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--> --> C.A.T.S. volunteer Jan Whetstone towels off two freshly bathed kittens awaiting adoption. Ashland Daily Tidings/VICKIE ALDOUS Cat No. 3,000 will find a home By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Any day now, the 3,000th cat will leave the hands of devoted volunteers and staff at the Committed Alliance to Strays organization and start a new life in a caring home. C.A.T.S. members will waive the $50 adoption fee and send the vaccinated cat away with a $50 gift certificate for vet services at Orchard Hill Veterinary Clinic, toys from Apollo Pet Supply, a free micro-chip identification from Rogue Animal Hospital, a cat bed, scratching post and other gifts. "Over the past 12 years, we've been keeping track of who is adopted out," said Laura Meckel, an Ashland resident and the C.A.T.S. program director. "We know our 3,000th cat is coming up. We want to celebrate that we've found homes for 3,000 cats." Felines currently available for adoption at the C.A.T.S. shelter at 104 N. Ross Lane in Medford range from kittens to older cats left homeless when their owners died, moved away or abandoned them. The kittens and cats spend most of the day in roomy cages, but are rotated out on a daily basis to romp with companions, chase ribbons and toy mice or snuggle with people in the various rooms of the shelter. Each cage features a card giving information about its occupant, such as whether the cat gets along with dogs or other cats. C.A.T.S. grew out of very modest beginnings in December 1989 when five people rescued cats and kittens living outside a shopping center in Medford. For the first few weeks, they cared for the animals in an unheated barn, sometimes having to break the ice in the cats' water bowls, members recalled. Realizing the situation had to change, founding members Ann and John Hurd cared for the cats in their garage for the rest of the winter. Members bought a small trailer to house the animals the following summer and offered the cats for adoption at Rogue Valley Mall. C.A.T.S. got a big boost in 1995 when a benefactor offered the use of the property at their current location and bought them a modular building for use as a shelter. The two current staff members at the shelter are aided by veterinarians Dwight Sinner and Dale Bush, as well as about 70 volunteers from throughout the Rogue Valley who clean cat cages, answer phones, help with fundraisers and off-site adoptions, do computer work and towel off freshly bathed animals. Before being adopted, all cats are screened for diseases, treated for medical conditions and given vaccinations. The shelter adopts out between 370 and 400 cats per year and will keep a cat until it finds a home. The longest term resident of the shelter stayed for two and a half years before being adopted, according to Meckel. "Sometimes it just takes the right person to come along," she said. For more information about C.A.T.S., call 779-2916 or visit the Web site www.kittensandcats.org Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing