Saturday, May 14, 2016
YOUNGSTOWN
Abandoned cats find homes in cozy rooms at the volunteer-run West Side Cats facility at 2217 Mahoning Ave.
West Side Cats, a no-kill shelter, caters to all cats, including those sick and handicapped.
“Everybody stays if they don’t get adopted,” said volunteer Pat McCamy. “This is their home.”
The shelter is hosting its first garage-sale fundraiser of the season. It began Friday and continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
Pillows, purses, meowing puffballs and more are available at the sale, which also is accepting donated items for resale.
Sale proceeds go entirely back into West Side Cats. All employees are volunteers. What doesn’t sell during the weekend will be available at the next sale.
Because West Side Cats takes cats of all kinds, operating expenses run high at the facility.
Volunteer Kim Koocher said last year, the organization spent more than $33,000 in vet bills alone.
Howard, a stray cat who came in with eye problems, has become a favorite of the volunteers.
Volunteer Marianne Bernard said West Side Cats takes in a lot of animals other people would euthanize.
Once Howard was processed, West Side’s go-to vet services, Donald K. Allen Veterinary on Market Street, took the feline into surgery to restore his sight. The cost: $650.
Howard is now a functioning 3-year-old, friendly cat who greets guests with a gentle nudge to pet him.
The downside to catering to sick cats, Koocher said, is the return isn’t very much.
Cats with disabilities cost $50, a fraction of what it cost to help Howard return to full health.
“That’s not the point of what we do. The point is, he’s loved and he deserved to be saved,” Koocher said.
Healthy cats also are costly. All cats adopted from West Side Cats are spayed or neutered, up-to-date on shots, tested for feline leukemia and other diseases, dewormed and treated for fleas.
“We want to give the cats the best shot we can,” Koocher said.
At the end of the day, volunteers agreed: The cats are worth it.
“God had to put somebody over these animals to take care of them because they can’t do it for themselves,” said volunteer Janet Trevathan.