Waltham's Cat Connection Celebrates 20 Years

WALTHAM, MA— Two decades ago, a couple of Waltham women began to notice feral cats around the city. They took it upon themselves to feed, trap and take them to the vet to get their shots and spayed and neutered.

Fast-forward to 2020 and that group of compassionate cat-lovers has turned into The Cat Connection, a nonprofit with more than 40 volunteers, a board of directors and a mission to help rescue cats who need attention across the region. They are celebrating their 20th year amid the pandemic, but it hasn't slowed them down.

The nonprofit adopts out 100 cats a year and helps another 200 to 300 a year, according to president Morgan Ritz.

The Cat Connection has volunteers who foster abandoned cats and kittens, facilitates their adoption, and feeds local feral cat colonies. This year the Waltham-based organization will also open its first brick-and-mortar rescue shelter on Chestnut Hill Avenue in Brighton.

Each week, the organization receives dozens of calls and emails about cats. Sometimes it's because someone notices a cat they haven't seen before hanging around with no collar. Other times, they may get a call because someone is worried about a community member who may not be able to care for a cat properly.

When the group gets a call about a cat, they send a volunteer out to investigate, and work to find out if it's actually a cat that belongs to someone and then, if not, get it spayed or neutered and get it to a foster home and work to find it a forever home.

Earlier this year they were called to help out a person in Western Massachusetts who had started with a couple cats, and then got over their head and couldn't take care of them.

"The thing about cats is that they are major breeders, even if you just have a couple cats, if you don’t get them spayed or neuter, you will over time have more cats,"said Ritz.

The Cat Connection volunteers try to help owners get them spayed or neutered before it turns into a messy many cat situation where people end up with more than they can handle, she said.

In the case of the cats in Western Massachusetts, Ritz said, they took 20 kittens, all of which had health problems, and helped nurse them back to health.

They also work with people who for have come to them because they don't think they can take care of their cat anymore and try to get them the resources to care for the animal, or help put those in foster care.

During the pandemic, the Cat Connection saw a lot more people applying to foster. Once someone goes through the training process the nonprofit tries to match them with a cat that will fit them.

If a cat is truly feral, they also will trap and neuter them before returning them to where they found them, in an effort to manage feral cat colonies. Volunteers will feed them and keep an eye on them for population control.

A friendlier cat might be in foster care a month or two, a less friendly cat that needs longer socialization could be in foster care for a few months before it's adopted.

Although the women who started the nonprofit have all moved on and the cats now come from Watertown, Newton, Belmont, Brighton and beyond, the need that the Waltham women first saw is still real, said Ritz.

"Many towns down’t have services for cats, only dogs. So if someone calls animal control about a cat, they’ll refer them to us," she said. "We provide a service for the city."

For years, the nonprofit has had an eye on one day opening a brick-and-mortar shelter to help more cats. This year they found that in a space in Brighton.

"We can really only save as may cats as we have foster homes. And it’s been difficult to find really good foster homes," said Ritz, who herself has six cats at home. "A lot of people think they want to foster, but it is a commitment. It takes time and it’s definitely not for everyone."

So the shelter is huge step forward she said, estimating it the nonprofit will go from adopting out 100 cats to as many as 400 in a year.

"We are excited to open the shelter and make a bigger impact on the homeless cat situation," said Ritz.

They hope to expand their pet food pantry program, hold events and seminars and trainings there after the pandemic and even their annual fundraising event.

This year, because of the coronavirus, the event will be held online, but The Cat Connection has pulled out all the stops for the 20th anniversary of the organization.

On Nov. 21 the organization is hosting its annual benefit, "Whiskers and Whiskey" to raise money to help open that cat shelter. Last year the group raised about $30,000 and this year, they're hoping to raise about the same.

They have the famous Acrocats performing tricks in one session, two different cat behaviorists speaking, a photo contest and plenty for cat lovers to geek out over, including a tutorial on making Kitty Kocktails (Whiskers & Whiskey Sours) for adults, as well as kid-friendly sessions, and two cat behaviorists — including nationally known certified cat behaviorist, Pet Chaplain and author Rachel Geller, of Newton.

To learn more about the event see the Cat Connection event. .