NEWBERRY — Cat Haven Development unveiled its first two homeless cat houses on Friday, October 11.
Built by the students of the Newberry Career Center, the homes are made of wood, completed with plastic flap doors, insulation, a slanted tin roof and hay bedding on the inside. The houses provide adequate protection from the weather and elements for the cats, while also remaining a comfortable place for them to stay. The houses are a step up from what they were when Cashia Gauci, president of Cat Haven Development, started.
“Definitely a lot of progress because we started with these plastic bins. They were pretty flimsy, not really that durable. Now here we are, working with the woodworking class, making these sturdy, beautiful giant houses,” said Gauci.
The houses are to provide shelter for the stray cats around Newberry County, as well as help control the populations by giving the cats a central community to eat and sleep. The central community allows for an easier time catching the cats to spay and neuter, helping control populations. They also help bring the community of Newberry closer to one another.
Whether it was the students working together on the houses, community members buying and figuring out the placing of one of the houses, the efforts to ensure the houses could be built and/or those that came to support the ribbon cutting, people were brought together by the project in many different ways.
“I’m just trying to get the community involved and I hope that this project can continue to bring everybody together, but also help with the feral cat population,” Gauci said. “It feels very rewarding just because there’s so much effort put behind this project. And I’m just really glad that the community came together and managed to make these houses.
Members of City Council, Newberry’s Chief Building Inspector Wayne Redfern, students of the Newberry Career Center and St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church and more helped support Cat Haven Development through donations and supplies to ensure the houses were built. Artist of Octopus Ink, Ricardo Ramirez, painted one of the houses, covering it with cat paws, faces and meows.
The houses are limited with only a few being built a year. Businesses with stray cats in the area are asked to consider purchasing a house to give the cats a safe place to sleep. Each house is sold at the cost of building supplies. Those who are interested can contact Dee Gauci at 803-227-9013.
Cat Haven Development also wanted to remind Newberry that every dollar donated to the Newberry Human Society is used to help care for county animals whether they are sheltered or homed. Fostering, as well as building homes for stray cats, saves lives.