Whisker Warriors partners with the city of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, animal services agencies, veterinary clinics and other nonprofits. Photo courtesy of Tera Kolvenbach, Whisker Warriors

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - An overturned flowerpot in a Rancho Cordova backyard revealed a feral mother cat and five kittens. For Tera Kolvenbach, the discovery became the beginning of a communitywide effort to prevent thousands more animals from being born without homes.

Kolvenbach is now executive director of Whisker Warriors, a nonprofit focused on reducing animal overpopulation through low-cost spay and neuter services, education and support for local pet owners and community cat caretakers.

“Our primary focus is reducing animal overpopulation,” Kolvenbach said. “That’s our first mission, and that is where we concentrate our efforts.”

Volunteers produce more than 350 cat shelters and about 100 feeding stations each year. Photo courtesy of Tera Kolvenbach, Whisker Warriors

The organization provides electronic vouchers covering spay or neuter surgery, rabies vaccination and an initial core vaccine. Whisker Warriors also operates a trap-neuter-return program, commonly called TNR, distributes pet food and builds shelters and feeding stations for homeless cats.

Kolvenbach’s involvement began in 2011, when she sought help caring for the mother cat and kittens in her backyard. Scotty Moore, who operated a Rancho Cordova cat rescue, responded and guided her through the process. The kittens were eventually adopted, and Kolvenbach began volunteering with Moore.

After Moore passed away from complications of diabetes in 2015, volunteers and community leaders discussed continuing her work.

“There was definitely a need in the community,” Kolvenbach said. “At her memorial service, I asked if anybody was interested in keeping this going and having something for animals within Rancho Cordova. People showed up.”

The organization now helps provide food for approximately 300 to 350 community cats. Photo courtesy of Tera Kolvenbach, Whisker Warriors

The volunteers expanded the mission to include dogs and named the new organization Whisker Warriors. It initially operated under the Rancho Cordova Community Council before becoming an independent nonprofit in 2018.

Rather than functioning primarily as an animal rescue, the group decided to address the source of overcrowding by helping residents spay and neuter their animals.

“Rescues run out of space for dogs or cats, and they’re always struggling,” Kolvenbach said. “We wanted to get ahead of it.”

Whisker Warriors partners with the city of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, animal services agencies, veterinary clinics and other nonprofits. The group has received city Community Enhancement Grants and previously received county Transient Occupancy Tax funding.

Whisker Warriors also operates a trap-neuter-return program, commonly called TNR, distributes pet food and builds shelters and feeding stations for homeless cats. Photo courtesy of Tera Kolvenbach, Whisker Warriors

Its services grew after volunteers learned that some homebound seniors were sharing delivered meals with their pets. Whisker Warriors began supplying pet food through a partnership with Meals on Wheels and later expanded assistance to formerly homeless veterans with Mather Veterans Village and community cat caretakers.

The organization now helps provide food for approximately 300 to 350 community cats, Kolvenbach said.

Volunteers also produce more than 350 cat shelters and about 100 feeding stations each year. The shelters are offered for approximately the cost of the materials, usually $20 to $25, or free to people unable to pay. 

“Residents have traveled as far as Stockton and the Sierra foothills to get these shelters,” Kolvenbach said. “You can also purchase them on Amazon but they tend to be much more expensive.” 

During one approaching storm, a volunteer named Tim woke at 4 a.m. and built eight shelters.

“He texted me and said, ‘Get them homes, Tera. I want these cats protected,’” Kolvenbach recalled. “That’s the kind of passion that we have.”

The organization provides electronic vouchers covering spay or neuter surgery, rabies vaccination and an initial core vaccine. Photo courtesy of Tera Kolvenbach, Whisker Warriors

Trap-neuter-return remains a central part of the group’s work. Volunteers humanely trap homeless cats, transport them for sterilization and vaccination, and return cats that cannot be adopted to their original territory. A small clipped section of an ear, known as an ear tip, indicates that a community cat has already been sterilized.

Kolvenbach said sterilizing even one female cat can prevent multiple litters each year. In some colonies where every cat was sterilized, populations have declined from more than 20 cats to as few as two over time.

The organization’s largest obstacle is a shortage of veterinary appointments.

“People call us and want to use the program, but they say it’s going to be three or four months before they can get their dog or cat in,” Kolvenbach said. “People get discouraged.”

Whisker Warriors is seeking additional volunteers to trap or feed cats, build shelters, assist at community events and provide administrative or website support. Kolvenbach hopes the organization can eventually expand its spay and neuter assistance throughout the Sacramento region, including underserved rural communities.

“Spay and neuter isn’t glorious,” she said. “But we’ve made it, and I want to keep expanding our ability to help people. Education and more spay and neuter resources for people are key.”