Catty Shack

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By Brandy Nance (Contact)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Photo by Brandy Nance

Mazie Kolterman, 10, of Emporia plays with a kitten.

Homeless cats in Emporia have a new place to call home — The Catty Shack.

The Catty Shack, 1018 Commercial St., will open to the public on Aug. 19. It will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Catty Shack already has several cat residents. The house the Catty Shack is in was donated to the H. Dale Buck Animal Welfare Fund. A majority of the second floor of the house is dedicated to a home for cats and kittens. One room is the quarantine room where cats and kittens remain for 14 days before they can be placed in the rooms with the adoptable cats and kittens. Inside each of the rooms are cat toys, beds and places for the cats to play. MiChielle Cooper, executive director of the Buck Fund, said there is a great need for a place for cats and kittens to go as there aren’t many foster homes for the animals and the ones that do exist are full to the brim.

Photo by Brandy Nance

A cat waiting for adoption is bathed in sunlight by a window at the Buck Fund’s new Catty Shack, a fostering and adoption center in downtown Emporia.

“We will house some of the cats and kittens available for adoption here,” Cooper said. “Dogs and puppies will still be fostered in private homes, and all overflow kitties will be fostered in two additional homes.”

A large open room upstairs will be the visitation room where people can interact with pets they are looking to adopt.

The Buck Fund house doesn’t just house the Catty Shack, however. The first level of the house is dedicated to education and resources for the public. The Buck Fund has applied for a grant to stock the library resource room. The house is a pick-up and drop off point for the Neuter Scooter, the Buck Fund’s low-cost spay and neuter program. The Buck Fund house will be set up as a hub for the public, Cooper said. People will be able to use a computer to look up adoptable pets and use other resources the Buck Fund has.

Photo by Brandy Nance

A cat leaves a cat playhouse the Catty Shack.

“Anyone will be able to come to the office during those open hours to pick up spay/neuter applications, look online at our pets available for adoption and fill out an adoption application,” Cooper said. “This will just be the hub of everything.”

The Buck Fund is seeking a sign to go in front of the building, Cooper said. Cooper said she wants ideas for the sign and the design.

“We want it to be unique and original,” she said. “People will be able to see it from the street.”

Cooper said the Buck Fund house offers a great opportunity for the Buck Fund and the public.

“We are trying to make it as interactive as possible,” she said. “The location is perfect. We just want people to feel like there’s somewhere to go.”