From the Capital newspaper here in Annapolis

Tuesday, February 3, 2004
Cool Cats Rescue and Adoption helped over 200 cats last year; operating from an undisclosed location in the county the group is funded solely by donations.

 

Cool Cats come to the rescue for stray felines
By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer

When her cat got out of the house early one morning, Jennifer Kucharski panicked. She didn't even know where to start looking.

But she knew who would.

The Hillsmere resident called Deanna Lusko, who had helped her find a missing cat before.

Sure enough, as several people looked in vain for the cat, Ms. Lusko found Lucky trapped under a storm drain grating.

"I call her the cat whisperer instead of the horse whisperer, because she has like this sixth sense," Ms. Kucharski said.

Ms. Lusko of Annapolis runs Cool Cats Rescue and Adoption, which finds homes for abandoned or stray cats and rescues trapped ones. The 2-year-old volunteer group helped more than 200 animals last year in the county, Ms. Lusko said.

"I'm in Pasadena, I'm in Glen Burnie, I'm in Galesville," she said. "I'm all over the place."

Ms. Kucharski said she's just one of many people who has happy pets thanks to Ms. Lusko, who has worked in marketing but heads Cool Cats full time now.

Like Lucky, who was rescued from the grate Jan. 20, many of the cats helped by Cool Cats were abandoned by previous owners.

All the cats the group rescues or takes in must be spayed or neutered. Cool Cats has arrangements with veterinarians and sometimes gets scores of animals fixed at a time - at $35 to $50 a pop. The group is funded solely by donations.

The animals waiting for new families stay at Cool Cats' shelter on an old farm in the county.

Cool Cats doesn't want the farm's location disclosed, lest people begin driving by to drop off unwanted animals that could overwhelm the group's resources, Ms. Lusko said.

A former garage is a heated home for "inside cats," who have a screened-in porch at their disposal in warmer months.

"They aren't always cooped up in a cage," Ms. Lusko said. "They aren't stressed out."

About 90 percent of Cool Cats adoptions are through the group's Web site, coolcats.petfinder.com.

Cool Cats also works with community groups that have problems with feral cats, animals that have been allowed to live in a wild state. In many cases, the best solution is to take kittens out of the population and neuter all the adults that can be caught, then let the animals die naturally, Ms. Lusko said.

Cool Cats is one of several nonprofit animal rescue groups in the county, including Cats R Us in Annapolis and Rude Ranch Animal Rescue in Harwood.

"It's really good to have them," said Tahira Shane Thomas, county Animal Control administrator. "We try to work with them whenever we can."

Ms. Thomas said rescue groups can sometimes take in animals that would have to be put down because Animal Control doesn't have the resources to keep them. The groups also help find homes for many animals, she said.

When Lucky got out about 5 a.m., Ms. Kucharski didn't realize he was gone and fell back asleep, only to wake up about 7 with Lucky nowhere in sight.

Ms. Kucharski said she was "freaking out."

"The cat is like my child," she joked.

Ms. Lusko called for help, and soon city firefighters and county Public Works employees were on the scene.

"The cat had his paws reaching up like, 'Please get me out of here,"' Ms. Lusko said.

Two men from Public Works pried off the grate, trying to be gentle so they wouldn't scare Lucky away.

"They were like two big teddy bears," Ms. Kucharski said.

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ehartley@capitalgazette.com