This month we’re celebrating Deb McEachnie, a foster coordinator and foster. Deb works hard to ensure both our fosters and adopters are supported. She’s passionate about saving kitties and it shows in everything she does.

Here’s Deb tells us about her VOKRA journey:

My journey with VOKRA began in the summer of 2019 when my husband Kevin and I adopted our beautiful Maddie as a buddy to our ginger male, Tiggy. Maddie was a loving mama to six kittens, but now she really deserved to be the loved and spoiled one herself. Through the adoption process I admired all the volunteers were doing for these kitties and decided to volunteer. I became a foster (to foster a specific cat, long story), but almost immediately there was a need for foster coordinators. I decided this would be a good way for me to help many kitties without filling my home with foster cats (haha, nice try!).

For those who don’t know, the foster coordinator role is primarily to match cats and kittens with our list of available fosters. It doesn’t end there though. We support our fosters through the entire process from picking up their foster kitty through to adoption. Sometimes it’s easy, but sometimes we have kitties who are fussy eaters, are shy or have medical issues that need to be treated. Then there’s the sad day when their foster kitties leave for their new adopted homes. I know all too well how difficult that can be. It’s very rewarding though, seeing the journey each foster takes to get their foster kitty to their forever home.

When I became a coordinator, I didn’t stop fostering. Around Christmas 2019 we took in 10 kittens and cats from a site where they’d been living outside a home. They all went into our office, which became our foster kitty room, and we named them all after islands. We set the room with a cat post, cat beds everywhere and shelves for added vertical space. It was quite an adventure with all the cleaning and feeding, not to mention the time spent gaining their trust. When it came time for them to be adopted, it was difficult seeing them go, especially the big fluffy male cat, Turk. After a couple of (surprisingly) unsuccessful viewings, we realized we couldn’t part with our ginger and white foster sisters, Grenada and Antigua, so we "foster failed" (adopted) them. Later we realized their shy and swatty mama, Bermuda, was going to be a hard sell. She had really settled into the household and stole our hearts as well, so we foster failed her too!

I took a bit of a break from fostering to focus on foster coordinating (and maybe stop collecting cats!), but whenever the need would arise during the busy kitten season, I took in mamas and kittens. One of our foster litters, the Tim Bits, so named because they were found outside a Tim Hortons, had a very shy mama who also stole our hearts when she suddenly came around and wanted pets. I even did some temporary bottle feeding of little orphaned kittens who were only a few days old. What an incredible experience that was. And now we currently have a special foster kitty who doesn’t want to be touched at all. Shy kitties are a project, but very rewarding when they learn to trust.

Although I have had cats non-stop through my life since I was a teenager, I realized you just never stop learning about cat health and behavior. They’re such wonderfully unique and amazing individuals with their own personalities. Now I have added another layer and I’m helping with adopter support and follow up on adoptions. It definitely keeps me busy, but I very much enjoy working with so many wonderful people and their cats.

Here’s what Mickey Carrington, foster coordinator team lead, has to say about Deb:

“Deb’s a dedicated and hardworking volunteer. The role of foster coordinator can be challenging at times and Deb’s up for the task, always quick to answer urgent calls and deal with issues as they arise. She’s passionate about saving cats and takes her work very seriously. Deb wants the best for our kitties while in foster care, as well as post- adoption. I know when she takes on a kitty and foster home, they’ll get the best care and the most amazing support. Deb’s also providing post-adoption assistance to adopters and kitties who need special support, which shows just how much she wants our kitties to have happy furever homes.”

THANK YOU Deb for all your hard work! We appreciate all you do to make sure our fosters and adopters are supported. Not to mention your dedication to fostering!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hardworking team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA’s always in need of volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering click here and fostering click here.

Volunteer of the Month - September 2021

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