CATS GET A SECOND CHANCE AT VENETA RESCUE ByHelen M. Davis

     Call it providence. When Crystal Glenzer became friends with one of her patients at Veneta Family Dental where she is employed as a dental assistant, it was the beginning of something big.  Both were cat lovers, and both wanted to make a difference. Glenzer was already in the habit of asking for donations to cat rescue in lieu of birthday gifts and was already involved in the Trap, Neuter, Release movement also known as TNR. But both wanted to do something more, something bigger. Thus, Fairy Godmother Cat Rescue came into being a year and a half ago and cats in need of a home have been all the better for it.
     As with most ventures, there were steps Glenzer had to take after her friend donated their old home on Jeans Road to be used as the rescue. This included obtaining an ARE or Agricultural Rescue Entity permit and having the house turned rescue undergo mandatory inspections. Once Glenzer has gotten the necessary paperwork in order and paid whatever taxes she is assessed, she can then apply for non-profit status.  Starting out, she also needed to find people willing to volunteer their time assisting with things such as cleaning out litter boxes in the various rooms where the cats reside and making sure they have plenty of fresh water and she currently has several individuals who do so, but she is always looking for more.
     The cats themselves, however, were easy to come by. Already Glenzer has taken several litters of kittens from a homeless camp near the Shell station on Greenhill Road. By her estimation, there were at least 60 feral cats in the camp when she began the rescue, but this number has since gone down and Glenzer hopes to see it go down even further by doing TNR on those cats that remain. Glenzer feeds these cats and one of the campers has been helping out by keeping an eye on things for her.
     Other times, people will clue Glenzer in to where there are strays in need of her help and there are also those cats that are relinquished to her by those who can no longer care for them for one reason or another. It is not unusual for Glenzer to receive upwards of 10 calls a day from people who know of strays as well as numerous emails.
     Other times she goes to places such as the Country Living Mobile home park where 24 cats were milling about in need of help, and she has also rescued from behind a business on Seneca Street in Eugene and from behind the Arby’s in Junction City where a mother cat was living with her two kittens.
      Because these felines tend to have been on their own for quite some time, they typically are not well when they come into rescue and Glenzer will have to treat them for upper respiratory ailments and eye issues. Sadly, some kittens are so ill that a heartbreaking choice has had to be made to euthanize them.
     Once a cat comes into rescue and is given a chance to get well again, they are spayed or neutered either at Veneta Veterinary or Willamette Animal Guild also known as WAG. One can, Glenzer says, obtain a voucher for the surgery at either locale by going to Veneta City Hall and speaking with Theresa Warrick, who is also active in local cat rescue. Vaccinations are also given, and the cats are treated for parasites and tested for feline leukemia. Though they are in good health by the time they go to a new home, Glenzer urges adopters to have their new family member checked by their personal vet in case something might have been missed.
     Currently, Glenzer is not taking in any more cats than what she already has so she can focus on revamping the house by taking up carpet in the rooms where they stay, leveling the cement beneath, steaming and sanitizing all the cat furniture and making the walls easier to keep clean. She also has plans to expand the current cattio and add a divider to keep adult cats and kittens separate. Once the two male cats that are FIV positive are finally adopted, she intends to turn their room into an isolation room that will boast not only an isolation cage but also a maternity cage where mothers and kittens can be undisturbed. Once this work is completed, she will then begin to take in more cats.
     Glenzer also assists with the Veneta Project along with Tammy Goss, and Warrick to address the local feral cat situation. In one such case, 60 cats were residing at a residence owned by an elderly man who was unable to care for them any longer. Greenhill Humane Society took between 30-40, Glenzer says, that they altered, kept 15 to rehome and took the remaining cats back to the residence. Glenzer, Goss, and Warrick have been doing what they can to aid those cats Greenhill was unable to.
     Though the cats are indoors, they will have to be trapped, and eventually they will need to be placed in barn homes due to their lack of socialization. For those who adopt these cats, a large kennel will be provided for the cat to live in as it gets used to its new home for 8 weeks to prevent it from running off. Food, litter, and bowls will also be given to these cats. Before an adoption can be given the green light, these cats will need to have a good outdoor shelter such as a barn or a shed.
     The fee to adopt from Fairy Godmother is $150 and Glenzer will ask an adopter if they would be willing to donate an additional $25-50 to help offset the $200, she spends per visit to WAG for Spaying/neutering. She prefers that cats be kept indoors but will agree to an indoor/outdoor situation at times. She will offer a discount for the adoption of two cats, and she wants adopters to show initiative and demonstrate that they are willing to give a cat proper care. If an adoption does not work for some reason, she is willing to take the cat back. Because 90% of adopters do not register their cat’s microchip, Glenzer will register them herself and has recently obtained a microchip scanner so if anyone finds a cat they can bring it in and see if it has been chipped.
     Rescue is more than a passion for Glenzer. It is a way of life. Lane County, she says, is “saturated” with cats and if there is something she can do to make life more tolerable for those cats out there that are in need of help, then she is more than willing to be on the front lines advocating and caring for those who have no voice and showing them for the first time, what love truly is.  Find Fairy Godmother Cat Rescue on Facebook.