Hi, my name is Kathy! My involvement with Wild Blue began almost 10 years ago after learning from the media about 150 cats that were rescued from an animal hoarding situation. At that time, my teenage daughter also wanted to help. We volunteered at several animal rescues over the years, but Wild Blue’s sanctuary was so close to our home in Black Forest, it seemed a perfect match. My husband is allergic to cats, so we are unable to foster or adopt, and Wild Blue gave me a great opportunity to enjoy caring for kitties again. I had a variety of animals growing up and many kitties during my childhood abroad, and we’ve had several Labradors and an adorable Corgi mix named Maya until she passed in 2021.
We started volunteering in February of 2013 on Friday evenings and I helped perform all the sanctuary team duties, and it wasn’t long before I was asked to be the team leader both on Friday nights and on Saturday mornings. After the first two years at WBC, my daughter moved on and became a busy Certified Vet Tech, and I chose to continue my volunteering as Friday PM Lead for several more years. I convinced my son to help a couple of times, but he preferred to work with trucks and cars. He now drives for UPS.
From the beginning, I noticed an opportunity existed to better identify specific traits and qualities of each cat, and thus help the other volunteers at the sanctuary to recognize who is who and be better informed of each of their needs. I was asked to create mini biographies for each cat that would serve as a quick reference for use at the sanctuary, adoption fairs, and for posting on social media and adoption sites. These “Kitty Bios” have evolved over the years, and I have taken thousands of pictures!
For several years, I also helped plan and organize the yearly Fancy Feast fundraisers, helped care for and transport Petco kitties, and assisted with various other sanctuary projects. I still continue with other marketing and fundraising efforts for WBC and projects, as time allows. I facilitated the team execution of overhauling the outdoor catio enclosures a couple of years ago, and I love watching the kitties enjoy their safe space. I currently support the socialization of kitties at the sanctuary on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, facilitate socialization trainings, update profiles in the database, and write/print a lot of mini bios!
I moved to Colorado Springs due to a job transfer from Oregon almost 35 years ago, and the sunny CO skies and meeting my husband convinced me to stay. My long career in management was shared with a couple of years being a care-giver for my parents. I like to hike, cook and travel internationally with my husband Joe; love watching movies with my daughter and talking about animals; riding motorcycles/ATVs with my son; and I recently coordinated the remodel of a vacation rental home in Costa Rica. Being a part of Wild Blue’s family has brought me joy, and at times sorrow, but I know with each sad kitty story there are many other successful and happy ones. I love the shared passion at Wild Blue to help kitties, and the hard work from all of the volunteer teams is inspiring. It gives me great pleasure knowing that I have helped play a part in those happy endings, and I cherish my friendships with many kitty lovers!