Seven Lifetimes of Rescue. One Official Mission.
If you asked any one of us when we started helping cats, we couldn’t give you a single date. For most of us, it started decades ago—rescuing a stray kitten in an alley, bottle-feeding a litter found in a shed, or digging into our own pockets to get a neighborhood "community cat" fixed.
Individually, we have spent our entire lives as the "cat ladies" and "quiet rescuers" of Bakersfield. But we looked around and realized that while our individual efforts were heart-led, the feral cat explosion in Kern County was outrunning us. It was time to make it official. We formed The Whisker Project of Kern to turn our lifelong personal passions into a professional, organized strike team. We’re done just "helping out"—we’re here to change the system through aggressive TNR, community education, and real partnerships.
Meet the Squad
Diana | President & Fearless Problem Solver If there’s a wall in our way, Diana is already figuring out how to knock it down. A lifelong advocate, she keeps the mission on track and ensures we never lose sight of the big picture, no matter how chaotic the "cat explosion" gets.
Traci | Secretary & TNR Star Traci is our resident ninja. She can scout a colony and coordinate a trapping mission with surgical precision. When she isn’t keeping our records straight as Secretary, she’s in the field making sure the "Return" part of TNR is done with care.
Connie | Tech Guru & Bookkeeper Every nonprofit needs a wizard to keep the website running and the spreadsheets balanced. Connie is ours. She bridges the gap between the digital world and the dirt-under-the-fingernails work we do.
CJ | Bookkeeper & All-Around Guru With a lifetime of experience under her belt, CJ is the person we turn to for a "sanity check." She handles the books and offers the kind of seasoned wisdom that only comes from being a true veteran in the animal welfare world.
Linda | The ‘Heart’ & Volunteer Leader Linda is the glue. She has spent years pouring her soul into rescue, and now she manages our growing family of volunteers with that same compassion. She reminds us exactly why we do this when the days get long.
Cheri | Media Expert & The Calm Hand In the fast-paced world of rescue, Cheri is our "calm in the storm." She handles our media presence with a steady hand, telling our story to Bakersfield and ensuring the Whisker Project’s voice is heard loud and clear.
Tina | TNR Organizer & ‘We Can Do Anything’ Partner Tina is the ultimate optimist. Whether it’s a colony of fifty or a logistics nightmare, her mantra is "we can do anything." She organizes our TNR efforts with an energy that’s infectious and a dedication that’s unmatched.
Why We Need You
We are seven real people who decided that "doing our part" individually wasn't enough anymore. We’ve stepped up to tackle the unwanted euthanasia and the cycle of neglect in our city, but we can't do it alone.
Whether you’ve been a "quiet rescuer" your whole life like us, or you’re just looking for a way to give back to Bakersfield—we have a spot for you.
A Heartfelt Thank You
To our supporters and fellow animal lovers: Thank you. We are tired, we are busy, and we are more determined than ever. Because of you, the Whisker Project of Kern is turning a lifetime of "trying to help" into a future of real results.
