October! It’s been about 7 months now since we received our official nonprofit status and started getting things rolling. It’s also been about 7 months now since the coronavirus shut so many things down. Ventura County is moving from the purple (most restrictive) tier to the red tier, which is good news. There are still two more tiers to move to but it’s encouraging to see things going in the right direction.

Our Facebook and Instagram followings continue to grow. We have almost 270 Facebook followers now and about 290 Instagram followers. If you use either of those platforms please share us and help us reach more cat lovers in Ventura and beyond.

We have added a fundraising “thermometer” to our Fundraisers page so that everyone can see how things are going as we approach opening the lounge. We estimate needing roughly $3000-$4000 per month to run the lounge so we’ve set a goal of raising $10,000 to try and get 3 months of operating expenses in the bank. There won’t be any salaries (at least for a while); all work will be done by volunteers. Money raised will go toward care and safety for the cats we take in plus rent, insurance, utilities, Internet access, etc.

Poppy and Cali went back to Greyfoot so that Cali could have her milk fully dry up in anticipation of being spayed and so that Poppy could be a friend to another foster there named Conrad. Conrad was found on the same property and they are probably cousins. They’ve been adopted together and will go home after their neuter surgeries. Whitney and Sequoia are still here and applications are being accepted for them now, too. Hopefully Ventura County is finally seeing a light at the end of the kitten season tunnel.

We’ve been busy since the last update! Toby and Kelly stayed with us for a few weeks and in that time completely came out of their shells and gained some good weight too. After their spay/neuter surgeries they were each adopted into great homes. It always feels good to have a happily ever after story to tell about our fosters.

About 3 weeks ago we took in a mama cat (Cali) and her three kittens (Sequoia, Whitney, and Poppy). We’re fostering for Greyfoot Cat Rescue and it’s been a delightful experience so far. Joan runs a great organization and I’d encourage you to check them out. Cali has had multiple worm issues but she’s finally past all of that which means she can start putting on some weight. She’s been an excellent mother to her three babies but all that nursing takes its toll. Thankfully, she’s healthy now and has a chance to live a good long life once her babies are weaned.

Since our last post, we’ve raised a little over $500 in fundraisers, donations, and in-kind donations. Mask sales have been phenomenal – we’ve sold nearly 50 so far and still have plenty on hand!

Earlier this week we took a look at a potential space downtown. It was fun to step inside and visualize it as a full-fledged cat lounge! I’ve got a list going of potential spaces. If Ventura County can continue the trend it’s on in terms of daily case counts, testing, and hospitalizations we’ll be that much closer to feeling much safe about opening to the public and being able to maintain a business.

If you have a chance to pick up a copy of The Ventura Breeze we have a nice write-up in the September 9th issue, on page 10. It’s very exciting to see our story in the paper and it will be even more exciting to finally announce a grand opening!

This Saturday is our meet-and-greet at Thille Park in Ventura. It’s an informal event from 9:30-11:00. I’ll be there in a red hat with a cat on it and either a Cassie’s Cats t-shirt or sweatshirt, depending on the weather. Masks and physical distancing will be required. I hope you’ll come out to say hello, meet me (Jennifer), and possibly go home with something for your cat or yourself! I’ll be bringing goodies from the shop and will be able to take credit and debit cards as well as cash and checks. See you there!

I feel like I just wrote the July update. Time seems to crawl and yet here it is, August 9th already. On to some updates!

Since the last post, we’ve raised about $670 and had some generous in-kind donations as well. We took in a foster named Amiga who was thought to be pregnant (turns out she wasn’t). She stayed with us for about three weeks, returned to SPARC to be spayed, and went to her forever home about four days after that! The same day we took Amiga in we brought home Toby and Kelly, two underweight and fearful kittens. They’ve been here about a week now, completely come out of their shells, and gained roughly 5 ounces. They still have a ways to go to get to a healthy weight for their age but they’re doing great so far.

We continue to watch what is happening in Ventura County with regard to coronavirus infection and hospitalization rates. Ventura County is still on the state watchlist and so we continue to bide our time until it is relatively safe to open a non-essential business. We have been researching different types of business insurance and what those costs might be, learning the difference between “Triple Net” and “Modified Gross” leases, and making more items for fundraisers. We found a new scheduling plugin for the website that might work well once it’s time to open and start accepting reservations and payments online. Jennifer’s mom donated some two-layer cotton masks in a beautiful cat print and they have been a big success, bringing in about $230 in the past couple of weeks. We still have some left in the shop.

Our support base continues to grow! We are up to 134 Facebook followers and 213 Instagram followers. The more we can get the word out, the better off we will be when it is time to open! We’d like to hold some kind of physically-distanced meet-and-greet so supporters, future volunteers, etc. can meet Jennifer and each other. We’re still working out how to that safely.

In the meantime, please share our Facebook and Instagram posts as well as our fundraisers with your cat-loving friends and family! Thank you. 🙂