Local residents show support for cat rescue

Almost five years ago Sisters resident Pam Creason, Sisters Mercantile manager for 29 years before it closed in 2013, decided to adopt a kitten after her beloved Siamese cat passed away. She placed a call to Cat Rescue Adoption & Foster Team (CRAFT) in Bend.

"I remember seeing their little donation jars around town, so I called CRAFT and spoke with Janice Sershen, a volunteer there. I told her that I was looking for a Siamese, and she said she would call me if they got one that fit what I was looking for," Creason said. "Janice called me back not long after that, right when I was getting ready to go on vacation. But I went out to Craft off of Tumalo Road near Bend, and it was love at first sight after looking at a gorgeous Siamese kitten that they had."

While working at Sisters Mercantile, Creason remembers caring for a stray neutered cat for 10 years. He lingered around outside of the store and was named Rodeo.

"The reason folks named him Rodeo was because he use to hang out in the Rodeo office all the time, and then he started to hang around our store. I fed him and he had a warm space to live in by the parking lot in an old room that had been a bathroom at one time. Many people knew and liked Rodeo. Then one winter he didn't look so good and I knew he was getting on in years, so I called (CRAFT founder) Bonnie Baker and asked if CRAFT could take him in. I was elated when she said yes. He ended up passing away peacefully later on at their facility."

Baker has always loved animals and had cats since she was a child raised outside Phoenix, Arizona.

"I realized at a young age that cats are often an afterthought, and are afforded a lot less protection than dogs," Baker said.

Back in 2001 Sara Dice, founder of Bend Spay & Neuter Project (BSNP), realized the magnitude of the overpopulation of cats in Central Oregon and began her crusade to control the cat populations with the help of Dr. Byron Maas. Baker became one of her volunteers.

"I helped her by trapping and fostering cats and kittens," Baker said. "Sara had a small house with a 1,200-square-foot garage area in Tumalo where she kept the cats and equipment, and Dr. Maas performed spay and neuter surgeries.

"When Sara decided to move out of the area about seven years ago, me and a few other volunteers, including Janice Sershen, who has been CRAFT's volunteer since we began, wondered if it might mean the end of the BSNP adoption/foster program. Since I had learned a lot from Sara about handling and placing feral cats, a couple of the volunteers and I continued to foster feral and stray cats and kittens in our homes. And since BSNP moved to a new area and eliminated their adoption program, we became the only alternative."

Baker then began looking for property to purchase, with a home for her and an extra building for a cattery.

"I found the current property in 2008 and moved into the house and we began setting up the cattery," said Baker. "Our facility is a free-roam area for the normal cats that aren't special-needs or feral."

CRAFT was born in 2008 and picked up the nonprofit status shortly after.

"We realized the overpopulation of stray and feral cats was a lot bigger than any of us anticipated. Many shelters were either euthanizing or turning cats away, and we needed separation for some cat groups, such as kittens, those cats needing medications or special care," Baker said. "We had a carport enclosed, which is now a room for feral cats. I eventually opened up my own home for all the special-needs cats and recently moved into another home in Bend that I owned."

CRAFT is a no-kill organization. For the past seven years the CRAFT team has saved, fostered, and found homes for an average of 500 cat and kittens per year, and relies heavily on the support of the public and generous volunteers.

Sisters resident Karly Lusby will never forget the day, almost three years ago, that she and her husband, Kevin, went looking for a cat to adopt after their beloved family cat passed away. They ended up with twin brothers, one with only three legs.

"We went to CRAFT because we knew that the organization was no-kill and are for that," Lusby said.

"Right after we arrived, this beautiful black cat with three legs came hobbling up to my husband and started rubbing on his legs, he really liked Kevin, and so we decided to adopt him.

He was one of two siblings about a year old.

They had been adopted out once before from CRAFT, but brought back because one of the cats had been badly injured and the family couldn't afford the medical.

So CRAFT took them back and paid for the surgery of the injured cat.

He had his hind leg amputated.

Bonnie Baker mentioned that she was hoping the pair could stay together, and so we adopted them both.

And since they looked identical, except for the fact that one was three legged, we named them Three and Four."

CRAFT cares for 50-100 cats and kittens on a daily basis with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers. All cats are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and treated for parasites before being placed in their adoptive homes.

CRAFT is always looking for volunteers and foster parents. To learn more visit http://www.craftcats.org.

To learn more about why you should get your cat spayed or neutered visit www.bendsnip.org.