RUMFORD — Every Thursday, a small group of clients from Hope Association travels to the Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills at 9 Lower Swallow Road in South Paris to visit the cats.
They bring sewn blankets for the cages, do some cleaning, fill the water and food bowls, and socialize with the cats, which love the attention.
“It started as we were sending blankets and towels. Then we discovered that they were trying to wash and recycle them,” said Vickie Morton, director of Community Supports for Hope, based at 85 Lincoln Ave. in Rumford. “They have these crates that are a certain size for the kitty cages.”
Hope Association provides residential, vocational, community support and case management services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“So, we decided to show our sewing skills,” Morton said. “We have a template and they just cut out the size to fit the cage. They use their skills to just round off the edges.”
Morton said they are constantly receiving donations of old quilts and blankets. Rather than throw out the damaged ones, they decided to repurpose them.
They also discovered that kittens and cats don’t like eating and drinking from bowls that hit their neck.
“We have these saucers and tea cups that might be chipped or whatever. We were just throwing them away because we can’t sell them. Come to find out, the cats and kittens like the flat saucers,” Morton said.
While working on making cat blankets at Hope Association, the clients learned about the cats they visit. Donna Melville has a favorite kitty there, called Myia. Karin Steinhort has one she likes, too, a black cat. Shawna Cormier has not been to the animal shelter yet, but she loves her cats, Bridget and Brandy.
Shirley Boyce, president of the board of directors for Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills, said the no-kill shelter has about 20 volunteers.
“When you run an animal shelter, everything makes a difference. We have a lot of different things that go into it. We have a lot of people who come here to visit,” she said.
Boyce said that their cat room is a great place for the Hope Association clients to spend time with the animals and use life skills.
“We have this room at the shelter where these cats run free and it’s a perfect place for agencies like that to come with their clients and hang out with the cats,” she said. “They use some cleaning skills. They sweep the floor while they’re here and they fill the water and food bowls. And it’s just really cool.
“They all pull up and they all pile in. They’re all excited. And the animals just love the attention,” Boyce added. “The staff, we just don’t have the capacity to pay them to hang out with the animals. Our staff has to do the nitty-gritty, the cleaning and the nasty stuff.”
Boyce said the Hope Association clients do not interact with dogs because it could be dangerous, “but for the cats, yes, the more people they see, the more social they get, the more adoptable they are. That’s awesome. So, I love it when groups come. The more, the merrier.”
She said the shelter’s mission to save animals that people have cast off is shared with Hope Association.
“We’re just so grateful to have them come,” she said. “They’re very generous and very kind, and we just love it.”
There are about 70 cats at the shelter.
“And we have a lot of pregnant females that are going to give birth, so the census will really rise high in the summer,” Boyce said. “Sometimes we’re up to 150. So, there’s real challenges with cats right now.”
Morton said Hope Association is looking for sewing enthusiasts to help make cat blankets for the Responsible Pet Care Animal Shelter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hope Association, 85 Lincoln Ave., Rumford. They’ve got the supplies, but volunteers can bring their own sewing machine or old blankets to repurpose. For more information, call 207-364-4561.
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