New Cat Facility

We are beyond excited to announce our new project!

DONATE! ​

FOSTER!

Thanks to two very generous anonymous donors, we have been able to begin construction on a brand new cat facility that will provide several amenities needed by modern shelters!

Our current cat building was the original shelter building on this property from almost 60 years ago. When we built the new dog building nearly 20 years ago, the original building became the cat building. It has served us as well as it could for all these years, but it is time for a major upgrade!

The new facility will be a larger, more functional and energy efficient building that will provide:

• a new visitor reception area for all shelter operations;
• "catios" to allow cats to get outside play time;
• quarantine and isolation space for sick cats, which will improve overall cat population health and allow adoptions of healthy cats to continue uninterrupted; and
• space for a future surgical and recovery suite so we can get better control over our veterinary costs and eventually provide low-cost spay/neuter services to the community.

Two Foundational Gifts

We have received one anonymous $75,000 gift, which comes with naming rights. The donor’s all-time favorite cat was Albert, so the new facility will honor him. There will be pictures!

We also have received a $25,000 matching gift. This is where you come in. Your financial gifts to this campaign will be matched dollar for dollar up to $25,000! That means you can help us turn this $25,000 gift into $50,000!

Our overall goal for this project is $350,000, so we have a lot of work to do to make this long-time dream come true! Our community has always been incredibly supportive of our improvement goals, and we are counting on you again for this project.

Next Steps

We have begun some preparatory demolition while we still have cats in the building. Here is the second part where we need your help! 

We already have some local volunteers and long-time rescue partners who are committed to assisting us. But we are going to need some additional adopters and long-term foster homes in which to place our cats while the existing building is completely demolished/removed and the new building is constructed. This is all going to ramp up in the coming weeks! Please be aware that our cat intakes will be very limited during this process.

What Can You Do?

You can support this groundbreaking project by attending and supporting our upcoming fundraisers and with your financial gifts. You can either drop off your gift to the shelter; mail it to RCHS at PO Box 785, Elkins WV 26241; or donate through our website.

You can also let us know that you’re interested in being a long-term cat foster by completing the inquiry form on our website. Our staff will reach out to you to discuss details.

Finally, cheer us on! This will be a fantastically chaotic time at the shelter while we continue regular operations as usual, demolish the existing building and build a new one, and just keep-on-keepin’-on through the daily needs. Let us know you support these measures to improve cat care and adoption efforts.

If you have questions, please reach out to the shelter at 304-636-7844, or to President Jenna Lee at 304-704-3775.

Thank you!