Volunteer at Cat Haven

Volunteering at the Cat Haven is all about teaching and working with the public. It is an excellent opportunity to be involved with the conservation of wild cats.

Volunteers are the backbone of a non-profit organization.

Cat Haven is no exception. With the constant incurrence of expenses, it is important to gain the support of our community in promoting the success of our facility. Our work must be top-notch. That means our volunteers will be asked to learn new things, do uncomfortable tasks, and work intensely to foster an atmosphere that is educational, efficient, clean, and safe. We want to present a welcoming day adventure for everyone involved.

Volunteering at the Cat Haven is all about teaching and working with the public. It is an excellent opportunity to be involved with the conservation of wild cats. It also provides work experience and an introduction to the jobs associated with a zoological facility.

The Cat Haven relies on volunteers to assist with the educational goals of the facility as well as cover routine duties like manning the gift shop. Prospective volunteers should enjoy working with people and come prepared to learn and disseminate information with enthusiasm.

You may use our online application to apply to be a Cat Haven volunteer.
If you have any questions please call (559) 338-3216.

Docent Volunteer

As a docent, you are required to work 4 days a month from 10am until closing. You will learn about the many species of cats at Cat Haven, as well as the personal stories of the 30+ resident cats. You will also learn about the charitable organizations that we contribute to, who runs them, and the purpose of the charity.

As a docent you give tours that last approximately one hour and cover a quarter-of-a-mile walk. You must learn crowd control, while interacting positively with the public by answering questions, sharing anecdotes, and maintaining safety protocol.

You will also manage the gift shop including cleaning, stocking, and cashiering. On slow days, you may be painting enclosures, water proofing wood structures, pulling weeds, moving dirty stuff, cleaning dirty stuff, and other things outside your comfort zone.

Docent Requirements

Docent must be 16+ years old

A fee of $49.00 is charged to cover the cost of training materials: a volunteer shirt, handbook, and a volunteer membership to the Cat Haven.

Approximately 20 hours of docent shadowing required

Docents must have their own health insurance

Keeper Volunteer

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, be highly responsible, and have strong work ethic. After working as a docent, you may be invited to become a keeper.

Upon promotion to keeper, you will need to work 2 days a week for a 6-month commitment, starting at 7am until approximately 5pm. Duties include food prep, food supplements, feeding, cleaning enclosures, and overall maintenance of each cat’s habitat.

You will be working in the elements such as rain, snow, excessive heat, snake season, tarantula season, meat bee season, and ugly-bug season year-round.

Some of the things you handle are raw meat, dead mice and chicks, as well as cat poop. You will have to fill in for docents when needed.

Keeper Requirements

Keepers must be 18+ years old

A fee of $49.00 is charged to cover the cost of training materials: a volunteer shirt, handbook, and a volunteer membership to the Cat Haven.

Prior Docent training required

Keepers must have their own health insurance

Other Volunteer Opportunities

Welders

Experienced welders can help build the many enclosures needed for our growing facility.

Carpenters

Experienced wood workers are needed for enclosure flooring, stairs, den boxes, and bridges.

Maintenance

Experienced plumbers, electricians, landscapers, masons are needed for renovations.

Coordinators

Anyone who is dedicated to organizing fundraisers, silent auctions, advertising, website management, outreach to other charities, information booths or education would be greatly appreciated.

Cleanup Days

Anyone can join us on selected weekends to work on weed control, pruning, painting, or anything you can offer to spruce up our facility.

All volunteers must be at least 16 years old, be responsible and have their own health insurance.

You may use our online application to apply to be a Cat Haven volunteer.
If you have any questions please call (559) 338-3216.

Project Survival Conservation Projects

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