Message from the Founder - Debbie Wyche
October 2020
I want to help to explain why we made the decision to only do private tours until the Spring of 2021 and the process of coming to that decision. I know that this is a disappointment for many, especially those of low income, but it is necessary for the survival of this needed nonprofit and the future of Cat Tales for generations to come.
This has been an unprecedented year for Cat Tales. My husband and best friend of over 30 years passed away in August 2019 after a long illness. Mike and I founded Cat Tales in October 1990 and in the years that followed provided forever homes for over 100 rescued big cats and priceless wildlife education for our community. This mission continues today but has required some adjustment. I am forever grateful to our daughter Lisa and her family for keeping the legacy alive and moving forward.
After this initial loss we regrouped and started winter preparations for late 2019 thru early 2020. Generally, Cat Tales attendance drops to nearly zero as the colder weather settles in. Last winter was no exception. With minimal guests our revenue plummets to next to nothing and those cold months can be extremely stressful as the expenses do not stop. What keeps us going through winter is knowing that the sun will shine brightly again in the spring, the temperatures will warm, guests will visit, school tours will arrive, and most of all revenue will return.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic, positive Covid cases in big cats in New York, and “The Tiger King” was on everyone’s streaming service and captivated the news. In early March 2020 we immediately closed Cat Tales to guests and put virus protocol and protections in place for our staff. This included furloughing all volunteers and vulnerable staff, many of whom have not or cannot return at this time. New regulations were mandated regarding the animals including PPE and physical distancing that are still in place. As everyone experienced, supplies were non-existent, expensive and/or hard to come by. Cat Tales has always been diligent regarding sanitation and disinfection around the animals to prevent the spread of viruses and bacterial contamination. We were fortunate to have some stockpile of supplies, but without a way to replenish them it was a challenge. Thankfully due to community support we have been able to rebuild most of our inventory and unless there is a second shortage, we are good to go on that front.
Our family of staff are dedicated to the animal’s care, health, and welfare. They give of their time and energy regardless of the circumstances. This pandemic has been hard on them, especially since contact with the animals is so restricted. We make sure they have time off as needed no matter how short staffed we are so they can regenerate. We are forever grateful for their dedication to our survival and the compassion they show for the animals in their care.
We are so thankful to those who support us and are humbled by their generosity. It is not taken for granted. Donations in the spring and early summer provided necessary monies for us to continue our mission. Without that initial support we would have been faced with dire circumstances.
In July we opened for private tours hoping that we could bring in enough revenue to survive until Spokane County went to Phase 3. As of this posting the coronavirus cases are at their highest since the beginning of the pandemic and are expected to worsen. This circumstance is one of the reasons we have decided to limit the number of visitors to Cat Tales at one time. Trying to make a weekly decision on the timing of re-opening and how we were going to staff it, became extremely time consuming and is just not advancing our mission going into winter. We need to protect our two and four-legged family from this virus and don't feel we can do our best for each other while being open to the general public even at a restricted capacity.
We understand that private tours will not bring in enough money to support us through winter, but the experience of having a dedicated zookeeper tour guide for an hour is just a snapshot of how we intend to make it through this year’s winter season. On your tour you will learn about the animals in their picture-perfect fuzzy fur coats. They love this time of year and are active all day. It is an opportunity to see all the exhibit improvements that we have made over the summer repurposing existing materials, adding landscaping, murals, and black fencing to enhance guest viewing of the animals. Safe black bear, big cat feedings and a visit to our Gift Shop can be added to your tour.
As time permits outside of daily animal care, I will provide links to the many ways you can support us.
Thank you for keeping us Wildlife Strong! Be Well and Stay Safe!
I want to help to explain why we made the decision to only do private tours until the Spring of 2021 and the process of coming to that decision. I know that this is a disappointment for many, especially those of low income, but it is necessary for the survival of this needed nonprofit and the future of Cat Tales for generations to come.
This has been an unprecedented year for Cat Tales. My husband and best friend of over 30 years passed away in August 2019 after a long illness. Mike and I founded Cat Tales in October 1990 and in the years that followed provided forever homes for over 100 rescued big cats and priceless wildlife education for our community. This mission continues today but has required some adjustment. I am forever grateful to our daughter Lisa and her family for keeping the legacy alive and moving forward.
After this initial loss we regrouped and started winter preparations for late 2019 thru early 2020. Generally, Cat Tales attendance drops to nearly zero as the colder weather settles in. Last winter was no exception. With minimal guests our revenue plummets to next to nothing and those cold months can be extremely stressful as the expenses do not stop. What keeps us going through winter is knowing that the sun will shine brightly again in the spring, the temperatures will warm, guests will visit, school tours will arrive, and most of all revenue will return.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic, positive Covid cases in big cats in New York, and “The Tiger King” was on everyone’s streaming service and captivated the news. In early March 2020 we immediately closed Cat Tales to guests and put virus protocol and protections in place for our staff. This included furloughing all volunteers and vulnerable staff, many of whom have not or cannot return at this time. New regulations were mandated regarding the animals including PPE and physical distancing that are still in place. As everyone experienced, supplies were non-existent, expensive and/or hard to come by. Cat Tales has always been diligent regarding sanitation and disinfection around the animals to prevent the spread of viruses and bacterial contamination. We were fortunate to have some stockpile of supplies, but without a way to replenish them it was a challenge. Thankfully due to community support we have been able to rebuild most of our inventory and unless there is a second shortage, we are good to go on that front.
Our family of staff are dedicated to the animal’s care, health, and welfare. They give of their time and energy regardless of the circumstances. This pandemic has been hard on them, especially since contact with the animals is so restricted. We make sure they have time off as needed no matter how short staffed we are so they can regenerate. We are forever grateful for their dedication to our survival and the compassion they show for the animals in their care.
We are so thankful to those who support us and are humbled by their generosity. It is not taken for granted. Donations in the spring and early summer provided necessary monies for us to continue our mission. Without that initial support we would have been faced with dire circumstances.
In July we opened for private tours hoping that we could bring in enough revenue to survive until Spokane County went to Phase 3. As of this posting the coronavirus cases are at their highest since the beginning of the pandemic and are expected to worsen. This circumstance is one of the reasons we have decided to limit the number of visitors to Cat Tales at one time. Trying to make a weekly decision on the timing of re-opening and how we were going to staff it, became extremely time consuming and is just not advancing our mission going into winter. We need to protect our two and four-legged family from this virus and don't feel we can do our best for each other while being open to the general public even at a restricted capacity.
We understand that private tours will not bring in enough money to support us through winter, but the experience of having a dedicated zookeeper tour guide for an hour is just a snapshot of how we intend to make it through this year’s winter season. On your tour you will learn about the animals in their picture-perfect fuzzy fur coats. They love this time of year and are active all day. It is an opportunity to see all the exhibit improvements that we have made over the summer repurposing existing materials, adding landscaping, murals, and black fencing to enhance guest viewing of the animals. Safe black bear, big cat feedings and a visit to our Gift Shop can be added to your tour.
As time permits outside of daily animal care, I will provide links to the many ways you can support us.
Thank you for keeping us Wildlife Strong! Be Well and Stay Safe!
