Founder Debbie Wyche reflects on 35 years of wildlife rescue and the next generation of leadership guiding the sanctuary forward.
As Cat Tales Wildlife Center celebrates its 35th year, I’ve found myself reflecting on the journey that brought us here—and the next chapter that lies ahead for both the sanctuary and for me.
When you spend most of your life building something, it becomes woven into your days in ways that are hard to explain.
For more than 35 years, the sounds of Cat Tales Wildlife Center have been part of my daily rhythm—the chuff of a tiger greeting the morning, the rustle of coyotes moving through their habitat, and the quiet moments when students pause to truly observe what an animal is telling them.
Cat Tales has been part sanctuary, part classroom, part adventure, and part home. The lessons learned here—from the animals and the people who care for them—have shaped not only the sanctuary, but my life as well.
My husband Mike and I founded Cat Tales together with a simple belief: animals who could not return to the wild still deserved lives filled with care, dignity, and purpose.
What began as a small wildlife sanctuary built through determination, community support, and a deep respect for animals has grown into a place that has cared for more than a hundred rescued animals and trains the next generation of wildlife caretakers.
Over the years, the sanctuary grew into a place where rescued wildlife could find permanent homes and where people—especially students—could learn to understand animals through observation, patience, and respect.
Cat Tales was never meant to be just about one person. It was always meant to become something bigger.
And now, as life often does, a new chapter is beginning.
This spring, I have just relocated to Hawaii to begin the next phase of my life. For many years, I have known that one day life would carry me toward the ocean and a different rhythm. But stepping away from the daily heartbeat of a sanctuary you helped build over decades is never a simple decision.
Before anyone worries, let me say this clearly:
Cat Tales is in very good hands.
In early 2019, just before Mike passed away, our daughter Lisa and her husband Randy stepped forward to help support the sanctuary during a very difficult time. What began as family helping family quickly became something much more important.
Since then, the three of us have worked side by side every day. Together, we have navigated some of the most challenging and transformative years in the sanctuary’s history—from the uncertainty of the pandemic to new regulations affecting big cats, from emergency rescues needing immediate homes to the daily realities of caring for a sanctuary full of animals who depend on us.
During these years, I have not simply worked with Lisa and Randy—I have watched them grow into their roles as leaders of Cat Tales.
Lisa, our Executive Director, carries a deep understanding of both the heart and the responsibility behind the sanctuary. She balances compassion for the animals with the practical realities of running a nonprofit organization, ensuring that Cat Tales continues to grow and serve the community.
Randy, who serves as Board Chair and Operations Supervisor, has helped strengthen the organization’s infrastructure and the systems that keep everything running smoothly day to day.
Together, they represent the next generation of stewardship for Cat Tales.
Over the past several years, we have also worked carefully to ensure that Cat Tales has the structure, leadership, and community support needed to continue thriving for many years to come.
For the past several years, I have intentionally shared not only the responsibilities of leadership, but also the lessons that come from decades of caring for wildlife. Experience with animals cannot be learned overnight—it grows through years of observation, patience, mistakes, and learning to trust what the animals themselves are telling you.
Lisa and Randy have lived that process.
They have worked through the long days, the unexpected emergencies, the triumphs, and the heartbreak that sometimes comes with wildlife rescue. Through it all, their commitment to the animals and the mission of Cat Tales has only grown stronger.
Although I will be living farther away, I am not stepping away from the sanctuary.
I will continue to remain actively involved in teaching, advising, fundraising, and supporting our educational programs. My role will simply shift from daily operations to contributing from a bit more distance.
The animals will continue to receive the same level of thoughtful, compassionate care they always have. Our students will continue learning the skills and observation that good animal care requires. And our mission—to provide rescue, sanctuary, and conservation education—remains unchanged.
Seeing Lisa and Randy lead the sanctuary forward gives me enormous confidence in the future of the animals who call Cat Tales home. And I often think Mike would be proud to see how the sanctuary he helped build continues to grow and evolve.
As I begin this next chapter from the shores of Hawaii, my connection to Cat Tales and the animals will remain strong. The work we started together continues, carried forward by a new generation of leadership and by a community that believes deeply in the mission of wildlife rescue and education.
In many ways, this next phase of my life will also give me time to reflect on the lessons the animals have taught me over the past four decades—lessons about patience, resilience, balance, and the quiet wisdom found in the natural world. Those stories are ones I look forward to sharing in new ways in the years ahead.
And here at Cat Tales, the rhythm continues.
The morning rounds will still begin with the familiar sounds of animals greeting the day. Students will still learn to pause, observe, and listen to what the animals are telling them. New rescues will still arrive needing a second chance.
After all these years, one thing I’ve learned is that life—much like the natural world—has a way of weaving every path together in time.
The sanctuary continues.
The animals continue.
And the story of Cat Tales is still unfolding.
With gratitude,
Debbie Wyche
Founder – aka “Cat One”
Cat Tales Wildlife Center
