KD Sunday Spotlight: Angel Ridge Animal Rescue opens new cat facility in South Park
SOUTH PARK, Pa. (KDKA) - Angel Ridge Animal Rescue is opening a brand new facility just for felines on Sunday.
The animal rescue is hosting an open house at its new Bailey's Cat Haven on Sunday afternoon. We got a first look inside the new facility.
It's a cat's paradise with lots of room to eat treats, make biscuits, take a cat nap, and play with toys.
Angel Ridge Animal Rescue is a 501c3 charity located on a farm in Chartiers Township, Washington County. It started as a dog rescue, but felines clawed and purred their way in and Bailey's Cat Haven opened on the property about 10 years ago.
"There's a lot of cats, we were totally full on the property. We were in a two-story apartment. We used every inch of that apartment," said Barb Brown, Cat Care Coordinator of Bailey's Cat Haven of Angel Ridge Animal Rescue.
Brown started Angel Ridge's cat program and she said their rescues needed an upgrade.
Bailey's Cat Haven has officially moved to a state-of-the-art facility in South Park, Allegheny County.
"I have awesome volunteers that have really helped me build this program," Brown said.
Brown and her husband started volunteering at Angel Ridge as dog walkers but everything changed because of a cat named Bailey.
"He was the greeter on the grounds, anytime anybody came to see a cat or a dog, he would be right there at the forefront, he was really our first rescue and unfortunately, he passed away back in 2014, but he's kind of been our mascot since then," Brown said.
The "purr-fect" facility located at 2650 Brownsville Road will be shown off during an open house Sunday afternoon. The event is happening from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
It has spacious, vertical cat enclosures, a meet and greet room, a kitten quarantine area, and a roaming room with cat trees and wall-mounted furniture.
"We love the amount of room, the amount of space that allows us to do more things with our cats; work with them, help them become more adoptable, allows more room for our volunteers and socializers to interact with the cats," Brown said.
Moving into one of the oldest houses in South Park was a labor of love.
The facility is full of 27 cats and kittens. They also have some in foster homes.
Barb says they need more fosters and volunteers to love on scared kitties.
12-year-old Arya Zevallos wanted to help animals so she started volunteering with her parents, sister, and brother two years ago.
"It's great coming every Saturday and just seeing how the cats have adapted to the whole environment and how they're growing and becoming more social and seeing them being adopted into wonderful families," said Arya Zevallos.
The Zevallos family recently began fostering. The experience has littered their lives with kitten love.
"It is nice to be able to help her and get her to be very social. Her sister was adopted pretty quickly, being very social, so we're hoping the same is true for her," said Omar Zevallos.
"It's wonderful, it's a lot of fun. If you're having a bad day, holding a kitten always makes it better," said Amber Zevallos.
Brown said cats are misunderstood, but they all have their own distinctive personalities.
They can be affectionate and cuddly, curious and playful, friendly and talkative, and even calm and shy.
"When they start trusting you, they really become your companion like they can be your enemy and once they get comfortable with you, they just love you and they're like your best friend in the whole world," said Amber Zevallos.
They say cats have nine lives and these felines are living their best life in their new digs.
"We're just very, very grateful to be here," Brown said.
So stop by the new facility to get a tour, meet the rescues, and learn how to become a catalyst for Bailey's Cat Haven, and giving kitties second chances and loving homes.
Brown is hoping for a huge turnout at the open house. It's happening from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the new facility located at 2650 Brownsville Road in South Park.
If you want to help, you can bring some donations with you! They're in dire need of kitten food and unscented, clumping litter. You can also make a donation on their website right here.
Available cats can be found on the rescue's website.
People can also drop in during visiting hours on weekends and by appointment during the weekend.
Applications for volunteering and fostering can be submitted online.
Look for updates visiting hours and new cat residents on Angel Ridge Animal Rescue's Facebook page.
If you would like to see an organization highlighted in KDKA's Sunday Spotlight segment, send Jessica Guay an email at jguay@kdka.com
