Calgary MEOW Foundation launches new cat shelter

Mr. Mistoffelees would tip his cat cap to the new home of the MEOW (Make Each One Wanted)Foundation.

One of the treasured characters of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical smashCats, Mistoffeleesand his posse of street cats are exactly the sort of felines that MEOWFoundation had in mindyears ago, when they set out to build a bigger shelter, says the foundation's operations directorDebbie Nelson.

"We try to keep our mission focused on cats that really need our resources, that don't have any other resources, that are on the street," Nelson said.

Their ambitiousodyssey to open a new 7,000-square-foot shelter (650 square metres)in northeast Calgaryran into theheadwindsof the oil shock, said foundation board chair Stephanie Sterling, but they adjusted to the new economic reality of Calgary.

'Let's focus on what are the bare bones that we need to do'

"Our original plans wereIwould saymuch more grandiose," said Sterling.

"What we had decided as a board when the economy took the downturn was, let's focus on what are the bare bones that we need to do."

The foundation launched in 2000 as a no-kill shelterhas found what they call 'forever homes' for more than 6,000 cats, and through various programs and services, have dramatically improved the lives of more than 14,000 cats overall alldespite being located for its first 17 yearsin a small bungalow house.

Now,with a huge multi-room facility to call their own which will feature a state-of-the-art HVAC system to minimize the spread of disease among animalsthey hope to help 30,000 cats by 2020.

For Nelson, the dream really became real when a door opened, and the homeless cats began streaming inside.

"I stood at the back door of the bay and saw all these little faces coming in," she said. "Then it became really real."

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