Volunteer and Trapper Spotlight: Shannon Ragsdale

Shannon Ragsdale did not set out to become one of Fresno TNR’s most dedicated trappers. Like many people who find their way into rescue, it started with a few kittens who needed help.

Shannon works as an appraiser for the Fresno County Assessor-Recorder’s Office. She spends three days a week in the office and two days in the field, and she genuinely enjoys what she does. She is one of the top producers on her team and in her office, and she recently received some of the highest praise in her yearly performance review.

When she is not working, trapping, fostering, or volunteering with Fresno TNR, Shannon enjoys hockey. She loves going to games with her daughter and cheering on the Fresno Monsters. She is a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan, and when they are not playing in California, she supports her second favorite team, the San Jose Sharks.

Shannon calls her three-year mark with Fresno TNR her “Cataversary.” She started working with Brandi and Fresno TNR in July 2023, but the path that brought her here began before that.

Her daughter’s boyfriend and his roommate found a litter of tiny kittens on their patio. They were so small that Shannon had to syringe feed them. Not long after, someone posted about kittens in the McDonald’s parking lot in Kerman. Shannon went to get them. She was able to pick one up, but the other one made her work a little harder. She brought them home, began fostering them, and once they were tame, she found them homes. Those kittens made her a foster mom, and from there, her place in rescue only grew.

Shannon started talking with Shawna, the director of Focus in Kerman, who helped her learn about fostering and rescuing kittens. At first, Shannon fostered kittens and mamas with babies. About two years later, she began doing TNR through Fresno TNR. She already knew Brandi from childhood, since Brandi was her sister’s age and they had gone to school together. Before long, Shannon was trapping and volunteering with Fresno TNR.

Today, Shannon helps in more ways than just trapping and fostering. She has a gift for research, so she helps search for grants, while another volunteer, Juliet Doty, who enjoys writing them, handles the grant-writing side. The two began looking for funding opportunities after Fresno TNR acquired its facility and needed steady support to help pay for it. Their work has since grown to include efforts with Central Valley Community Foundation, State Farm, and more.

Shannon also spends many Fridays volunteering at the facility. She helps with the everyday work that keeps things moving, including cleaning traps and transfer cages, moving cats from transfer cages back into their carriers, checking cats out to trappers, answering trapping questions, and helping wherever she is needed.

Since Shannon began trapping in Kerman, she has TNR’d 412 cats and sent 282 kittens to rescue. At one point, she had 30 fosters in her care, including moms with babies. She also had one feral adult cat and one friendly adult cat.

What keeps her going is the hope of seeing fewer kittens born outside and knowing that more cats are getting the help they need. She has helped so many people in Kerman who were overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. Without her, many of them would have been drowning in kittens.

One of Shannon’s most memorable colony stories involved a self-employed mechanic who had a large number of cats on and around his property. The cats kept having kittens, and he felt completely overwhelmed. He lived in an apartment next to his family’s house, and there were cats everywhere. They were coming out from under vehicles, behind bushes, under steps, and all around the property.

Shannon helped TNR 12 cats and sent 20 kittens to rescue. The man was so thankful that he now helps her in return. When he is driving around town and sees a colony or hears about one from someone else, he finds Shannon and lets her know. What started as one person needing help has become a partnership that allows her to reach cats she might otherwise never have known about.

For Shannon, kittens are one of the biggest challenges. Not because she does not love to have them around, but because there is never enough room. She tries to move kittens to rescue as quickly as she can so she can help more, but she also wants to make sure they are healthy and socialized before they go.

One part of the work Shannon has had to grow into is approaching people she has never met. TNR often means walking into unfamiliar situations, starting conversations, and asking people to trust you with the cats they care about. Shannon often traps alone, so she has learned to rely on her own patience, instincts, and determination. Still, having a trapping partner from time to time would make the long nights, tough cases, and emotional parts of the work easier to carry.

Her advice to anyone new to TNR is simple.

“Just jump in and start. If you don't start, you'll never get anywhere. Ask lots of questions and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We have all made mistakes and will make new mistakes, but that is how we learn and how we help more cats.”

Shannon believes readers can best support Fresno TNR by donating when they can, spreading the word about what Fresno TNR does, and stepping up to trap in their own neighborhoods.

So many people are afraid to trap or to take the first step. Shannon understands that fear, but she also believes no one is incapable of helping in some way. Ask for help, learn as you go, and be willing to do the work.

"And most importantly, Volunteer! There is always something you can do."