Happy Cat Haven in Gibsons has announced it’s no longer accepting any new animals needing shelter, although it will continue looking after the cats that are already there and providing other services to the community.
The 87-year-old founder of Happy Cat, Violet Winegarden, told Coast Reporter this week that health issues are forcing her to step back a bit. She’s been running Happy Cat out of her home on School Road in Gibsons, with help from a dedicated core of volunteers, for nearly 30 years.
There are around two dozen cats living at Happy Cat right now, and the directors are going to try to find new homes for those that are adoptable.
“We will never close [completely], and we will always have a very strong outreach program,” Winegarden said. “We’re doing our very best as we can manage presently.”
Happy Cat’s outreach helps people who might otherwise not be able to afford it to get veterinary care for their pets.
Happy Cat Haven has been a registered charity since 2004. In a notice to the public, Winegarden and her co-directors Frances Bullock and Dorothy Scott Graham encouraged people to continue donating refundable cans and bottles, cash, food and supplies like blankets to help pay for the outreach program and care for the remaining cats. Happy Cat has expenses of around $140,000 a year.
They’re also asking people who have cats that they can’t look after to surrender them to the SPCA’s Sunshine Coast branch. “We’re on good terms and I’m very fond of their present manager,” Winegarden said. “I’m sure they would help us if we needed help.”
Winegarden, who was honoured in 2012 with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (replaced last year by the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers), said making the changes was a difficult decision, and she intends to continue caring for the cats that can’t be adopted out.
“I’m 87 now, and I know I can go on for 10 or 15 more years,” she said.
