Making a difference: Roxanne Ewing operates 'cattery' to adopt out cats for Pet Refuge

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SOUTH BEND — Roxanne Ewing knows cats.

Ask about any of the 80 felines that live in her garage-turned-cattery for Pet Refuge, and she recites their name, reason for being there, and a bit of their medical and behavioral history.

Ewing points to a little red kitten. "One of my volunteers was going by North Liberty Church of Christ and saw a kitten on the ground and they picked it up," she said. "Her face was all bloody and her lip was ripped down. She either fell out of a car or was hit by a car, but they brought her here and we had her sewed up and took her to the vet. Now she's doing good."

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A large, white cat stands in the middle of the garage, looking regal yet is quick to dart out when the door to the lobby is opened. Moonflower is her name.

Ewing recounts that the owner had to relinquish her when he went into the hospital for two weeks and his sister could not care for the cat.

"He said, 'You have to take her back,'" Ewing said. "He said, 'I'm going to miss her terribly.'"

But the man was planning to go to a local assisted living center in late-July that allows cats, so Ewing agreed to care for Moonflower so he can be reunited with her when he moves.

Other cats were returned or owners had to rid themselves of the animals because of allergies. Whatever the reason, Ewing and her volunteers care for and find homes for them, and they are very successful.

Since the mid-2000s, Roxanne — with the carpentry help and support of her husband, Lee — has fostered cats and kittens for Pet Refuge and other shelters.

"We were only supposed to have no more than 35 (cats)," Ewing said, "so I always tell everybody that he loves me but he didn't like the cats, but he built all this, he took out his workshop and made all these rooms and added that bathroom."

Last year, she adopted out 599 cats from the Ireland Road cattery, and Ewing has about 60 volunteers to thank.

"That's what keeps me doing it," she said. "You get an adoption like this and it inspires you to be able to help some more."

Outreach efforts

Despite the pandemic, Ewing says, the efforts and operations at the cattery were strong. The health precautions were followed by both volunteers and prospective adopters when the area and the world began to close down in the spring of 2020, and Ewing said they did not experience any lags or spikes in cat adoptions.

The River Valley Montessori high school students come and volunteer, learning how to care for cats and help socialize them during the school year.

Boy Scouts often come and help out to earn their merit badges, she said.

Also, students at Saint Joseph High School are required to do volunteer work as part of their curriculum, and many find their way to Ewing's place. "They mop, they sweep, and they get credit for their school," Ewing said.

But the cats awaiting adoption also serve as stress relievers for groups in the community. She smiles and says many seniors use the volunteer work there as "therapy."

Once every two months, Ewing says, a number of kittens are taken to greet the staff at Michiana Hematology Oncology of Mishawaka. There, she says, staff members can spend their breaks playing and holding the kittens as a way to relieve the stresses of their day.

Other "kitten café time" events have been or are planned to take place at the local hospice centers, Saint Joseph Health Center and St. Paul's Retirement Community.

Care upgrades

Ewing is a retired pediatric nurse who spent 42 years at Memorial Hospital. She can give vaccination shots and has a medical background that can be important when cats and kittens have medical issues.

A recent change at the facility has a veterinarian and technician visiting there once a week for examinations, a move that, Ewing says, is easier than prior procedures of having to take animals off-site for much of the care.

Ewing also is very pleased with the volunteers who have made the facility what it is today.

"There's about 10 people here, every Tuesday," Ewing said. "We dump all the litter boxes, scrub them all out, put new litter in, wash all their dishes — and it's a lot of work. And every morning, we sweep and mop. Every day."

The goal, though, is to help Pet Refuge find homes for those who are adoptable while continuing to tend to those with medical issues.

Seeing them go

Ewing and Leslie Gitlin, a volunteer, were talking with a woman who was going to adopt two kittens from the group in about 10 days.

The discussions were about food, litter boxes and general questions about what was needed for the kittens.

"This consumes me a lot," Ewing said. "You can't do a lot of your normal stuff, and you do lose some of your family time, but they seem pretty understanding."

Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Pet Refuge houses and adopts out cats from retired nurse's South Bend home