What’re you looking at? This gang of kittens is available, along

When Don Olson, 49, of Gilroy was laid off last year from his
job at Applied Materials, Inc., he lost his apartment. Olson and
his cat, JR, were forced to live in the car. Olson recently got a
job at Safeway, and managed to locate friends to stay with until he
gets back on his feet.
But throughout the ordeal, Olson worried about his 5-year-old
male cat, JR.
When Don Olson, 49, of Gilroy was laid off last year from his job at Applied Materials, Inc., he lost his apartment. Olson and his cat, JR, were forced to live in the car. Olson recently got a job at Safeway, and managed to locate friends to stay with until he gets back on his feet.

But throughout the ordeal, Olson worried about his 5-year-old male cat, JR. “He takes care of me,” Olson said. “He’s more than just a cat. He’s my friend, my little kid, my 5-year-old,” said the divorced and childless Olson. “I didn’t want JR to die in the car. I didn’t want to turn him over to the SPCA. They’d euthanize him.”

So the unemployed former quality assurance inspector arranged with Rosi Mirko, founder and director of Town Cats, a nonprofit, no-kill cat and kitten adoption center in Morgan Hill, to house JR temporarily.

Olson calls on his white, tabby-marked cat whenever he has free time, and recently brought JR a hawk feather from Sprig Lake. “JR loved it,” Olson said. “He wouldn’t stop playing with it.” Olson plans to volunteer for Town Cats. “I’m so grateful. I am definitely taking JR back,” Olson said.

“JR is real sweet,” said Mirko whose shelter permit allows 90 cats. Felines paw back and forth behind a door full of pretty white wreaths. Town Cats is a homey converted maintenance shop where kittens are ferried out to foster homes. Nearby is a small colony of feral cats. An open house is planned on National Feral Cat Day on Oct. 16 to teach people how to deal with feral cats.

JR has lots of company, but he’s one of the luckiest cats. Many of his compatriots arrived at Town Cats as castoffs.

Mirko, 46, began her project when she noticed feral cats living in the bushes outside her former insurance agency. “They had no resources,” Mirko said. “The county shelters would put them to sleep. They had no room.” With her husband, Albert, a mechanic, she decided to do something. Now the shelter, founded in the early 1990s, has about 20 volunteers. It needs more, as well as litter, food, and help at local adoption fairs.

How do pets end up with her? Owners giving up their animals is one of the main reasons, Mirko said.

Her place is small, cozy and offers everything from tabby to tomcat the personal touch. Mirko also takes supportive- and preventive-care steps. “We first encourage people to keep their pets. We are a last resort,” said Mirko, who said she adopts out 900 felines a year.

Cats of every stripe and color prowl around tall, condominium constructions, peeking out, sleeping and preening at the adoption center. Adoptions are by appointment only.

Albert Mirko played with a clutch of the pouncers by swishing a red laser light at them. They crept and hopped, trying to swat the light, which he shot from a machine-shop level. “They love this,” he said. There was Jaguar, the 4-year-old, Russian Blue and Dolly, a 12-week-old feral kitten, who was trapped at the Golden Oak in Morgan Hill. “Ferals can be handled when they are kittens,” Rosi Mirko said.

Prospective pet owners sign an agreement and are followed up. Prior to adoption, cats and kittens are thoroughly examined and treated, including being spayed and neutered, getting their shots and undergoing flea control.

“They’re peaceful animals. This center is, for me, a form of relaxation,” Rosi Mirko said.

Are dogs and cats from adoption centers different from those that are bought? “In general, they compare favorably,” said veterinarian Jerry Leroux of Hollister Veterinary Clinic. “Shelter animals may suffer a certain neglect, but you may see as many regular pets as problem pets.”

Kennel cough, fleas, ticks, worms and internal parasites, however, are things to look for when considering a shelter pet, said veterinarian Daniel Gregg of Morgan Hill Animal Hospital. “You need to be aware of potential problems, but I think adoption is a good thing. There’s a lot to be said about responsible ownership.”

“Pets go to shelters most often because the owners haven’t helped them to attain the social graces,” said veterinarian Greg Martinez of Gilroy Veterinary Hospital. “I don’t see dogs or cats that have problems. I see humans that do. It’s more that the pets weren’t properly trained.”

At Pet Friends, a nonprofit, no-kill adoption center tucked over a five-acre site in Hollister, volunteers and donations help care for its 60-plus cats and kittens and a half-dozen lovable dogs. “We are proud of this facility and we’re fairly selective about who we adopt to,” said Gayle Jackson, board president and volunteer.

The center is open from 10am to 2pm Friday through Monday and by appointment. There are 10 dog runs, as well as adult cat and kitten rooms, outdoor and indoor condos and cages, and an isolation room for special conditions. The “Florida Room” is a large porch for cats and affords high beams that felines like, Jackson, said.

“We try to take in adoptable pets, and we try to encourage a homelike atmosphere,” she said.

At intake, cats and dogs are examined, tested for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and leukemia, spayed or neutered, flea-foamed and given the necessary shots before adoption, Jackson said.

Spock, a 2-year-old black lab, has been there almost two years. “He will make a wonderful dog,” said Jackson, “though he gets excited when people meet him, and aggressive. Once you know him, he’s a good dog.”

Pet Friends’ volunteer force includes its 13 board members as well as part-time care workers and two caretakers. The center makes the rounds of area stores to display animals and holds several fund-raisers. Money is a never-ending concern.

“We’d like not to have to work so hard at fund-raisers, but we do as many as we need,” Jackson said. The Autumn Yard Sale is Oct. 9 and 10, and items and volunteers are sought.

Mio, a long-haired, white domestic male cat, sat fat and happy on top of the copier machine at the entry to the center. Suddenly, Mio spied a bird outdoors. “He loves windows. He’s a window cat and lives in our front room,” said Gayle, “but he can be shy.”

A kitten named Coco was found in a construction yard in Hollister, Gayle said. “She was very brown, and now she’s getting gray. Her rescuer thought, at first, it was a rat!”

Coco swung contentedly in a hammock, visited by Tanner, a black 14-week-old male, who went into and out of her cage.

At the dog run, Stewie and Janie, lab-cross puppies, cavorted. They came from a county shelter and were rescued from death row, Jackson said. “Our coordinator couldn’t stand it, and she brought them in.”

Billy, a cattle dog, mugged next door. “You guys are all good today. Are you on valium?” Jackson, 50, a former animal health technician, joked. “I’ve always loved welfare animals. We just want good, safe, loving homes for them.”

Places to adopt pets

Pet Friends, P. O. Box 1191, 2975 Buena Vista Rd., Hollister, 95024, Phone: (831) 634-1191, E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.petfriends.org

Town Cats, P. O. Box 1828, Morgan Hill, 95038-1828, Phone: (408) 779-5761, E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.towncats.org

Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter, P. O. Box 526, San Martin, 95046, Phone: 408-683-4186, E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.fosmas.org

The Nike Animal Rescue Foundation, P. O. Box 26587, San Jose, 95159, foster homes in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, Phones: (408) 224-6273 (dogs), (408) 946-2291 (cats), E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.narfrescue.org

Hollister Animal Shelter, 375 Fifth St. Hollister, CA 95023 (831) 636-4320

E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.hollister.ca.gov/site/html/gov/office/aniCtrl.asp

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