Rebecca Sonniksen

Photo: Rebecca Sonniksen

It was just after 8:00 a.m. when I arrived at the Columbia Gorge Cat Rescue’s (CGCR) spay/neuter clinic at the Lyle Activity Center (the old elementary school) on the corner of Highway 14 & Third Street. Marcia Buser, a volunteer organizer, had been there since early morning prepping for the day’s arrivals.

There were 38 cats scheduled to be spayed or neutered today. Dr. Ann Brown DVM arrived around 8:30 a.m. to prepare herself for a busy day. Dr. Brown and an alternate veterinary, Dr. Jean Cypher DVM, are compensated by CGCR; everyone else are volunteers. CGCR, which operates primarily on donations, is also funded through adoption fees and occasional small grants.

CGCR’s mission is to provide services to feral or abandoned cats at no cost: spray/neutering, occasional testing for feline leukemia, vaccinations, and treatment for worms and fleas. If the cat is socialized they try to provide a foster home until it can be put up for adoption at a Portland Petco. Because they are a small organization with no shelter they are unable to take in pets.

For those feral cats that are not adoptable the preferred option is they are returned to their natural environment with commitment from their caretaker to provide food, water, and shelter. With their Trap/Neuter/Release policy (TNR), they do not trap feral cats to just relocate them or take them to a kill shelter. Unadoptable cats are relocated as barn cats if they do not have a caregiver to go back to and if there is a barn home available.

It’s now 9:00 a.m. and people arrive from Hood River, The Dalles, Bingen, Odell, Lyle, Rowena, Carson, and Parkdale. They are bringing cats in carriers and traps, rescued from fruit orchards, vineyards, neighborhood streets, abandoned houses and barns, and trailer parks.

CGCR is the only organization in the Columbia Gorge that provides these critical services. It is particularly urgent now, at the beginning of “kitten season” (early spring through late fall), because a female cat can reproduce 2–3 times a year and become pregnant as early as 4–5 months.

There were tortoise-shell cats, black & white tuxedo cats, and Siamese. There was a lynx-point, and a big orange male with blue eyes. There were two black cats with intense copper eyes, crouched and glaring out of traps. There was a fearful short haired tabby brought in by neighbors of its owner who had moved away. There was a big black cat brought in by an elderly couple when they saw it was abandoned when its owner died. There was a cat shot by an air pellet gun that had five kittens bought in by a woman who regularly brings cats and kittens from Hood River.

Feral cats had their ears tipped, which marks them as having been spayed or neutered. They went back to barns, orchards and vineyards where they would find food and shelter. Fixed and fed cats are better mousers. Others went to foster homes to wait for adoption.

When I left at 3:00 p.m., 24 cats had been spayed or neutered. One treated for diabetes. A pellet removed from another and 12 ears tipped.

Watching these volunteers, most of whom have been doing this for decades, I could see it’s not easy. People can be cruel and thoughtless, but they can also be caring and compassionate. CGCR volunteers spend countless hours trapping, transporting, finding foster homes, seeking new homes, cleaning cages, delivering food, making calls, scheduling appointments and providing medical assistance. They are able to face such challenges, by reminding each other, “We’re doing this for the cats.”

CGCR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Since they are an all-volunteer organization, all donations go directly to the cats. To schedule an appointment, adopt a cat, make a donation, or check out more resources go to their web page: www.gorgecat.org.

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