I was invited to tour a local Muskegon Township shelter called Faithful to Felines, located at
2525 Hall Rd Muskegon, MI
just east of the corner of the Sheridan and Hall Rd intersection.
I am sorry to admit that the sad faced, starved, dirty, abused looking animals in the begging for money TV and print ads tainted my first thoughts about what I was about to see. BUT I WAS WRONG!!!
Faithful to Felines is a beautiful 'home' for cats.
Sheri, one of the volunteers met me for the tour of this beautiful sanctuary that is home to these lucky felines waiting for their new families to take them to their forever homes.
My first stop was also the first stop for any new cat, a room for the first exam to determine their condition, as they reach their new home as strays that have been abandoned or become feral, they are scared, hungry and may have fleas, ear mites etc that require treatment and care before they can be placed with other cats. Some may even have other health issues that must be dealt with before they reach general population.
Next is a place for exams and medical procedures
they can do on site.
The only paid staff are the Vet and Vet Tech,
all the others are volunteers.
Next Sheri took me to the cat rooms.
Each room had 9 to 10 cats all roaming freely. The rooms were
all decorated for fun, colorful cat perches and toys, individual beds and places to sit and climb, windows to look out, crates for a little quiet time alone if they needed it and lots of room to tumble and play and stretch and just be a cat.
The cats were friendly, loved attention, seemed happy to all be together, were litter trained and eager to entertain.
It was easy to see that the volunteers have spent a lot of time with them and they would make excellent family pets.
Every room was different, in beds and colors and cats were just as friendly and sweet.
Big cats, little cats, long hair, short hair, blue eyes, green eyes, some a little shy and some big lovers.
Everything must be washable as it needs to be reused again and again as the shelter houses about 100 cats on site and averages about 75 in foster homes off site.
They have a place to keep all the beds, towels and blankets, toys and food and kitty litter stored.
They also have a community room for you to take a cat for some one on one time and even an outside secure play area.
Faithful to Felines is open for you to adopt or just visit and play with the cats on:
Monday 11am to 2pm
Wednesday 6pm to 7:30pm
Saturday 11am to 2pm
They can also be contacted at
231-327-7627
You can also adopt from this wonderful group at
Petco on Harvey St on Saturday Noon to 4pm
Adoption cost is $70
All the cats have been spayed or neutered
Are up to date on vaccinations
Have been tested for Feline Lukemia Virus (FeLV) &
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)
If you are looking for a cat this is the place to get one.
If you are not sure about adopting yet, maybe you should try being a foster cat owner for a while, they are in need of people to foster cats until homes can be found, it is trial run on cat ownership
and helps a with a great need.
Faithful to Felines also has a wish list that is filled by their community "Friends".
"Adopt a Cat Room"
You can adopt one of the community rooms that the cats live in.
Cost is $40 a month, a special plaque will hang outside that door for the month naming you as sponsor.
Needed Items List
Laundry soap
Bleach
small blankets
pet beds
cat toys
pet carriers
kitty litter
cash donations for needed items are always welcome and cover medical supplies medications, surgical supplies,
special diet foods, etc.
Some of the Volunteers with Faithful to Felines also work with a program called TNR, a feral cat Trap Neuter & Release project that works with West Michigan Spay and Neuter.
Muskegon County has seen an increase in the population of feral cats. These cats for all practical purposes have become "wild" they have adapted to the outdoors and are no longer pets. They now roam freely and breed indiscriminately with family pet cats that are allowed outside, or other feral cats.
Volunteers traps these cats and kittens when possible. The kittens are then adopted out and the cats spayed or neutered, if the cat is found to be feral it is released once it has its ear marked so it is identifiable as a TNR cat.
Sometimes the cat is not a feral and just ended up either caught in the trap because it was let outside or had been abandoned or was stray or lost in that case they are admitted the the shelter or fostered until they can be adopted.
(The ear corner of this cat's ear has been
trimmed to indicate a TNR, but it was not feral it was very tame and friendly and happy to be back inside at
the shelter, looking for a new home )
Thank you to Sheri Hillard and Faithful to Felines for the invitation to visit,
I loved finding out more about your wonderful service to our community, and really enjoyed the cats.
I am not so sure that my Jack Russell and Labradoodle
would like a cat, but I plan to be back just to play
with the sweet ones you have.
You can also count on me to sponsor a room, and I will be picking out some really cute PINK cat toys and blankets to decorate my room during my sponsorship.
Commissioner Susie Hughes
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