Jen Kuyt is the founder of Country Cat Lady, a cat rescue organization. Jen, a mother of a special needs child, is actively involved in Allegan County’s Adult Special Education program. After noticing the positive impact that cats had had on the young adults, she decided to launch the non-profit Country Cat Lady.
“Our focus is to raise our kittens to become emotional support animals. We also have enrichment programs in the community where others can spend time with our therapy cats.”
About the Cat Rescue
Operating for four years as a 501(c)(3), Country Cat Lady’s primary focus is very different from that of any other cat rescue. They take in young kittens and raise them to become emotional support animals. Many of these kittens are quite small and require a lot of extra care, including bottle feeding every two hours.
Grand Opening of The Catz Den
Jen recently reached out to us about an exciting new cat cafe opening in Wayland, Michigan called the Catz Den. This unique cafe combines an adoption site with additional support services for the small town. Many teenagers in the area, too old for babysitters yet not wanting to be home alone after school until their parents return from work, often spend their time at the library during winter. Jen has created a welcoming space where teens can gather with friends, enjoy affordable snacks, play games, and explore their creativity in the art corner. The finished arts and crafts will be packaged and sold to the public, providing the teens with an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship.
A notable aspect of Country Cat Lady is its commitment to relying solely on volunteers. Jen has refused any payroll and believes in running the organization through the dedication of passionate individuals. Collaborating with the local Adult Special Education program, she provides valuable learning opportunities for young adults, including employment skills, maintenance knowledge, and independent living skills. The ultimate goal is to secure enough sponsorships to cover the organization’s expenses and employ the volunteers as the first paid employees.
A notable aspect of Country Cat Lady is its commitment to relying solely on volunteers. Jen has refused any payroll and believes in running the organization through the dedication of passionate individuals. Collaborating with the local Adult Special Education program, she provides valuable learning opportunities for young adults, including employment skills, maintenance knowledge, and independent living skills. The ultimate goal is to secure enough sponsorships to cover the organization’s expenses and employ the volunteers as the first paid employees.
How to Support Them
If you wish to contribute toward this wonderful cause, please consider donating, or joining the team as volunteer or sponsor.
The Catz Den (Opening May 20th 1-4pm)
120 S Main St
Wayland, MI 49348
Designing the Cat Wall
We are thrilled about this partnership and are eager to work with them to provide enrichment for the cats. Additionally, since our shop is in close proximity, we will be showcasing new creations to see how the cats respond to the designs.
They gave us full range of what to install as long as we didn’t go higher than 6 feet. Their last location had an area where cats would get up to and shy cats would spend all their time up there and miss out on proper socialization. For the large adoption room we were going to install our Juggernaut Cat Tree/Condo, but ended up running into issues.. We made a quick video, if you would like to have a look.
We had a bit of a rocky start because we originally found the studs were spaced at the typical 16″, but then started finding large gaps, which I’m guessing were doorways that were covered up. The beautiful building is located downtown and is pretty old, so this can be quite common.
We decided to then switch directions and installed large plywood sheets so that we could continue to switch the furniture out over time. We didn’t have a truck handy, so the sheets ended up being cut down to fit in the car.
The Cat Adoption Room
This is their large room which has all the cats that are ready to be adopted. The room has large windows which are open from the cafe/ teen center.
The Kitten Room
This room is for the kittens that are under 9 months old. They will live in here until they’re old enough to be spayed/neutered.
