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CLAWS AND EFFECT
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Jacquline Kish (7) holds her newly adopted cat, her sister Katherine (5) in back, at the Cat Ladies Society Rescue and Adoption, Thursday March 12, 2009
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Marty Kish of New Middletown with her newly adopted cat at the Cat Ladies Society Rescue and Adoption, Thursday March 12, 2009
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Midnight at the Cat Ladies Society Rescue and Adoption, Thursday March 12, 2009
By Elise Franco
Cat Ladies Society benefits families as well as felines
YOUNGSTOWN — Hanna showed up on Maria Guyan’s doorstep looking for love and a warm place to sleep.
What she found was a family to call her own.
Hanna is a 6-month-old, short-haired tabby cat. She was dropped off at Cat Ladies Society on Mahoning Avenue because her former family no longer had the means to take proper care of her.
Just a few weeks later, Marty Kish of New Middletown brought her daughters Jacquline, 7, and Kathrine, 5, to the shelter to find a new cat.
The girls chose Hanna.
“I liked her because she jumped right up on me,” Jacquline said.
Guyan, of Struthers, runs the volunteer-only shelter that dedicates itself to finding homes for cats that might otherwise be euthanized.
“We saw the need for another shelter that would cater to the needs of cats with special needs and older cats that other shelters just don’t have the capacity or ability to cater toward,” she said.
Guyan said the shelter, which is a run by donations only, celebrated its first anniversary this month.
It’s one of only two nonkilling shelters in the area, Guyan said. The other is Cats Are People Too in Warren.
“The other shelters don’t have the time or capacity to deal with pets that may not be adoptable by their standards,” she said.
Guyan said age and medical conditions play a role in which cats are deemed “unadoptable” by other shelters.
Guyan said the Kish’s new cat was already socialized when she arrived at the shelter, but some animals aren’t as lucky.
Some that are born outside and have little human contact are described as feral, Guyan said. These cats tend to be fearful of people and need special care.
The only cats she said the shelter won’t take are those with untreatable medical conditions such as leukemia or feline AIDS because of a risk to the other animals.
Kish said Hanna, renamed Isabella by Kathrine, has had no trouble adjusting to her new home life.
“Our cat died in June, and since then Jacquline has just wanted a pet she could hold,” she said. Isabella “is doing great. She sleeps next to Jacquline every night.”
The family also has two large dogs, “They’re all getting along really well,” she said.
Guyan said the shelter now houses 35 cats but could accommodate up to 70.
“That is our very max, but we try never to hit that many,” she said.
Those interested in adopting can stop by the shelter any time between 2 and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
“Anyone who wants to adopt goes through an interview to make sure it’s a suitable home,” Guyan said.
Those wishing to drop off a cat are asked to call the shelter at (330) 261-6162 and make an appointment.
For more information on the Cat Ladies Society, visit www.catladiessociety.com.
efranco@vindy.com