T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Space is once again available for cats at the Belmont County Animal Shelter. During the month of February, many cats housed at the shelter can be adopted for a reduced fee.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Animal Shelter’s doors are again open to cats in need of a home.

At one time in 2017, the shelter was strained with nearly twice as many felines as the 32 it had the capacity to house. At that point, officials decided to turn away additional cats. But after a lot of outreach and with the help of an area nonprofit, there are now fewer than 30 cats lodged at the shelter.

“We have a lot of people helping as far as promoting the cats. We’re just trying to be more aggressive with getting the word out,” Belmont County Dog Warden Lisa Williams, who manages the shelter, said. “We’re really trying to promote that we have cats here now. We’re able to take them in. We’re able to place them. So if there’s cats in need, we’re glad to help.”

Williams said the shelter has been able to take in cats since September.

“It’s going very well. We don’t have the disease because the cat’s aren’t stressed out like when you have a large population. We had cats in every room at one time, and that’s not healthy for them. It stresses them out. So we’re not paying vet bills for illness,” Williams said. “We’re not spending an exorbitant amount of money, and the cats aren’t stressed. The facility isn’t made for cats to be around dogs. That’s too stressful for them.”

Williams also noted that many of the cats can be adopted for half-price during February.

“We don’t have a waiting list anymore. We’re taking cats in daily. When we get totally full again, which at any given time we can be, we can hold 32 cats here at the shelter, comfortably and stress-free,” she said. “We’ve ended up doing really well with placing them. Now we’re running a sale ’til the end of the month. Any cat that’s 5 years old or older, or has been here six months or more, they’re $25.”

Williams added that cat adoption normally costs $50. All cats available through the shelter have been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

“Kitten season’s going to be starting pretty soon. We have room for kittens. If they’re 8 weeks or older we can take them,” she said. “Cats come into heat four times a year, so they reproduce very fast.”

Williams added that the shelter is conducting cat care and placement at no cost to the county. The nonprofit organization Sat Stray Shun is handling the animals’ medical needs, and people donate cat food and litter. She credited Candace Fleagane, director of the program, for helping to bring the cat situation at the shelter under control.

“The Cat Stray Shun program pays for everything. She also help spay and neuter cats in the county for people that own cats,” Williams said. “So she pays for these guys to be here. They’re spayed, they’re vaccinated, flea-treated, wormed — she pays for all that.”

Williams added that the shelter is asking for donations of kitten food in preparation for the coming season.

She said the dog wardens who work at the shelter do not catch the cats. They must be brought in by a member of the public.

New cats are kept in cages near the shelter’s front door to be acclimated to their surroundings. Later they are moved into the cat space. This transition period reduces stress, according to Williams.

“A lot of people have a stray that’s showed up. We’ve had people, the neighbors have moved out and left the cats. They’re running loose in the neighborhood pregnant. We’ll spay and neuter them, take care of them and find them a home,” she said. “Or if somebody got sick and went into a nursing home — we’ve had people buy houses and find two cats locked in the house.”

She added that although the shelter does not take in feral cats, Fleagane will have them spayed and neutered.

“We don’t have feral cats here, because someone will get hurt,” Williams said.

“If somebody wanted to trap them” they could be spayed or neutered, she said, adding that those feral cats will be returned to where they were found. “Down on the (Ohio) river, the cat population’s really bad because a lot of people get cats and move out. Spay and neuter, trap and release is a good program. I know people are annoyed by cats because they mark. That’s because they’re not spayed and neutered.”

Anyone who is interested in adopting a cat or dog can visit the shelter at 45244 National Road West, St. Clairsville. The shelter is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Tuesday. Pets available for adoption can be viewed at the shelter’s Facebook page. For more information, call 740-695-4708.