CEO of Catvocate Lynne Fouraker is in the studio today for the Around Atlanta segment of the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast. Take a listen to learn why her organization is the cat’s meow as Lynne shares the work she does to advocate for at-risk felines with co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick. Other topics discussed include their partnership with another local animal rescue group and their program for working cats. Fouraker’s experience with animal rescue began in 2004 when she became inspired by the passing of an old friend who was involved with a local humane society in Utah. While donating to the rescue organization in honor of her friend, Fouraker was led to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. She began sponsoring animals at the Sanctuary and eventually made a visit to the animal refuge with her husband, which became a yearly occurrence for the two. “In 2007, one of the founders of Best Friends recognized my husband and I as being volunteers on a fairly regular basis and remembered we were from the South. He asked me ‘So what are you doing for the animals locally where you live?’ and I thought about it and I said ‘Well, I’m not doing anything, I need to look into that,’” said Fouraker. “My New Years resolution for 2008 was to find someplace where I could volunteer.” After regularly visiting the Sanctuary, Fouraker was motivated to support animals in need local to her in Georgia. She then began volunteering at her local humane society taking photographs and spending time with animals in need of a home to help them find a new owner. Since then, Fouraker became more heavily involved in animal rescue and went on to create Catvocate which supports at-risk cats and kittens located in Jackson County, Georgia. Catvocate is a conduit rescue, unlike traditional rescue groups that foster animals and find homes that can adopt them. Catvocate is dedicated to lowering the euthanasia rate of homeless cats by providing services to rescue cats that are collected by the Jackson County Animal Control. The organization focuses on fundraising, evaluating cats that are people-friendly, and providing cats in need with veterinary attention to assess their health condition. Catvocate partners with Rescue Cats to finds good homes for cats that get along well with people and other animals. “We never let a condition or injury keep us from rescuing a cat if it is an adoptable cat. We believe that somebody out there connected in our rescue partner shares that belief, somebody out there has a home for that cat,” said Fouraker. Catvocate provides information to their rescue partner about cats they find, including its temperament and pictures in need. If their rescue partner chooses to take in the animal based on those details, Catvocate takes the cat from animal control to receive necessary veterinary attention, after which the animal is quarantined for two weeks to prevent the potential spread of any infections or diseases before it is given to Rescue Cats. After passing on the cats to Rescue Cats, Catvocate is given updates on the cats including their adoption process and their new home environment. Occasionally, Catvocate has come across cats that are people-friendly but do not mix well with other cats, which makes it difficult to find a rescue group that will shelter them. To solve this issue, Catvocate has initiated a barn cat program which finds any local organizations such as a barn, farm, silo, dairy, warehouse or brewery that may need a working cat that is fully-vetted to aid in rodent issues. Catvocate provides adopters of working cats with large cages to place the cat in for at least three weeks until they are used to their new surroundings. In exchange, these cats that typically experience difficulty finding a new home are placed in a safe place to sleep with food and water.
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