We began working toward getting a Weld County Special Use Permit for our shelter more than two years ago. Several major changes were required on the property to meet the county’s requirements for that permit. To operate a shelter in Colorado we also needed a Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) Shelter License through the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which is a step up from the PACFA Rescue License under which we have been operating. Our Weld County Special Use Permit was approved in November; soon after we received our PACFA Shelter License.

We’re very excited to have the Shelter designation to help more under-socialized, community cats who have been displaced from their homes. Originally, the purpose of the shelter was strictly to support our TNR program by giving us a low stress environment for skilled volunteers to tame under-socialized cats and kittens when it was determined that they were appropriate for adoption into human homes. In addition, we needed space for feral adults who required temporary housing for medical care or re-homing, or for kittens who needed medical care or to grow before we transferred them to shelters for adoption. We soon found that there was also a need to partner with other shelters or rescue groups that have older, displaced feral kittens but do not have the staff or volunteers to tame them. Because we have time to keep them and skilled volunteers to work with them, we can socialize the cats and find them human forever homes.

In the coming spring, we are looking forward to moving our Big T’s Colony to the shelter property where they’ll continue to be cared for daily by Big T’s feeders. These cats are getting older (8+) and will need to be monitored more closely. The property they live on now has been for sale for several years and is rapidly changing in a way that will be less safe for these cats. We’re looking forward to having them close by where we can feed and check on them at least twice a day.