43
Shelter to provide purr-fect home
These cats are getting help finding their fur-ever homes.
ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. — In the front bay windows of a cat-grooming shop on Lawrence Avenue, kittens frisk around while an older cat dozes on a little lounge chair.
The kittens bat at their toys or at one another’s tails, and they look like they don’t have a care in the world.
But they aren’t waiting for their turn to be pampered at hair or nail appointments. A closer look at a sign on the window tells their story.
They need homes.
And in the meantime, if you can help with food, litter or vet bills, there are two phone numbers to call.
The numbers belong to Linda Smilek and Lorraine Vesceri, two Ellwood City women who have taken in a lot of cats over the course of a year. Right now, they have about 20 in their care.
With the help of Cattitude owner Lindsay Geidel, they show off the kitties and hope passers-by on Lawrence, Ellwood’s main street, will want to take them home.
Soon, they’ll have more space in a building they’re renting and refurbishing a few blocks away at 511 Lawrence. They hope to have an open house Sept. 13, and Fur-Ever Feline Rescue and Re-homing will officially have a home.
There won’t be any cages at this shelter. Open rooms painted in light pastels will welcome those who’d like to adopt. Cats will be enclosed in a large play area and will sleep on furniture.
How did these two women get into the business of helping homeless cats — a business where there’s plenty of work, but no profits?
Smilek laughed. It started last October with six kittens Vesceri’s husband, Chuck, found in the borough’s Ewing Park.
The park, they said, is a popular spot for people who abandon cats.
This particular litter ended up in the Vesceris’ garage.
Smilek and Vesceri, who are friends through selling skin-care products, teamed up and found homes for all the kittens.
Then, like the number of homeless cats, “it escalated,” Smilek said.
The pair helped another litter of six kittens a church wanted off its property.
They helped a woman in New Brighton, who had 21 strays she was feeding.
But the woman couldn’t pay to spay and neuter them.
“The animal control officer was ready to take them all and euthanize them, and we helped her,” Smilek said.
They took in most of the cats, and the woman kept five of them herself. Smilek and Vesceri paid for their spaying and neutering as well, and took them to their operations.
Meanwhile, Smilek said, Geidel came forward and offered the window at Cattitude.
The women said they’ve gotten other help. A veterinarian in the New Castle area, Dr. Alyce Marcotuli, has been giving them breaks in fees, they said.
Richard Basile, owner of a store called Outlet on Main, has donated furniture and lights for their shelter.
The Lawrence County Animal Relief Fund, which county treasurer Richard Rapone is setting up to help people who are helping animals, could be a godsend to them, they said.
Meanwhile, they are proceeding with paperwork to become a nonprofit organization. They are accepting donations and looking for volunteers to help at the shelter.
If you can help, call Smilek at (724) 622-0968 or Vesceri at (724) 333-2599.