Westfield Stray Cat Rescue has moved to the former Westfield Veterinary Hospital.

WESTFIELD — The Westfield Stray Cat Rescue has relocated to a new shelter located at 8494 Route 20. This is the former Westfield Veterinary Hospital building.

In April 2011, the organization set up a Thrift Shop — the Thrifty Kitty — on Main Street to raise funds for a shelter. “We had been using foster homes to house our cats and kittens,” the release said. “Our shop is a huge success thanks to the excellent vision of our president Judy Loomis, very talented store managers, and all volunteer help. We rented the first floor of the former village vet building.”

In 2012, the organization was able to buy the building and establish a shelter on the second floor. Due to new shelter laws in New York state and the need for more space and resources, we needed to make a move.

The former veterinary has many advantages:

— A parking lot. No more hauling bags, boxes, cats to a car parked two blocks away because of no other parking spot.

— No steps at all. Much easier than moving 30 pound containers of kitty litter up 21 steep stairs.

— More rooms. This is great for isolating sick and contagious cats.

— Windows. Now all cats and kittens can look outside at the pretty landscape, get some sunshine, and enjoy some bird and squirrel watching.

— A laundry room and lots of sinks. No more washer and dryer out in the hall or fighting over who gets to use the one sink next.

— A much larger storage area for medicines and bedding.

— It is built to house animals. This building is all set to handle the new New York state rules and regulations.

The Thrifty Kitty store is still at 59 Main St. and welcomes donations and especially volunteers. All help is voluntary and needed.

The second floor will be used for storage and to supply the Christmas store. In prior years the organization always had to find an empty building that we could use for free. There is also a stair lift for those who can’t use our steep 21 steps.

Shelter hours are: Thursdays, noon to 5 p.m.; Fridays 2 to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We really need new volunteers as the bigger shelter needs more work done and of course the store needs volunteers too. The shelter jobs involve scooping litter boxes, feeding cats, and sweeping or mopping the cat rooms.

Also, the organization uses socializing volunteers to work with cats and kittens to make them more “adoptable” and friendly. The store volunteers deal with sorting through donations, stocking the shelves, keeping the store attractive and clean, and running the register. Our volunteer application is on our Facebook or web page or you can pick one up at the Thrifty kitty or the shelter.

Lastly, the organization is currently renting our new place. “We have put a lot of money and effort into making it a super shelter,” the group said. “Any donations would be greatly appreciated as we would love to buy this building.”

Please send checks to: Westfield Stray Cat Rescue, 8494 Route 20, Westfield NY, 14787.