Volunteer Spotlight: Kim Rimmer
I’ve been a “cat lady” for as long as I can remember, and a volunteer with Alley Cats & Angels
since November 2022. It was around this time that I’d reached out for advice about a medically needy stray in my neighborhood and found out that there was a need for someone to help with writing up kitty profiles and creating “cage cards” which tell potential adopters about the kitties during their stays at PetSmart adoption centers in Knightdale and Morrisville. This was a great fit for me; it was work that I could do at any time and from anywhere – plus, it was a great way to get to know our wonderful fosters and all the kitties in our program! Although heading up the
cage cards team is my primary role at ACA, I’ve been able to contribute in lots of other ways since coming on board.
In December 2022, my first opportunity to foster arose when a scrawny and bedraggled stray kitten showed up at my husband’s office, following people around outside and demanding attention. Her whiskers looked like they had been cut off, her claws were worn down to nubs, she had broken teeth, and her eyes were badly infected and ruptured. We initially thought she might have been abused but now suspect she may have gotten trapped somewhere and her injuries came from trying to escape. Following an after-hours visit to urgent care, she was admitted into the ACA program, and we fostered her while she received care and until she was ready for adoption. Her right eye was so badly ruptured that it had to be removed; her left eye was also damaged but fortunately treated in time and able to be saved. Once she’d recovered and was ready for adoption, my husband and I decided that she was a great fit for our family, and we officially adopted her ourselves. Our first experience with fostering turned out to be a
“foster win” with Maude! She’s the youngest of our three cats – our oldest, Gizmo, is a ten-year old sleek brown and white tabby and our middle, Munchie, is a three-year old tuxedo hunk. We love them all to bits!
Fast-forward a few months and in May/June 2023, I had an opportunity to try my hand at TNVR when a female stray in my mom’s rural neighborhood gave birth to four kittens in a shed behind my mom’s house. Once the kittens were older and eating solid food–and after casing my mom’s backyard for several weeks–I was able to successfully trap the four kittens together, and they were accepted into the ACA program to begin their journeys towards finding their forever homes. The wily mother cat proved a bit more challenging, but I was able to nab her the following week– and fortunately so, as she’d gone back into heat just a few days after being separated from her kittens! The mother cat was spayed and is still hanging out in my mom’s neighborhood. She still won’t let anybody approach her, but she seems so much more relaxed and less harried now that she doesn’t have to worry about caring for litter after litter of kittens.
We fostered her four “Cookie kittens” (all named for types of cookies) and by the Fall they’d all found wonderful new homes. Two of the sisters were even adopted together! I’m so thankful to ACA for effectively halting the never-ending kitten cycle and for saving these cats from what were guaranteed to be short, brutal lives.
In recent months, I’ve been working with our cage card and social media teams to help
streamline our processes, and with our fosters and the adoption team to maintain up-to-date and compelling profiles. Because the cage cards and online profiles are how adopters learn about the cats in our program, this is essential to attract potential adopters and to ensure a great fit for our kitties in their new homes.
We have so many talented people and devoted volunteers at Alley Cats & Angels! I’ve learned so much and have made great friends since coming on board almost two years ago. As an all-volunteer organization, I’m constantly impressed and amazed by the selflessness of our volunteers, their creativity, and how everybody pulls together for the well-being of all the cats in our program. It really does take a village! For those who might be interested, there are so many ways to volunteer: fostering, helping with social media and events, by cleaning at the PetSmart adoption centers (and playing with the kitties!), crafting, fundraising, photography, TNVR . . . the list goes on and on. I’m fortunate to be able to contribute to our wonderful mission and honored
to be part of such a great team!