Article in the Mansfield News Journal

By: Karen Palmer.

 Date in 05/25/03

LUCAS -- The phone rang at 10 o'clock one winter night. "Heather, there's a cat that's been hit in the drive-through," the caller said.

Heather and John Altman were on their way, armed with leather gloves and other necessities for corralling a cat. When they arrived at the fast-food restaurant off Hanley Road, the Altmans managed to catch the little cat amid hissing, growling and biting.

The brown tiger cat was bundled off to Horizon Animal Hospital in Galion, where Dr. John Shuler told them the cat hadn't been hit. Rather, he wasn't able to walk on his back legs because well-meaning folks had been feeding him mainly restaurant roast beef and he had a vitamin B deficiency.

Because the small cat reminded Heather Altman of a puffy screech owl, she named him Screech and took him home to nurse back to health. She had to hold him up so he could use the sandbox and fed him a balanced diet.

The gentle cat has a permanent home with the Altmans and now is poster boy for Kats-n-Kittens, an adoption and rescue operation the couple have at their 21/2-acre country home.

"I just grew really attached to Screech," 30-year-old Heather said. Green-eyed Screech is one of a whole caboodle of cats and kittens the husband and wife have rescued for about seven years, though Kats-n-Kittens officially began in December 2001.

The no-kill shelter has about 74 rescued cats and kittens currently. The Altmans trap feral cats and have them spayed or neutered, then release them if the cats don't seem tamable. They've trapped wild cats at the Butler feed mill and Westfield Shoppingtown Richland. They cage sick, feral or nursing mothers with their kittens.

Newcomers are isolated for one to two weeks to determine their state of health. Cats are tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), vaccinated and wormed, spayed or neutered at Wyandot County Humane Society in Upper Sandusky, nursed back to health and then put up for adoption.

The Altmans take cats to Dr. John Shuler in Galion for general health problems and major medical treatment. Dr. Robert Snyder in Bellville spays and neuters feral cats found in the Butler area, Heather said.

Cheryl Jarvis of Butler helps with foster care and trapping feral cats along with other day-to-day operations. Other volunteers help with feeding and feline foster care. Heather gets the word out about adoptable cats through newspaper ads, word-of-mouth, and the Web site, www.katsnkittens.com.

Often the cat adopts the person instead of the other way around, she said. Heather remembers someone who came in asking for a tiny orange kitten and left happily with a 3-year-old black and white cat.

"Usually the cat will pick them," she said knowingly. A tall, dark-haired woman, Heather does this " 'cause I love cats. I love animals. I hate to see any starve or suffer."

"It kind of just happened, and once we got so many (cats), it became a conscious decision," she said. Before that, she had been rescuing cats and taking them to pet stores for adoption.

When she's not rescuing and caring for cats, Heather works part time at a pet store. She also makes and sells German mohair teddy bears with her mother-in-law Deb Altman under the name Mohican Forest Bears. John Altman, 31, works at Avtron Manufacturing in Independence.

They've hired an attorney to help obtain nonprofit status for the shelter.

Open the door to the cat room in the Altmans' house, and there's a chorus of meows from all corners. Some are perched near a big window, alert to birds and chipmunks outside. Two are curled up in a basket in the corner, and others peer down from a carpet-covered cat condo.

Each one of them has a name -- Starling, Radar, Toby, Shelby, Sabrina, Hannah, Grizzly, Boon and one-eyed siblings Winken and Blinken. Heather walks among them, leaning down to scratch a head and run her hand along a furry back.

Mary and Bruiser share one cage, a study in cat contrasts. Mary is a dainty 9-week-old tiger-striped and white-furred kitten, and Bruiser is a stocky 4-year-old black and brown tiger who was found outside some Bellville apartments.

The Altman's have adopted out 918 cats and kittens in seven years. Sometimes they work with other area cat rescues to provide or request supplies.

"I wish there were more in the area to make a network," Heather said. She sometimes takes Mansfield-Richland County Humane Society cats who are facing death because the shelter is full.

A sign on the wall outside the cat room reads "Cats are like potato chips -- you can't have just one." They're words to live by at the Altman house.

Donations and the Altman's own money fund the shelter. Heather said she's grateful for regular donations from Dr. Betty Reed of Butler.

Adoption fees are $XX, which covers shots and worming for a kitten, and $XX for a cat who is spayed or neutered, tested for feline leukemia and FIV, wormed and vaccinated. Anyone interested in volunteering, providing foster homes to cats or donating money or supplies can call (419) 892-5702. To schedule an adoption appointment, e-mail adopt@katsnkittens.com.

"Screech then"                              "Screech now"

***Kats-n-Kittens would like to thank Karen Palmer for the wonderful article and to those who made the article possible!!! THANK YOU!!***