Feline facelift

GONZALES — If the cats are happy, the house is happy.

Such is the case over at the Friends of Gonzales Animal Shelter (FOGAS). The longtime cat adoption facility has undergone a bit of a facelift recently in its never-ending mission to rescue and bring awareness to the city's feline population.

“To get the work done on the shelter is awesome, because it's been needed it for some time,” said FOGAS volunteer Cindy Munson. She, as well as the other caretakers, offer non-stop kitty care when they aren't adding cat ramps and flyways inside or building cat trees in the little playground outside.

Mainly, she wanted to showcase what some people have done to help the shelter recently.

The façade has a new coat of paint, which she had a hand in. New metal cat cutouts adorn the building, acting as a beacon to those looking for the place. Volunteers Tommy Cox and Martin Garcia hung the cutouts after they were cut by Mark Hagen.

Inside, new tile leads from the office to the main area. There's a new stainless steel table for medical care, which is another donated item, and new cabinets and food dish holders have been added thanks to more donated time and effort.

Many volunteers find the time to stop by and help. On Tuesdays, Candice Granger and her daughter Lena Marie drop in to help clean and spend time with the kittens. The added “person time” helps the cats become tame and personable, which helps greatly their adoption chances. The duo even brought in an automated litter box donated by Austinite Helen Bergin. The contraption is more of a curiosity to some of the cats rather than a luxury.

Visitors even have a little butterfly garden to enjoy. Munson said that people travel from Luling, Victoria, and Houston for adoptions. They can laugh as the cats leap and scurry for the flying insects while taking solace that rarely do the cats connect with their airborne prey.

FOGAS is open Tuesday-Friday 3-5 p.m. and weekends from 1-4 p.m. Call them at 830-857-1616.