Cleo’s Critter Care facing demolition, pleads for help from public

Cleo?s Critter Care facing demolition

Cleo?s Critter Care and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation is slated for demolition, leaving the licensed rehabber and her dozens of furry and feathered friends with nowhere to go.

PASADENA, Calif. - For more than 20 years, Cleo Watts has operated a small wildlife rehabilitation center out of her Pasadena home, caring for injured and orphaned animals from across the San Gabriel Valley.

Now, the home that houses Cleo’s Critter Care and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation is slated for demolition, leaving the licensed rehabber and her dozens of furry and feathered friends with nowhere to go.

"People always say do what you love — and this is 100 percent what I love doing," Watts said.

Watts specializes in rescuing small mammals — raccoons, possums, squirrels, skunks and birds — nursing them back to health and returning them to the wild. With no relocation plan in place and limited funds, she’s asking for the community’s support.

"I’m in a bit of shock," she said. "Just trying to figure out what our next move is, where we’re going to go. We don’t have the funds to move and buy someplace. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so we’re hoping someone out there might have a small piece of land they’d be willing to donate — and get a tax write-off."

The need is especially urgent during baby season, when the center takes in young animals requiring extra attention.

"It’s around-the-clock care — you have to feed every couple of hours, help with stimulation," Watts explained. "The babies can’t thermal-regulate on their own, so they have to be in incubators. It’s a full-time job."

Volunteer Jessica Fraijo first connected with Cleo after finding an injured squirrel. She now helps care for the animals alongside more than a dozen others.

"There’s really no other place around this area where these animals can be taken," Fraijo said. "Whether it’s because shelters aren’t 24 hours, don’t have the staff, or don’t have the license — Cleo is always available. She never says no."

"The clock is ticking," Fraijo added.

Despite the uncertainty, Watts remains hopeful.

"We’re going to keep pushing and stay positive," she said. "We have faith in the community that we serve."

In the meantime, the animals keep coming — morning, noon and night — and Cleo’s Critters continues to do what it can with the space it still has.

For those interested in helping, the nonprofit has a GoFundMe page and information on how else to get involved on their Instagram page, and organizers are actively seeking land donations in the San Gabriel Valley area.