Cat shelter undergoes major changes
by Ryn Gargulinski on Jul. 04, 2008, under Local, Special
Gypsy is looking for a permanent home.
The longstanding Hermitage Cat Shelter has undergone cataclysmic changes.
A 100 percent turnover in staff, the switch to new veterinarian services and the euthanasia of about 40 felines were part of the overhaul.
The most dramatic change was a shift in philosophy. The no-kill shelter, 5278 E. 21st St., was set up by a Russian Orthodox nun in 1965 as purely a sanctuary for unwanted cats. But the Hermitage’s main mission now is to find the animals permanent homes.
Not everyone is happy about the changes, especially the group of about 50 folks who formed the Coalition to Save the Hermitage Cat Shelter.
Coalition member Katy Heck, who quit working at the shelter about two years ago for personal reasons, said the coalition has sent letters to donors and supporters letting them know about the changes.
Heck, who runs a pet-sitting business and employs at least three former shelter workers, said Hermitage’s board of directors and new management are not disclosing what’s being done at the 43-year-old shelter.
“Things change,” said Mary Jo Spring, who has a 15-year background in nonprofits and was hired as executive director about two years ago to revamp the shelter.
“The shelter will always continue to be a lifelong refuge for those kitties who will not be adopted, but the new emphasis has been to find forever homes for our cats.”
Even cats with special needs – those with spraying problems, ailments or disease – have been finding homes.
“People sometimes come in looking specifically for special needs cats,” Spring said.
Adoptions have jumped from an average of six per month to 30 in June alone, she said. Ten were cats with special needs.
New veterinarian services have also been brought in from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, which saves the shelter thousands of dollars, Spring said.
Services are provided by Humane Society vet Karter Neal, who has a vast background with shelter animals, she said.
The shelter’s 200-plus cats are in the process of getting exams, which led to the euthanasia of 40 cats in the last several months.
“People say, how can you kill cats if you are a no-kill shelter,” Spring said.
If a cat is suffering or has no hope for treatment, it is only humane to have them euthanized, she said.
“Like you would do for a pet,” she added.
The staff of at least 12 who were in place before Spring’s hire are gone. The employees either quit or were fired, most within the past several months. Longtime volunteers have been told they were no longer welcome.
“When I came here, staff and volunteers ran the shelter,” Spring said. “And here comes this executive director. People got mad, mad because we had policies and volunteers were not making the decisions.”
She said some were also distraught when longtime cats, formerly deemed unadoptable, found permanent homes.
“They were upset because their buddies were gone,” Spring said. “We don’t deem animals unadoptable anymore.”
A “Piddle Program” helps place cats that tend to spray all over, breaking their habits with special litter and a holistic flower extract.
Free vet care for life entices others to consider adopting cats plagued with feline diseases.
Other programs have been established to work with Pima Animal Care Center, helping to rescue its overflow of cats and kittens.
Former employees and volunteers, however, have been denied adoption privileges.
“I got wind they were going to scoop up all the cats so I put a moratorium on adoptions to them,” Spring said.
She said dissenters or bad feelings aside, the foremost concern should be caring for the cats.
“Does that seem like a way to care for the cats?” she asked.
For more information on the shelter or its programs, call 571-7839.
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On the Web
The Hermitage www.hermitagecatshelter.org
