Orphan Angels hopes to add cat wellness center at West Lake Road shelter in Millcreek
Orphan Angels Cat Sanctuary and Adoption Center is asking Millcreek Township's permission to add a wellness clinic to its building on West Lake Road at Clifford Drive, just east of the Millfair Road roundabout.
The shelter has applied for a variance to build a 900-square-foot addition at the back of its building to house the clinic, which would offer vaccinations, spaying and neutering for cats.
The variance is required because the shelter is a non-conforming use in a district zoned for neighborhood mixed-used development, including homes, restaurants and shops. Animal shelters and clinics are not specifically permitted in the district, though pet day care and grooming businesses are.
The Millcreek Township Zoning Hearing Board will hold a public hearing on the variance request on March 13.
The proposed clinic is part of a $500,000 project to make the shelter safer and more appealing for both cats and volunteers, said Orphan Angels Executive Director MaryGrace Lacoste.
"The building wasn't designed for cats. With drop ceilings, for one thing, cats find their way up and into the rafters and can fall or jump down into our leukemia and medical isolation rooms or other parts of the building. It's unsafe," Lacoste said.
What improvements are planned?
In addition to new ceilings, the shelter hopes to create small rooms to replace stacked cages used to contain kittens, new arrivals and timid cats so that visitors can walk in and interact with the occupants. Most cats at the shelter roam free.
The stacked cages not only separate cats from visitors and volunteers but also are hard to clean. Volunteers have to bend down to reach the lower cages and stretch to reach the upper ones.
Also planned are new counters and other surfaces that are easy to clean and could reduce the hours that volunteers donate to the shelter daily.
"The goal is for a more safe environment and a more beautiful environment for everyone," Lacoste said, "and maybe to reduce the time that our volunteers put in."
Jayne Bollman has volunteered as many as six days a week at Orphan Angels since it opened in 2008 in a small rented space on West Eighth Street at Pittsburgh Avenue.
"There just aren't enough volunteers," Bollman said, to do what needs to be done daily to care for rescued and surrendered felines.
Orphan Angels currently houses 71 cats. Another 61 are in foster care.
"That's actually the lowest number we've had since I've been here," Lacoste said. Lacoste became executive director of the shelter in 2020 and previously volunteered in other capacities. "We've slowed down our intake because we're hoping to start construction. We will get as many cats as we can into foster care so that they aren't stressed by the work."
Lacoste is hopeful that the center will get the variance to add the wellness clinic.
"We're not opening a bar or operating at night, and there won't be dogs barking," she said. "We're providing a good service to the community."
The Millcreek Township Zoning Hearing Board will consider the variance request March 13 at 6 p.m. at the Millcreek Township Municipal Building, 3608 W. 26th St.
Orphan Angels has been in its current location since 2011. The nonprofit first leased the building and later bought it with donations from a small but generous group of supporters, according to its website.
Donations — of time, money, food, litter and other supplies — keep the shelter afloat, Lacoste said, and include a generous donation to help fund the planned renovations and expansion. Adoption fees don't cover the costs of deworming, vaccinations, spaying and neutering, microchipping, food, utilities and other animal care and shelter costs.
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Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Cat shelter hopes to add wellness center at Millcreek PA facility
