What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
Catkins Animal Rescue in Park Falls is bursting at the seams. Since breaking ground on a new facility this past May, the all-volunteer shelter has been racing to meet a surge in surrenders, strays, and overcrowding that shows no signs of slowing down.
For Price County’s only animal shelter, the expansion isn’t just about more space — it’s about survival in an environment where inflation, post-pandemic disruptions, and rising living costs are pushing more pets through the door than ever before.
“We don’t have any choice,” says Tanya Belanger, Catkins’ shelter manager. “We need to get a larger building and a safer space for our animals.”
Catkins currently operates with just 10 dog kennels and limited cat space. Yet the rescue handles around 500 animals every year, with at least 70 in care at any given time.
The math doesn’t work. Volunteers and foster families are stretched thin, housing overflow animals in their own homes while the shelter juggles waiting lists for both dogs and cats.
Belanger points to a perfect storm of economic pressure. “Post-COVID, it’s kind of become a national crisis with shelters,” she explains. “Everywhere is overcrowded with animals. With inflation for pricing for food — just for humans and animals — gas prices, you name it. We’re seeing a huge influx.”
The numbers back her up. In 2023 alone, Catkins took in 475 animals, and all but three came from Price County itself. This isn’t a regional problem being dumped on Park Falls — it’s a local crisis rooted in the economic realities facing Northwoods families.
The planned expansion will nearly double Catkins’ dog capacity, adding six more kennels for a total of 16. The cat adoption center will grow significantly, and for the first time, the shelter will have a dedicated quarantine area for new intakes.
But one feature stands out as especially meaningful in the dead of a Wisconsin winter: indoor recreation space.
“In the winter when it’s 30-below in northern Wisconsin, our dogs have a really, really hard time. We’re really looking forward to having a lobby where the dogs can run and play and just be a dog instead of sitting in a kennel.”
Right now, dogs spend long stretches confined during the coldest months. The new building will give them room to move, play, and decompress — critical for both their physical health and adoptability.
Key improvements in the new facility include:
Catkins set a goal of $700,000 to complete the project. Construction is underway, with a target completion date in late fall, but the fundraising campaign is far from finished.
“We are still fundraising,” Belanger says. “We still have a ways to go, but we are going ahead, because we don’t have any choice.”
The rescue accepts donations in person at the shelter, through the mail, or online via its building expansion campaign page. Every dollar goes directly toward construction costs, equipment, and getting animals out of cramped kennels and into a facility that can actually serve the community’s needs.
For a volunteer-powered nonprofit in a rural county, raising that kind of money is no small feat. But the alternative — turning away animals or relying indefinitely on overcrowded foster networks — isn’t sustainable.
Since 2008, Catkins has been the safety net for stray, abandoned, and surrendered animals across Price County. If you live in Park Falls, Phillips, Fifield, or the surrounding rural areas, this is your local rescue.
A larger facility means faster intake, fewer animals turned away, and less pressure on volunteers who’ve been absorbing the overflow in their own homes. It also means better outcomes for the animals themselves — more space, better health monitoring, and improved chances of adoption.
The economic factors driving shelter demand aren’t going away. Feed prices, veterinary costs, and gas bills are still high. Families who once kept pets are making hard choices. Strays and neglect cases continue to show up at the shelter’s door.
But with a facility built to meet the actual scale of need in Price County, Catkins can stop playing catch-up and start offering the kind of care that gives animals a real shot at a good home.
Catkins is pushing toward the finish line on this expansion, and community support is what will get them there. If you’ve adopted from Catkins, fostered an animal, or just appreciate having a local rescue, now’s the time to pitch in.
Donations of any size make a difference. So does volunteering, fostering, or simply spreading the word about animals available for adoption.
This isn’t just about building a bigger shelter. It’s about making sure Price County has the animal welfare infrastructure it needs — especially as economic pressure keeps pushing more pets into the system. The Northwoods takes care of its own, and that includes the four-legged members of the community who need a second chance.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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