_edited_edited.png)
.png)
A Forever Home for Community Cat Club
- Chelsea D
- 18 hours ago
- 4 min read
As hard as we work to find forever homes for our Community Cat Club foster kittens and cats, we've been working just as hard in our search for a forever home for the rescue as well. Today, we're so excited to give you the first introduction to our first official headquarters and cat adoption lounge! But first, some history...
Community Cat Club's story begins in 2020 in President and Founder Sara Sharp's family home. Sara, having a decade of rescue and shelter experience under her belt, saw the desperate need for a dedicated TNR effort in Camden County in order to slow and prevent the overwhelming influx of cats and kittens flowing into our local shelters. The home's attached garage was converted into our headquarters where we saw thousands of cats for intake, isolation, vaccinations, and TNR recovery. It's where foster volunteers picked up supplies for their cats, where owners were reunited with their lost pets, and where some new adoptive parents brought home their new family members. So much good happened in our community because of this tiny garage, but within two years in operation it became very clear that we outgrew the space and the growth (and survival) of the rescue depended on finding a forever home.
Securing a headquarters was easier said than done. CCC is so proud to be entirely community funded, specifically through small individual donations. It truly is a community effort to keep this train running as it has been for the last nearly five years. We don't receive any funding from local or state government (we've tried!) and outside of animal welfare specific grants, we very rarely find opportunities for business sponsors. We ask our supporters for so much in any given year to keep our shelves full of food, help us pay down high veterinary bills, and attend our TNR fundraisers, and now asking them to help us buy a home felt like too big of a request. But as they always do, they came through, and we're still overwhelmed with gratitude. One day soon, we'll find the words, but since our offer was accepted, we've been overwhelmed in all of the ways one gets overwhelmed when buying and moving into a property (during kitten season no less!).
Here's what we've been able to do so far
Our neo-natal nursery is fully operational! With it being kitten season, we knew this was the first room that needed to be up-and-running and since we had recently received a grant from the Orphan Kitten Club for new lifesaving equipment, like new incubators, we wanted to put that money to use right away. The nursery now has three incubators, an oxygen concentrator, nebulizers, and two Clearly Loved playpens which collectively has tripled our neo-natal care efforts.
Larger space for new intakes! Our new isolation space is massive, now that it doesn't have to be shared with TNR recovery. Thanks to our volunteers, the new space was refreshed and our isolation kennels were moved in. We now have empty space to eventually make room for additional kennels so we can soon increase our volume of intakes.
Secure and private TNR recovery space! As mentioned above, it's a relief that the TNR recovery space is separate from our isolation space. We've increased our isolation space to allow for a higher volume of cats for recovery purposes (pre and post surgery). This will allow us to increase our TNR efforts and streamline the existing TNR process with our volunteers.
The property is secure! Since the headquarters is located on a busy main road, the first order of business was adding security. Our fully managed system was $3000 but worth it for peace of mind, knowing that the buildings are safe as are our residents, both human and cats.
Our name in lights! Thanks to a generous volunteer, her family business Astro Sign Company, designed and installed our new street sign! Next up is to paint the poles and add lighting, but for now travelers on the Black Horse Pike will see our beautiful purple sign for the Cat Lounge.
Work in Progress on the Adoption Lounge
Work has begun on converting the existing office space into our free roaming cat adoption lounge. We have a ton of work to go, but here's what we're working on and what is yet to come!
Bye bye carpet! We're in the process of removing the carpet that was laid throughout the lounge space - including what we believe is a linoleum layer underneath - so we can prepare for new, durable, and hygienic flooring to be installed in its place
The ceiling is falling! The drop ceiling tiles have to go. We've removed a few tiles and already the space feels so much larger! Once all of the tiles are removed, we'll have electrical and hvac teams come in to move electrical wires and replace the flex ducts with metal
Curb Appeal! High up on our list is to have the asphalt lot extended and repaved. This is sure to be a high cost and we're actively looking for asphalt companies that can assist us with this project. We also had volunteers help to clear the landscaping the beds along the building and are in the process of planting various flowers and plants to beautify the property.
Next season on the CCC Adoption Lounge Rehab Project!
Once all of the prep work is completed inside of the lounge (removing carpet, reworking electrical and hvac, installing new flooring), we can move on to the next phase of our rehab which will be the fun part: Creating a beautiful and functional space for our free-roaming fosters and adoption lounge visitors! We can't wait to share more of our design plans and see our vision come to life over the next weeks and months.
Donate towards our renovations!
We still desperately need more funds to cover this massive renovation. HVAC, asphalt, tile, paint, labor - these costs add up and add up quickly. Here's how you can support our mission :
Become a business partner
Follow and share our social media posts (@communitycatclub on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!)