FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Amy R. Spurgeon

An hour a week spent socializing with a shelter cat can make all of the

difference in that animal’s world.

That’s what 75-year-old Jerry Mahoney said has kept him coming back to

volunteer at the Newport Beach National Cat Protection Society all these

years.

“They need a visitor,” said Mahoney, a Costa Mesa resident. “I give

myself to these cats.”

Mahoney, a retired construction inspector for Orange County, said his

relationship with the cats began in 1996 after his wife Jane spotted a

shelter advertisement seeking volunteers.

His soft spot led him directly to the shelter’s doorsteps, where he has

consistently visited with the cats for an hour each Tuesday after his

weightlifting workout at the YMCA.

“If you sit down on the floor, they will be all over you in a hot

second,” Mahoney said.

The National Cat Protection Society was founded in Long Beach in 1968 by

former humane officer C. Richard Calore. The nonprofit organization’s

membership roster extends nationwide, but only two shelters exist and are

located in Southern California.

The shelter in Newport Beach provides a home to unwanted cats and kittens

as well as those whose owners have died. Cats who have been willed to the

shelter live out their days in the retirement center.

Mahoney visits with adoptable cats as well those housed in the retirement

center. About 40 cats roam freely with each other in a large, brightly

painted room. The cats make their way up the stairs to the top of a

miniature replica of the Huntington Beach Pier, where they either cozy up

on a blanket or with other cats.

Mahoney grew up with cats, so he understands their need for

companionship. He strokes them gently with a brush and allows them to

take turns sitting on his lap, which, by the end of the hour, is covered

in cat hair.

“Now I am going to have to take you home after this,” Mahoney said to

Princess, a beautiful, white longhaired cat. “I had to swear on an oath

when I started working here that I wouldn’t bring any home.”

Mahoney said his wife’s allergies force him to enter through the backdoor

of their house and head straight to the laundry room after an afternoon

at the shelter.

Volunteers at the shelter range from those who can’t own their own cat

and need to get their “kitty fix,” to those who need to lower their blood

pressure, said Tine Elliott, manager of the shelter.

Elliott said Mahoney’s consistency in visiting the animals helps out the

entire staff.

“It’s nice to know that we can count on him,” said Elliott. “We have a

very small staff, so we don’t have the opportunity to give all the cats

the special attention they need.”

Mahoney said the cats greet him at the door and strategically wait in

line to be stroked or groomed.

And he doesn’t really have a burning reason for visiting the cats.

“I just like doing what I’m doing,” Mahoney said. “I guess you have to be

a cat person to understand.”

The shelter is at 6904 W. Coast Highway. For more information, call (714)

650-1232.

* FOR A GOOD CAUSE features people who do good in the community. If you

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