TEAM
It takes a village, and this is ours.
Founder Our founder, Elizabeth Ginn, is the reason The Last Chance Cat Ranch exists. Her love and understanding of cats, her compassion, and her fierce determination are what set the example and lead the way in our quest to give stray, abandoned, and feral cats loving, fulfilling, forever homes.
Financial Coordinator The Last Chance Cat Ranch may be a volunteer run organization, but it still costs a lot of money to operate. Our Financial Coordinator tracks all expenses and donations. Every food order, every vet bill, every dental appointment, every surgery, is logged and accounted for by this diligent and organized team member.
Intake House Coordinator The intake house has volunteers coming and going twice a day, and the coordinator drums up all the necessary hands to do the job. She plans the schedule, sends out reminders, and finds replacements when volunteers can't make it. She is VERY busy!
Food Coordinator If you have a cat in your house, you know how much they like to eat. Our Food Coordinator tracks the food at the intake house, makes orders, and arranges storage for several pallets of food. She also ensures that fosters have the food they need for the cats in their homes.
Foster Coordinators These coordinators find, interview, and vet potential fosters and help arrange all the needs those fosters have to create a positive environment for the cats in their care.
Fundraising Coordinator This team member organizes all our fundraising efforts. From arranging bake sales and bottle drives to auctions and online donation collections. She does it all.
Medical Needs Coordinator Cats, just like people, need to see a doctor sometimes. This coordinator arranges all medical and dental visits, maintains the schedule, arranges transportation to and from appointments, passes along information and instructions from the vet to the volunteers and fosters, and keeps medical records up to date. As several cats in our care are sick or injured when they arrive, this is an important job that hinges on attention to detail. It's a big job with a lot of responsibility.
Social Media Coordinators Have you seen our posts on facebook? Instagram? Tik Tok? That's what these team members do. They offer updates and insights on cats that have recently arrived at the LCCR, cats that are in need of homes, fundraising needs, LCCR victories and more.
Senior Admin This small group of team members put their blood, sweat, and tears into the LCCR. They make everything possible. Many of them have full-time jobs, children, spouses, their own pets, and personal lives; and yet they still find a way to put in numerous hours of work (day and night) at the LCCR. They make decisions on the daily operations. They decide together which cats will be accepted into care and which should be transferred to other rescues. They determine when cats need to see the vet or the dentist. They plan how and when new cats should be introduced to the rest of the feline population at the intake house. And they have a hand in every single other aspect of the LCCR. They truly are the heart of the whole operation and without them, the entire endeavour would fall apart.
Board The board works together to create and maintain the policies that govern the LCCR.
Fosters These members of our team are on the front lines. They voluntarily have one or more cats in their home and provide them the one-on-one love and care that a cat should have in a family. They get to know their foster cat(s) and provide feedback so that we can meet their needs and get them adopted.
Virtual Fosters Instead of having one of our cats in their home, virtual fosters provide monetary donations. They choose which cat they want to foster virtually and in return we send them updates and photos of their beloved foster cat.
Intake House Volunteers The intake house is run entirely by volunteers. They feed the cats wet and dry food, specific to their needs (kitten, adult, dietary, etc.). They provide medication for cats that are sick or have life-long medical needs. They do dishes and laundry. They scoop litter boxes and have heart-to-hearts with cats who may or may not miss the target on purpose (we're looking at you Dexter.) They check on the health and well-being of each cat in residence. They play! They learn about the cats' purrsonalities, habits and quirks. And they give feedback to admin about the status of every cat in care. They are on the front lines and are a major asset to the work we do at the LCCR.
Trapper Many of the cats that come to the LCCR are already used to people. Their finders simply scoop them up and bring them in. But others aren't so easy. When we come across a cat that needs help but doesn't want to be caught, our trapper steps in. She spends countless nights tracking cats, finding their hiding spots, talking to them gently from a distance, and setting traps. Sometimes it takes many days. Sometimes cats find themselves in tiny hidey holes and our trapper has to squish and wriggle her way into spaces no human should be able to fit. She does this year round, even in the dead of winter. Without her, many sick and injured cats would be left to die slowly and painfully, alone and in fear.
Adoptions Board This group of team members works together to interview, vet and approve potential adopters.
Drivers Our drivers help with bottle drives, transporting cats to and from medical and dental appointments, and transportation to other cities when needed.
Rescue Liason Animal rescues tend to work together. Our Rescue Liason communicates with other rescues within Alberta to coordinate transfers and other efforts.
Feral rehabilitation The reason we are called The LAST Chance Cat Ranch is because we take in the cats that no one else will. That includes feral cats. Knowing how to help a cat feel safe enough to let down their walls takes one part determination, two parts education, and 10 parts instinct. Not everyone has it. But our rehabilitators have shown, time and time again, that ANY cat, given the chance, can transform from being scared and traumatized, to calm and secure. The work they do is truly remarkable, and the cats they save are beyond grateful. You can see it in their eyes.
Website Managers These team members keep the website up to date with upcoming events, current fundraising efforts, and most importantly, with photos and details on all the cats in care.
Spokesperson Whenever the LCCR needs to engage with the media for interviews, or with government bodies to discuss policies or grants, our Spokesperson acts as the public face of our mission.
Colony food and donations We receive tremendous support from Champion Petfoods and Rosenau Transport. Champion donates Acana and Orijen cat food and Rosenau transports it from Edmonton, AB to our headquarters in Lethbridge, AB.
