Sadly, our cofounder and President, Barbara McGowan, lost her battle with cancer on July 7th, 2021. She was an incredible woman, and a true "cat angel", rescuing and improving the lives of so many cats and kittens.
Barbara moved to Nanoose Bay in 1989 and noticed a lot of little cats on the rocks at the beach at Schooner Cove. She did not know much about feral cats at the time, but noticed that, apart from a few fish scraps from fisherman, no one seemed to be feeding them. She started going down to feed them every day and at the height of it she counted 44 cats/kittens there. She eventually bumped into a few others who were feeding them and they sorted out a schedule. She met Dr. Hanna from Lighthouse Vet Clinic and she was kind enough to come down at take a look at the situation. They started with medication to treat their eyes as many had infections. They held garage sales to raise money, as they had to pay for spays and neuters out of their own pockets. After a couple of years, there came a really cold winter and they got permission for the Marina to build some shelters for the cats on the beach and then eventually moved them to "kitty village" on Outrigger Road, which consisted of little houses and covered feeding stations. By then, they had recruited a few more volunteers, and feeding became easier, but money was still short. From the beginning, she had called the group CATSPAN for Cat Spay and Neuter. In 2004, the group became a registered charity with CRA and it just grew from there. With a growing volunteer base it has expanded and flourished and has become the great organization we know today.
***Please note that in 2015 we informally changed our name to CatSpan Registered Charity as we now look after all of Oceanside, and in 2020 we changed our name to CatSpan Ferals Registered Charity to further distinguish our group from a "splinter group", now operating under the name, "Nanoose Bay CatSpan Society."It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that our cofounder and President, Barbara McGowan, has lost her battle with cancer. She was an incredible woman, and a true "cat angel", rescuing and improving the lives of so many cats and kittens.