Champy is Asking You to Wear Your Mask, Please

By Joy Smith

As we watch COVID spread even more in our communities, the realization that our lives are changed for at least the near future settles in. It is frightening, confusing and unsettling, leaving us all uncertain about so many things.

For me personally, I have found the relationships with my pets grounding. After all, our pets don’t have a perspective that our lives are in turmoil. They may find that we’re home with them more, which is a bonus to them. If we’re a little more crabby then normal they may sense that and comfort us. More than ever we need their special brand of unconditional love and peace.

All of us at FieldHaven are committed to doing everything we can to nurture that loving bond you have with your cats. We want to be here for you if help is needed.

We are anxious to resume at least part of what life was like at FieldHaven pre-COVID, but it is not worth the consequences if we jump in too soon. Thus, we are remaining closed for the most part.

Here is the operational status for each of our locations and programs.

The shelter is only open by appointment for the following:

Adoptions – View adoptable cats and kittens here. If you are interested in adopting kittens, please complete an adoption application form. Our adoption team will contact you to discuss your preferences.
Hathaway Spay/Neuter Clinic – The Spay/Neuter Clinic has resumed operations on a limited basis. It is particularly challenging due to the nature of the surgery and we must work diligently to keep our staff safe. Unfortunately, we cannot allow volunteers to work in the clinic at this time. With all of this our cost to perform spays and neuters has been driven up but we are working to keep the costs to the community the same. At this time, we are only doing community cats and FieldHaven kittens. If you have a FieldHaven adopted kitten that needs spay/neuter, we will contact you to schedule. If you have community cats needing to be spayed or neutered, please complete an appointment request form.
Other Stuff – If you need to rent a trap or imprinting cage, want to drop off a donation, need a kitty scanned for a microchip, or anything else give us a call at (916) 434-6022 to make an appointment.

Community/Cat Assistance Team (CAT) HelpDesk – Our staff and volunteers are here to continue helping our community in a myriad of ways. While many of our in-person services are minimized, there is no limit to the number of people and cats we can counsel and assist through CAT. Volunteers and staff eagerly help people through phone calls, emails, and social media. The number of cases opened each day has gone up since COVID struck so there is no lack of work in that area. In fact, if you like cats, people, and solving problems then being a volunteer on our CAT Crew may be just the thing for you. Don’t live in Lincoln or even California? That’s OK. Like so many, our CAT Crew has gone remote! If you are interested, email Angie Barreto at [email protected]

Vaccine and Microchip Clinics – Due to the close contact nature of doing these clinics, they are suspended until further notice.

Owner Surrender of Cats – We no longer accept owner surrenders and will not for the foreseeable future. We have introduced the Meow & Forever program to help people re-home their cat right from their home.

Kittens – Kitten season is in full force and especially crazy this year with the pause in spay/neuter. Due to the ongoing reduction in staff and resources, our foster program does not have as much capacity this year. We are heavily leaning on the community to help us help kittens.

The Kitten Sitter program has created an army of people in the community who are willing to lend a hand with our guidance. Kitten Sitters is so successful we have decided it will become permanent even after the COVID crisis is past.

Pet Food Pantry – We have set up a temporary Pet Food Pantry at FieldHaven to drop off donations of dog and cat food and supplies. Just inside the gate, there is a green shed. You can deliver your donations there. No appointment necessary.

Hathaway Cat Resource Center – Based in Marysville, the Resource Center provides a center of operations for our partnership with Marysville Animal Care Services to “TNR the Town” of Marysville. The goal is to also provide resources for other communities who want to follow this successful model. The Resource Center is functioning in a limited capacity to provide Kitten Sitter and colony supplies until we can officially kick off. We are doing some limited trapping in Marysville for TNR.

FieldHaven Marketplace – We are continuing to do virtual sales with curbside pickup at the Marketplace. We sure do miss the income from having the Marketplace being open so please support the kitties by shopping virtually. Board members Cindy and Laura are coordinating the virtual sales program along with donations. To reach out to them for questions about virtual sales or making donations, email us at [email protected]. Please shop virtually.

We will keep you updated as things change and, as always you can reach out to us by email, call at (916) 434-6022, or Facebook.

Make a donation today in honor of your stay-at-home feline partner (or just one you know). Your donation will give other kitties a chance to bring happiness to a family.

Thank you for your support and faith,
Joy