats a better chance at adoption. Since then, the shelter’s intake for cats has risen 51%, spreading their limited resources even thinner for their highest-need cats. This year, we’re stepping up our support again to meet the growing demand for our services.
Case Managers are volunteers who have significant experience with undersocialized cats, and are adept at offering both practical advice and emotional support to a cat guardian when they need it most. Program Manager Dilara and volunteer Gina B oversee this program together, ensuring that the cats and adopters who need an extra helping hand can receive guidance during the first few weeks or months with their new cat — a transition period that can sometimes be quite stressful.
Get ready to meet Cat Town’s very first Adoption Coordinator, Genevieve Cottraux! Genevieve has volunteered and worked in animal welfare since 2009, at organizations like the East Bay SPCA, Cat Town, and Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). Her previous jobs have ranged from managing the art collection at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive to Adoption Specialist at ARF…
