CRAN News
Volunteer of the Month – February 2023
Edward Arnold has been selected as the February 2023 CRAN Volunteer of the Month!
Edward joined CRAN in April 2021 as a cat care volunteer at TLC. Since that time, he also became a foster parent to CRAN kitties, and then a CRAN adopter. Edward has continued volunteering at TLC, never missing a shift, and provides care and plenty of love for the kitties currently at TLC
From Edward: “Caring for the kitties at TLC is my favorite part of the week. Some of the critters are real characters, and have me rolling on the floor laughing at their antics. I had five kittens climbing up my pant leg at once, last time I was in the ringworm room! I love it when I can make a real emotional connection with our fuzzies.
My previous cat was with me for fourteen years, and I was devastated when I lost him to cancer in August of 2020. My sister suggested volunteering at CRAN, as a way to get my critter fix. Now, I am a pet parent to Spanky and Luna (pictured in the post). It is amazing to me that our rescues also rescue us.”
From all of us, thank you so much for all you do for our CRAN kitties, and for being a terrific human being Edward!
Volunteer of the Month – January 2023
Join us in thanking our amazing Volunteer of the Month for January, Sarah Olson.
Sarah joined CRAN in October 2021 as a cat care volunteer at TLC.
Since that time, she has also became a foster parent to CRAN kitties, and then stepped into the role of TLC Coordinator, which she continued throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023.
When asked what she liked about volunteering and why she started, Sarah responded “My favorite thing about working at CRAN is meeting cats that I would never meet otherwise. I started volunteering at CRAN when my husband said I could not get any more cats, and I thought it would be a great way to spend time with more.”
Thank you for all you do for CRAN and to help cats Sarah!
Volunteer of the Month – December 2022
Congratulations to Patti Hansen, our December 2022 Volunteer of the Month!
Patti started volunteering initially doing medical record data entry and then as a cat socializer at Petsmart in 2021. This evolved into taking on the responsibilities of CRAN Cattery Manager at the South Petsmart cattery. Not only is Patti a cattery volunteer and cattery manager, she also finalizes adoption and continues diligently working in the background, helping with CRAN kitty medical records. Patti started volunteering after she retired “I retired at the end of June, 2021 and I knew I wanted to do volunteer work. I have been a passionate cat lover all my life so I did some searching on the Internet for cat organizations and found CRAN. The rest, as they say, is history.” When asked what she most enjoys about her volunteering, Patti replied “Well of course my love of kitties is what initially brought me to CRAN, but I also love that I have met so many wonderful people – other CRAN volunteers, adopters, fosters, PetSmart staff, visitors to the cattery. And I especially appreciate our socializing volunteer team at the PetSmart in south Eugene – they are AWESOME!”
Patti is a dedicated, multitasking volunteer with a love for animals, and a great love and compassion for our CRAN kittens and cats. Thank you for all you do for the cats Patti!
Volunteers of the Month – November 2022
CRAN’s November volunteers of the month are Eva LeMar, Andrew Fridlund and Nathaniel Fridlund!
Eva, Andrew and Nathaniel adopted 2 kitties from CRAN in 2019. They started volunteering in the spring of 2020, first as fosters, followed by a wide variety of responsibilities! They have fostered, volunteered in the Petsmart catteries, helped with medical records, assisted with garage sale set up and clean up, transported supplies and/or foster cats, and in many other ways. Eva said they started volunteering with CRAN because they love cats, and wanted to help.
Thank you, Eva, Andrew and Nathaniel, for helping to care for the CRAN kitties, and support the rescue-care-adoption process!
Volunteer of the Month October 2022
Congratulations to October’s Volunteer of the Month Elise L’Estrange!
Elise joined CRAN in October 2021 as a foster volunteer. Since that time, she has taken on the responsibilities of a medical volunteer, which includes basic exams of foster kitties, and vaccination boosters.
We asked Elise what brought her to CRAN and what she likes about volunteering “What I enjoy the most about volunteering for CRAN is the joy that being around and holding kittens brings me and being able to put my previous veterinary technology education and experience to use. I really do miss working in the veterinary field and this provides me a good outlet for that. I also love all the new friends I’ve made through CRAN. There truly are so many people pouring their hearts into this organization.
I first heard of CRAN on the local lost & found and missing pet groups on FaceBook. People were constantly telling others to reach out to CRAN or to a couple other rescues regarding their lost cats. I had volunteered at Greenhill for a few weeks years ago, but my back issues made it difficult so I stopped. Around September 2021 I saw another comment recommending someone to reach out to CRAN and mentioned that medical volunteers were needed at that time. I was still in a “bluh” mental state from the pandemic and still getting used to going back to work after a year and a half of isolating at home, but I felt like this was something I had to do. So, I looked at the website, confirmed that volunteers with medical experience were sorely needed, and sent in a volunteer application. From my first time at the TLC facility I was impressed by how well the cats were treated and how passionate everybody was. In this kind of environment, it’s been easy to stick with it and give as much of my time to CRAN as I can.”
Thank you for all you do for CRAN Elise!
Volunteer of the Month – September 2022
Colleen Ramey
Colleen became a WCDC/CRAN Volunteer in 2017 , and has been a lifesaver, literally. Colleen initially started as a volunteer at our Petco Cattery but soon found her niche with bottle babies. Colleen is fearless and determined when it comes to saving the lives of the tiniest, most vulnerable kittens who come into rescue, some only a few days or a few hours old. She has brought knowledge and insight into treating the illnesses and special needs of these tiny babies. Colleen also helps with medical care of other foster kittens, offering advice and mentoring several fosters.
Thank you for helping CRAN’s most fragile kittens Colleen!
Volunteer of the Month – August 2022
Congratulations to Vanessa Naldrett, our August Volunteer of the Month!
Vanessa became a CRAN foster in April 2020, during the first part of the COVID pandemic. She has fostered kittens and cats of all varieties — young kittens, older cats, special needs kitties, and provided them with a safe, loving home while they are waiting for their forever home.
Additionally, Vanessa is one of CRAN’s behind-the-scenes volunteers, keeping entries up to date in Rescue Groups, so that potential adopters can meet and learn more about CRAN kitties.
From Vanessa: “Let’s see, what would I like to add… what brought me to CRAN was my love of and desire to help kitties in need. My cat, Mimi, was very sick at that time and I had been making the plans to put her down, and I think my heart couldn’t quite handle the transition, so I began to foster in the months before she crossed over. I have so far had one foster failure, Twilight Princess Zelda, otherwise known as Mama, who I adopted from CRAN after Mimi left me. I also am at TLC on Saturdays doing cleaning/cat care as well as a volunteer.”
Thank you for all you do Vanessa!
Volunteer of the Month – July 2022
Congratulations to Sarah Selland, our July Volunteer of the Month! Sarah first became part of the CRAN family in 2019 when she adopted a CRAN kitty. Sadly, the kitten, Dolly, she adopted passed away suddenly from a blood clot. Sarah became a CRAN foster in 2020. She also started volunteering with the TLC crew that spring. Sarah fosters happy cats, sad cats, scaredy cats. And she shows up without fail at CRAN’s TLC, to scoop litter boxes, feed cats, and provide loving care to any kitty in the building. Sarah is also a CRAN adopter. She adopted Wellington shortly after Dolly passed and recently adopted Ravenclaw after fostering him for a few months. Thank you, Sarah, for all you do!
Volunteer of the Month – June 2022
Congratulations to Amanda Bugarovich, our June Volunteer of the Month. Amanda, who is a foster volunteer, is also a practicing veterinarian in our community. Amanda takes on special needs kittens and bottle babies, and in her veterinary practice, she is always willing to have a look at our sick cats and kittens and provide medical care for them. Amanda, as a volunteer, has given up Saturdays to do rabies vaccine clinics for our cats.
Thank you, Amanda for all you do!
Volunteer of the Month – May 2022
Casey McNabb
Casey started volunteering as a CRAN foster in 2018. Since then, she has fostered a variety of kitties in a variety of situations: pregnant cats plus their tiny arrivals, kittens without mamas, scaredy cats needing extra loving attention, sick and delicate kitties. Through all the foster ups and downs, Casey has been a compassionate, reliable, caring foster for many CRAN kitties on their way to their forever home.
From Casey:
I came to CRAN because I wanted to help with kittens and mamas. My friend had been working with another cat rescuer and she referred me to CRAN. I had tried fostering puppies a few times for Wiggly Tails, but I’m really a cat girl. I am honored and so proud to be a CRAN foster mom.
Thank you Casey for all your work to help CRAN cats!