GREENFIELD — A trio of kittens were among a handful of felines vying for attention at the grand opening of the Paw Print Alley cattery, a new cat adoption facility operated by the Partners for Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.).
About two dozen people attended the open house Sunday at 1224 W. Main St. in Greenfield.
The adoption center is within the same strip mall as the P.A.W.S. office, located just across the hall.
Volunteers have been hard at work transforming the recently vacated space into a comfortable, visually appealing place for cats and kittens to bide their time until being adopted into forever homes.
The nonprofit’s biggest financial backers voted to name the facility Paw Print Alley, which has been designed to look like a quaint little town.
Ten cat condos are hidden behind decorative wood doors covered in welded wire fencing to keep the frisky cats and kittens safely in place. The walls surrounding the pens are painted in bold colors to represent a row of brightly painted historic buildings you might find just down the road on Main Street.
“We wanted to create a park-like setting,” said P.A.W.S. board president Jason Taylor as he pointed out the decorative park benches and street light at the front of the cattery, where the public is invited to interact with the cats.
The streetlight comes on each night at dusk, signaling to the cats that it’s nearly time for bed, and a television is set round-the-clock to “Cat TV,” which features a live stream of birds, squirrels and other wildlife from a landscaped backyard.
A flurry of cats and kittens darted around the room and wove their way between the feet of guests at Sunday’s open house.
A young kitten named Harold and his brothers, Norman and Melvin, proved to be little bundles of energy, bounding across the wood floor and playfully poking their heads out of a toy tunnel that looks like a log.
About 10 cats live in the cattery at any given time while the rest of the adoptable cats, dogs and rabbits under P.A.W.S.’ care live with foster families.
The nonprofit hosts adoption events at the PetSmart store in Greenfield from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the third and fourth Saturdays of each month, but can also schedule them at other times.
“Ideally most of our adoptions would take place there, but we can also do them here,” said Taylor.
“Typically, we’ll put (adoptable cats) in foster homes to get them socialized and ready, then this is like a hotel for them on the way to PetSmart, where we do most of our adoptions,” he said.
The cheerful-looking cattery is a pleasant place for the public to interact with potential pets.
The nearly 1,000-square-foot space is the newest addition to the P.A.W.S.’ rental property, which includes a 1,400-square-foot office, meeting space and retail shop across the hall.
Taylor said the nonprofit’s team of roughly 75 volunteers is constantly working to promote spay/neuter services and match pets up with their forever homes, “but we could always use more volunteers,” he said.
P.A.W.S. was founded in 2000 by animal advocate Nancy Rubino, who passed away in 2019.
“We’ve been able to keep it going in her memory,” said Taylor, who frequently fosters dogs for P.A.W.S..
He was thrilled to see such a strong showing of support at Sunday’s open house, and to hear the positive comments about the new cattery.
Taylor also commended the Community Foundation of Hancock County for continuously supporting the nonprofit through grant money, a portion of which went towards creating Paw Print Alley.
The cattery relies solely on grants and public donations, said Taylor, who encourages the public to get involved by donating and becoming a volunteer.
The nonprofit’s next fundraiser is a bowling event called Pins for P.A.W.S., held at Strike Force Lanes in Greenfield from 5-9 p.m. April 6.
“We can use all the support we can get,” said Taylor as an affectionate feline named EJ snuggled into his chest.
For more information about P.A.W.S. or the animals for adoption, visit PAWShancock.org.
