By Darlene Rayhill
For me, the introvert who fully embraced the pandemic-imposed social restrictions because it meant I could spend more time alone with my cats, the last thing I thought I would be starting a non-profit during the pandemic, where I have to spend so much of my day interacting with humans.
What’s worse, is spending time interacting with humans in the form of recorded video or podcasts.
The first time I had to do that for Good Cat Network, the video crew and I happened to be next to a public restroom at a beach park. Someone happened to be taking a loud #2 in the bathroom next to where we were filming. Yep. But that story can be the subject of another blog post.
Despite the fears, starting a non-profit is what I did. To me, it made sense. I was already known as the “cat lady” in my circle of friends. I had some business skills after over 20 years of working in offices and a decade of running my own business. The biggest factor in taking the leap was that I wasn’t going in alone: I had two amazing, strong women by my side. I was pretty confident that I could apply what I have learned over the years to running a small non-profit and trust that my passion for cats would fill in where needed along the way.
I learned pretty quickly that I misjudged the challenges I was up against.
I was comfortable in two worlds before starting Good Cat Network: the restaurant world and the luxury tourism/wedding world. Anyone who has seen The Bear or The White Lotus can get an idea of what the culture I was used to. Yes, these worlds have their fair share of stress and unique personalities, but there’s also a sense of order amidst the chaos.
The rescue world? It’s non-stop fire tickets for Fancy Feast and cats complaining that they didn’t get the Catnip Suite.
The rescue world really is another world all together. It’s a world located in a galaxy that most have never heard of in the far stretches of the universe. A world without order or rules. In this world, everyone operates with little sleep, kept awake by adrenaline, coffee and stress. Cats become the only focus. All human relationships take a backseat. The main form of transportation is flying by the seat of your own pants. The only social media that exists is a private Facebook group that is filled to the brim with people needing help, so that even when you want to sleep, the racing thoughts of I NEED TO SAVE ALL THE CATS ON MAUI keeps you up at night.
Despite all of this, Good Cat Network has pushed me to learn, experience new things, and appreciate things I hadn’t previously. It has pushed me to balance seven day work weeks and two full time jobs, and appreciate my husband and friends outside of the cat world that have put up with me ignoring them for the past year. It taught me how to create healthy boundaries with social media and the importance of mental health. It’s showed me that its OK to rely on and trust others. It made me realize that community is beautiful, that human interaction is not only worthwhile, but an grossly overlooked component of life. It has also made me recognize how incredibly generous and deeply compassionate humans can be.
Because of Good Cat Network, I have hope for humanity. I hate to say it, but I like kinda like people.
The generosity and compassion I have seen in our team, all without a dime of compensation, is the source of that hope. These amazing people have changed me and my perspective on the world for the better. I have new amazing friends that have become the backbone of this organization.
340 Hawaii cats have been flown to Seattle and adopted into loving homes. Cats that would have lived a (probably short) life outdoors, never knowing the touch of a human hand or lap. Our team and individual donors are the reason that 340 cats currently have families of their own.
Sure, this year has been challenging, but I would not change a thing about the experience. I have proven to myself that I am capable of things I thought were impossible, and I have witnessed and felt the purest form of the human experience: LOVE.
The future for Good Cat Network is pretty bright. We’re constantly evolving, sometimes struggling, but always dreaming big. We hope to expand operations, increasing our flights and connecting with additional shelters. We’d love to be able to compensate our devoted team for their hard work and will be applying for grants this year to do so. We plan to continue the conversation with leaders in the community and work on the most compassionate ways to work together to solve Hawai’i’s cat overpopulation crisis.
One of my dreams is that every person who joins us at Good Cat Network ends up realizing their full potential for love and compassion by helping these Hawai’i cats find loving homes. And then by doing so, becoming the source of love, compassion and inspiration for others.
To put it a little more briefly: a never-ending-loop of compassionate love for all beings, born by the love of cats. This is achievable, right? I believe it is.
