By Ryan Spoehr
SLN STAFF
After a fire next to the Touched by a Paw cat shelter earlier this month, operations have been moved to smaller quarters.
The cats, aside from a few that are still being treated at a local veterinary hospital, are being housed in a much smaller facility that does not allow for them to play outside their cages.
“There are still six at the vet. We don’t have room for them here,” said Janna Durhop of Touched by a Paw.
There were 64 cats in the facility at the time of the fire.
At the main facility, there are two floors with large areas for storage. Now, it’s just tables in the garage and some room for donations that have trickled in, like cat food.
“We don’t have any cabinetry, but we do have the basics from donations from people who want to help us out,” Durhop said.
People at Touched by a Paw anticipate operations of the shelter will not go back to the main site for another 3-4 weeks.
For now, there is a heater in the temporary facility that automatically starts when the interior temperature drops to 63 degrees.
When the fire happened Oct. 7, all the cats were rescued, but the identification was misplaced initially because of the chaos of the situation.
Durhop didn’t know what to think when she first heard the news, she said.
“I cried all the way there,” she said.
From there, volunteers transported cats with SUVs and trucks.
“We were just going from cat to cat. They were drooling and breathing heavy. Then the vet came and took them to the hospital, but they are all doing alright,” Durhop said.
“It’s been quite an ordeal,” Durhop said.
With temperatures dropping outside and now the confines of Touched by a Paw have significantly shrunk unexpectedly, workers at the shelter are making a call out to the public with the kittens in mind.
“If you are thinking about adopting, this is the time to do it. The cats can’t go out and exercise,” Durhop said.
There are two playpens at the main facility and when cages were cleaned, cats were allowed to play on the floor.
Last Saturday, people from the area and all throughout southeastern Wisconsin went to the temporary facility to meet the cats and possibly adopt.
“We opened it up today, and people have come and visited, and they need to do that,” Durhop said.
Amanda Kolmp, of New Berlin, was one of the people who went to the temporary facility to adopt a cat last Saturday. She adopted a cat named Toby.
“I have a cat named Bam Bam who I rescued from an abusive home when he was three. I’ve wanted to get a new cat because I had to put my other cat, Leroy, down,” Kolymp said.
A friend of her’s, who is from Whitewater, encouraged her to go after the fire.
“Bam has been lonely so he’ll have a new friend,” Kolmp said.
“(Toby) seems like a cool cat,” she added. “I would just encourage people to come out and adopt. It’s so hard to see them cooped up like this and they are so sweet.”
A familiar face went to the shelter as well. Kathy Dempster, the former vice president of the facility, also stopped by.
Dempster, who now lives in Mukwonago, said she was on a trip up north when she heard about the fire, and stopped all her plans to return to the area.
“I get all my cats here. They’re just wonderful cat,” Dempster said. “Thank goodness none of them died, but I know what is going to devastate them is the bill of the vet.”
“I support them 100 percent,” Dempster added. “It broke my heart. It took so long for them to get to where they are with all the love they put into this. It was heartbreaking to hear what happened. It was devastating.”
Durhop said it was important for a day like Saturday to occur for all the cats.
“They need to be held and loved,” Durhop said. “This has been such a shock to them. They don’t know what has happened.”
Durhop said the vet bill keeps climbing, and she does not know how the shelter will be able to pay it.
In an effort to help, a GoFundMe account has been set up by Barbara Heath, of Elkhorn, to help Touched by a Paw with the vet bills and other expenses related to it being displaced. Earlier this week, $4,580 had been raised. To donate, go to https://www.gofundme.com/help-touched-by-a-paw.
Touched by a Paw has been at its Main Street facility for 26 years. It had just been remodeled last year.
Those interested in adopting may contact Touched by a Paw at [email protected].
