Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawna Rasch.
Hi Shawna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have loved cats since I was a child, and Tigers are my favorite animal. I am pretty sure cats are my spirit animal. I have had cats my whole life. There is something about their independent yet loyal nature that I just love. There is nothing like cat snuggles, purrs, and lap warmers… I call it kitten therapy :o). I went to school at Texas A&M University with the intent of becoming a vet, but life happens, and sometimes you have to pivot. I graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Science in 2000 and later received my RVT from Lonestar College in 2006. I have worked at various vet clinics – general practice, emergency, and dermatology – as well as worked PRN Tech work when local vets needed assistance. Throughout my 12-year RVT career, I saved, fostered, foster failed, and adopted out many cats. I should have known then that having my own feline nonprofit would be in my future.
For the last 2 years and currently, I have had the pleasure of taking care of an outdoor feral cat colony. Through the care of this colony, I have learned the importance of TNR (trap, neuter, release) and have thoroughly enjoyed watching their transformation of only be near when it’s feeding time to full-on demanding attention and love. I have come to learn I love TNR work and the impact is has on a very large problem – feline overpopulation. Not to mention, overall, they are healthier for it. With this colony alone, we have successfully adopted out 15 kittens and 5 adults. It has been over the care of this colony that I realized I wanted to create my own nonprofit focused on cat rescue, rehab, and rehome.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to now has not always been smooth, and I have experienced lots of challenges along the way. These challenges range from not graduating as a vet, having a family, experiencing loss within our family, financial responsibilities, having a career unrelated to my degree, learning many new skillsets and where my strengths and areas for improvement are, leaving my corporate job to pursue my nonprofit mission and transitioning into an freelance consultant. As I reflect on these challenges both in the past and those I will face, I have nothing but gratitude for them as they provide me so many learning opportunities in all areas of life.
I have met some of the most amazing people along the way that have helped me through these challenges. These come in the form of friends, mentors, managers, company leaders, personal/business/health coaches, and my amazing husband and children.
Some of the challenges I face going forward are the steep learning curve to running and growing a successful nonprofit, obtaining donations/sponsorships/grants, and securing a space and property for the nonprofit while simultaneously creating a successful consulting business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Biscuits Cat Haven is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that focuses on cat rescue, rehab, and rehome. We also care for and offer assistance with TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) for feral cat colonies. We service the Tomball and limited Spring/Cypress/Woodlands/Houston areas. Eventually, we would love to partner with other rescue, nonprofit and transfer service organizations by offering intermediary foster assistance while they are adopting out their current feline adoptees, their fosters are full and transfers need their two week required foster period prior to being transferred to other state rescue organizations for adoption. By offering this intermediary foster assistance, we can assist multiple rescue, nonprofit and transfer service organizations; thus, allowing them to serve and save more furry felines without being stretched thinner than they already are. The ability to do this depends on us procuring property and place of our own. I’d love to see this come to fruition by end of 2023.
In addition to this partnership, we want to get more involved with feral cat colony education, TNR, relocation assistance, and more. Feral colonies are a special group of furry felines. We love the relationship we build with these cats, watching them learn to trust with some of them letting us give them love and affection, while others trust enough to be close but not touched. It’s important to get them fixed and vaccinated so they are healthier and no longer reproduce. It’s equally important to release them back to the area we trapped them in. This is their home and where they are most safe. Relocating a feral cat or feral cat colony takes education, proper location, time, patience, and perseverance and should only be considered as a last resort.
When I reflect on how far we have come and our future aspirations, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the immense overpopulation issue currently being faced. It can be very easy to experience rescue fatigue and burnout. I help mitigate this by truly knowing that for each cat we rescue get fully vetted and adopted; we are helping with this issue one cat at a time. Through rescuing, fully vetting, adoption pairing, offering pet ownership responsibility education, behavioral challenge assistance, and rehabilitation and community outreach programs, together we can all make an impact and difference within our communities.
I am very proud of what we have accomplished so far. We started caring for an outdoor feral colony a little over 2 years ago, and during this time, a few litters were born. Trapping takes time, and cats become very savvy to the ways of trapping. From this colony, we have adopted out 15 kittens and 5 adults. They are all doing fantastic!!! We have successfully trapped, fixed, and vaccinated all the cats in this colony. Over the last 6 months. 5 new adults joined the colony. It was a slow integration, but it was successful, and these new cats have been fixed and vaccinated as well. Additionally, we have assisted with other TNR of feral cats and have received additional requests for help.
We currently have 3 foster families with 10 kittens under the age of 6 weeks between them. We have 10 adults in need of rehoming due to their owner having a medical emergency that is now preventing her from caring for them as she once used to. We are working on lining up fosters for these fur babies as they are super sweet, do great with other cats, and love to be loved on. We are honored and grateful she reached out to Biscuits Cat Haven and entrusted us for help.
The kittens will be available for adoption after they are 14-16 weeks of age and have been fully vetted – defleaed, dewormed, vaccinated, microchipped and spayed/neutered.
The adults are up for adoption now, and 8 of them are 2 years old and just need updated vaccines. 2 adults are 5 years old and need to be spayed and updated on their vaccines. They will be current on vaccines and spayed prior to time of adoption.
All of these cutie pies are showcased on our website – https://www.biscuitscathaven.com. If you are interested in adopting one or more of these wonderful furry felines, please fill out the adoption form on our website and mention the name(s) of the cat(s) you are interested in adopting.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Successfully running a 501c3 nonprofit organization requires monetary and supply donations so we can adequately care for and provide the necessary services to our furry felines. These donations cover costs from organization and operation fees (email, domain website, marketing, etc.), kitten and cat supplies (food, bedding, housing, litterbox, litter, food/water bowls, etc.), enrichment supplies (toys, cat trees/scratchers, stuffed animals, tunnels, etc.), Vet services (exams, dewormer, FelV/FIV testing, vaccines, microchipping, spay/neutering, meds if needed, etc.), preventative care (flea/tick, shampoos, etc.), TNR supplies (traps, potty pads, food, etc.), travel expenses (car usage/maintenance, gas, time, etc.) and saving up for a place and property to call our very own.
Our website has ways to donate, Amazon Wishlist, and we are working on donation packages, sponsorships opportunities, fundraisers, and more. We are reaching out to our local businesses to inquire about partnerships, grants, sponsorships, and donations. If you know of a business that would be interested in this partnership, please email us at ocicat33@gmail.com with the business name and contact information.
If you are interested in being a foster, please email us at ocicat33@gmail.com. We would love to have you as a part of the team!
Additionally, we want to say Thank You!!! We are able to provide the services to and rescue these furry felines because of your support. Without it, we would not be able to do what we do. So much gratitude and appreciation!
Pricing:
- Adoption fee – $125.00 (subject to change) and helps to cover the cost of the below
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- Flea medication
- Deworming, if needed
- FelV/FIV testing
- Vaccines
- Microchipping
- Spay/Neuter
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Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.biscuitscathaven.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawna.rasch.5
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/shawna-rasch-b67302a5
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ocicat33
