The Humane Society has recently rebranded to Cat House to be more involved in the community. The Cat House shelter director, Erin Eskildsen, was a significant part of the rebranding of the Humane Society.
Eskildsen was one of the many people involved in the rebranding of the Humane Society to Cat House McPherson. On October 27, 2023, their new website went live. They have been wanting to change their name for around three years. Since rebranding can be very costly they have not been able to find the money until recently. “We were thankful to have an anonymous donor through the McPherson County Community Foundation,” states Eskildsen. The donor was able to pay for the rebranding company, which was used for a new website and new logo.
Once the whole process got started it took about a year. When asked why they wanted to change the name Eskildsen stated, “The name was just very confusing to the community”. When the Humane Society was first established they had cats and dogs. Around 2007 the city started an animal shelter, which only allowed dogs. Which meant at that time, the Humane Society just housed cats. Most humane societies have multiple types of animals, and they also usually have a vet on staff. Since the Cat House has neither, that was also a reason behind the rebranding.
“I think people have always called us the Cat House in McPherson,” states Eskildsen. They chose the name Cat House since it is basic and straight to the point. They thought with the new name people would not get as confused in the community.
For long-term goals, they are hoping to get more involved in the community. They want the community to see how the Cat House impacts all the cats in McPherson. When asked if there have been any negative impacts Eskildsen said, “I do not know if it will impact our monthly donors.” However, there have been no negative impacts so far!
Eskildsen has been the shelter director for three years, but she started volunteering in 2016. Her role as the shelter director is to run day-to-day operations and oversee all the foster cats and adoptions. She also handles all the medical requirements for the cats.
When asked what her favorite part of working at the Cat House was, Eskildsen said, “We are a no-kill shelter, so that means the cats we have stay here till they find a home which can sometimes take a while. You can get very attached to the cats.” Helping cats find their forever home is also one of her beloved parts of her job!
Not being able to save all the cats is the hardest part of her job. “It is very difficult when we are at capacity and we have to turn cats away,” said Eskildsen. McPherson is known to have a very high stray cat population. They try to keep 40-45 cats living in the Cat House when it is not kitten season.
Starting around March and ending around October is kitten season. During kitten season the Cat House can shelter up to 65. That does not account for all the foster cats. “This past year we were up to 99 cats between the shelter and foster care,” voiced Eskildsen. They depend very heavily on their fosters. Once they reach their limit, they will try their best to find a foster. If they fail to find a suitable foster home they will have to turn away the cats.
