SWANSEA MASSACHUSETTS— The gray and white feline surveyed the group suspiciously as they moved a box-like object and put it into place at a property in Ocean Grove.
The cat seemed to be wondering just what the people were doing, but it was more likely he was concerned about them getting in the way of his feeding time.
Swansea Police Sgt. Daniel Lowney and officer Kyle Stone were the 2 people in question. And the box was actually a sturdy feral cat shelter for the gray and white cat’s benefit, and a few other felines that frequent the area.
kIt’s one of nine shelters that Lowney and his brother-in-law Lewis Gothard have built for the stray kitties in town, as well as for a colony or two in Somerset.
“Last winter, with the bad winter we had… I feel sorry for them,” Lowney said.
Lowney collected $960 in donations through an online fundraiser to build the shelters which cost about $150 each.
It’s all part of an effort to spay and neuter homeless cats in order to reduce the feral cat population, and to give them shelter from the harsh winter weather.
An animal lover, Lowney and his wife have two cats and also five chickens.
He also feeds some 40 wild turkeys each day in his backyard, while his wife fosters dogs.
He said he started the shelter program when he became aware of the stray cat problem while driving around town while working.
“I was writing up an accident (report) and saw a bunch of ferals,” Lowney said.
He also spotted a couple of homemade shelters in the Grove area — basically plastic storage boxes with a hole cut in for a door — and he decided to get involved.
“I said ‘We can do something better,’” Lowney said.
With his brother-in-law’s abilities, they built something amazing!
The shelters are made of wood and are also raised off the ground on legs.
There’s a ledge for the cats to jump on and a door to enter, and even an escape hatch in the back for emergencies. They painted the shelters green to blend in with the landscape and filled them with hay for the cats to keep themselves warm and comfy.
Pilson Champagne, a feral cat feeder who lives in the Grove, said she was very pleased with the new shelters.
“It’s very nice,” Champagne said. “Right now, we have two or three cats that come around. There’s no more kittens.”
The shelter program fits nicely with the efforts of Project Spay Swansea MA
Project Spay is run by resident Donna Ryalla Arruda.
Project Spay has worked to spay/ neuter about 250 cats in Swansea and other local communities, including Fall River and Somerset.