Unexpected side-effects of a global emergency have affected our services. We’re excited to return to something more normal!
The RAPS Cat Sanctuary – like the rest of the world – is getting excited for a post-pandemic era!
You might think that a cat sanctuary would not be as seriously affected by the global health emergency as so many other organizations, families and businesses – and that’s sort of true. We have been able to deliver uninterrupted care to the hundreds of cats who reside at the Sanctuary. But there have been some unexpected consequences.
For one thing, we made a choice early on not to encourage intakes as enthusiastically and proactively as we usually do. This decision was made because we were concerned that if any of our more than 150 volunteers were to contract the virus, our entire volunteer operation would be affected.
Of course, we implemented superb protocols. We created “pods” of volunteers and staff so that, in the event that there was an outbreak among one group, other shifts would still be able to deliver the individualized care to which our cats have become accustomed. Even so, as a precaution, we did not actively encourage new residents. Now, we’re rededicating ourselves to welcoming newcomers – both by trapping ferals and by helping other rescue organizations throughout B.C. that have become crowded and overburdened over the past year. (We’ll be sharing exciting news about some of these efforts in the days to come!)
Another side effect was the impact of closing to the public. For years, a highlight for many Metro Vancouver families has been a weekend visit to the RAPS Cat Sanctuary. Especially for households that, for one reason or another, cannot have pets of their own, the Sanctuary is a second home for animal-loving folks.
That has been disappointing for them. But it also means that the revenue we bring in from admission donations has been lost. More than this, so many visitors become even more generous supporters of RAPS. Without the front-of-mind awareness associated with weekly visits, our donations have declined too.
We’ve also lost some word-of-mouth. Our visitors become our ambassadors. When people show up at work on Monday and someone asks, “What did you do on the weekend?” you can imagine how “I hung out with hundreds of cats” might spark a conversation and lead to even more visitors!
This spring, there is a feeling of great optimism in the air – at RAPS and around the world!
We’re so excited to get back to something more normal. We’ll be welcoming more feline residents and we have plans for some major upgrades and expansions to our facilities.
The thing we look forward to most is welcoming our human friends back inside to enjoy mingling with our residents. We can’t predict yet when that will be. But we sure are excited about it! We’ve missed you. But, more importantly, the cats have missed you!