5th annual festival, bike run help West Side Cats

July 18, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

AUSTINTOWN

When Kimm Koocher moved to the Mahoning Valley in late 2004 from New York City, she assumed this area’s much-smaller population would mean a smaller number of unwanted kittens and cats.

By her own assessment, she couldn’t have been more off the mark.

“I have never been so wrong in my life. The cat problem is tremendous here,” said Koocher, a veterinary technician who began volunteering at Angels for Animals Inc. in Green Township shortly after having relocated to the region.

The biggest culprits are high poverty and unemployment as well as a “barn-cat mentality,” in which some people mistakenly figure that such animals can fend for themselves and don’t need veterinary care, Koocher said.

In an effort to tackle the problem, she founded West Side Cats, a nonprofit, no-kill cat shelter at 2217 Mahoning Ave., on Youngstown’s West Side. The 8-year-old facility houses and places for adoption cats and kittens that are injured, disabled or have special needs, along with those in dangerous conditions, Koocher noted.

Of course, money is needed to allow the shelter to continue operating, which is where Sunday’s fifth annual Summer Festival and Bike Run/Show came in.

Thirty-five motorcyclists who took part in the fundraiser embarked on an 88-mile round-trip that began and ended at Austintown Township Park on Kirk Road. Their route took participants through Craig Beach, Lake Milton, Guilford Lake and Salem, said Dave Childers, an event organizer who also has volunteered for about five years at the shelter.

Also assisting with the effort was Childers’ wife, Theresa Childers.

A goal was to bring in at least $5,000 to go toward shelter operations and programs, noted Jane Polish, co-director.

“Once we take cats and kittens into our shelter, they’re fixed and tested,” Polish explained. “They get inoculated, flea-treated and dewormed. We take in cats that otherwise would be euthanized.”

West Side Cats, which opened in September 2008, has several rooms for special-needs animals, an infirmary, three isolation areas, two laundry rooms, a skywalk and climbing trees and walkways. The shelter can hold up to 110 cats and kittens but typically has between 50 and 60, with fewer during the winter, Koocher said.

During Sunday’s fest at the park, many people, including Howland High School juniors Tiana Anthony and Rachel Helmick, enjoyed interacting with two of the facility’s cats, Pinky and Mittens, both of which are paraplegics.

“We go around volunteering at local animal shelters as much as possible,” said Tiana, who, along with Rachel, is part of Paws with a Cause, an animal-rights group formed two years ago at their school.

Alexis James, a 2016 Howland High graduate, started the group, which has monthly fundraisers during the school year, as well as two larger annual events, to benefit area animal shelters, Rachel noted. A May fundraiser brought in $2,800 for the Trumbull County Dog Pound, she continued.

Providing the entertainment were JD Eicher and the Goodnights as well as Amanda Jones and the Everyday America Family Band. Other offerings were a basket auction, a 50/50 raffle, cornhole games and vendors.

Those interested in taking home cats and kittens should adopt from shelters that provide spaying and neutering services beforehand so as to reduce the number of unwanted litters, Koocher noted. She also advised people to adopt indoor cats, which tend to be healthier, safer and live longer than those left outdoors.

“No cat ever got hit by a car by walking across the living room,” she added.

To volunteer or make a donation, call the shelter at 330-792-4CAT (4228), or go to www.westsidecats.org.