VANCOUVER ORPHAN KITTEN RESCUE ASSOCIATION
Registered Name: VANCOUVER ORPHAN KITTEN RESCUE ASSOCIATION
Business No: 860234467RR0001
This organization is designated by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a registered charity. They comply with the CRA's requirements and has been issued a charitable registration number.
A volunteer-driven, no-kill rescue association with a mission to end cat overpopulation and homelessness.
Our Mission
VOKRA’s mission is to end cat overpopulation and homelessness. We rescue, heal, then place cats - first in our network of foster homes, then in carefully matched, loving, forever homes. We are a passionate, volunteer-driven charity with extensive cat care experience. We believe that no-kill is the only responsible approach, that TNR works, and that cats are AWESOME!
About Our Charity
VOKRA was formed in 2000 to care for very young, orphaned kittens - most of whom required around the clock bottle feeding. Since that time we have grown rapidly, from rescuing approximately 150 kittens and adult cats per year to now more than 1,400 per year.
In addition to rescuing homeless and abandoned cats, we have an active Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program for managing the population of feral cats.
We also work with other animal welfare organizations to provide spay and neuter services for low-income pet owners in the Lower Mainland and to support responsible pet ownership.
The Foster Home Model
VOKRA is innovative in that we do not have a shelter; instead we utilize a volunteer network of more than 350 foster homes. Our cats are cared for and socialized in home environments until they are ready to be adopted. There they are safe and receive lots of love and attention. This best prepares them for their forever homes and allows the cats' personalities to show. VOKRA covers all costs and provides ongoing support to foster families.
Finding Forever Homes
VOKRA does an excellent job of matching the perfect cat or kittens with the perfect adopters. We have a thorough application and approval process to make sure our rescued cats are placed in safe, loving homes. Everything from cat safety, the importance of keeping cats (happily!) indoors, nutrition, behavioural issues and more is discussed in depth before adopters are approved. But our relationships don't stop there. We continue to support our adopters for the life of their cats and encourage responsible pet ownership. We also maintain connections to VOKRA cats and their families through our social media channels which are vibrant hubs for communication and the exchanges of information...and adorable cat pictures!
Controlling the cat population through TNR
When VOKRA began our TNR program, Vancouver was home to thousands of feral cats. Through our efforts, there are now fewer than 300 ferals living on our streets but the work to maintain control of the community cat population requires constant and consistent monitoring. While this problem has decreased in Vancouver, the Surrey cat population has reached a state of crises. VOKRA is a member of the Surrey Community Cat Coalition, formed in 2014 to address the population in that area and continues to work with our team in Surrey and other rescues to lower the numbers in Surrey as we have been able to do in Vancouver.
What's Next?
The need is growing and we are doing our best to grow along with that need. While we do not have a shelter, VOKRA opened our Operations Centre in 2014 to manage the intake and temporary care of cats in our care before they are placed in foster homes. The Operations Centre has become a central hub of VOKRA's work where we intake, assess and provide interim care for cats, hold community events, hold meetings of the organization's various committees, and train our volunteers. (VOKRA uses more than 32,000 volunteer hours each year and we're always looking for more caring, skilled people with some time and some love to offer!). The Operations Centre has become vital to the work VOKRA does.
VOKRA survives and provides much-needed community services entirely through the work of dedicated volunteers, private donations, and bequests. Our current fundraising goals are focused on securing adequate funding to cover the costs of our Operations Centre and the monthly food and litter supplies needed for our cats in foster care each month.
We'd love to connect with you and share more about the work VOKRA is doing to rescue, protect, care for and find good homes for Vancouver's cat and kitten population.
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