Our Mission: I aim to humanely address the stray kitty problem in the 8th Ward and beyond in Johnstown PA through my home-grown trapping, foster & adoption program. I specialize in turning street cats into house cats, and I work with the Johnstown Animal Welfare Society to maximize my impact.

Why??? Unfortunately the local Humane Societies can't keep up with the stray cat problem. They are normally FULL and can't always accept new strays; thus we are filling in a necessary gap!

I am an animal behavior and ornithology professor/ biologist at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and a member of JAWS (Johnstown Animal Welfare Society). When I'm not trapping cats or teaching science, you can usually find me hanging out with my family and our own large brood of cats and a parrot. My daughter Maia is an aspiring vet and expert cat litter sifter. Dad Tom is busy working for the Sierra Club but pinch hits with cat rescuing as necessary. Son Lamont tolerates it all.

Our Facility: We operate out of our home in the 8th Ward of Johnstown, PA. We are fortunate to have a large 3rd bathroom that provides space for whatever is needed; feral cats who need a post-spay layover, Mama's with kittens, or rescued strays awaiting their fur-ever homes!

Want to adopt, volunteer or foster??? You can check out our available cats at our JAWS website, Petfinder, apply to adopt or even to foster! you can also find some of my cats at the Rusty Cat Cafe. Please apply to adopt through the JAWS website by clicking on the cat you fancy and hitting apply!

JAWS

Apply for a kitty!

Petfinder

Rusty Cat Cafe

Can't Adopt But Want To Support Us?

Every cat we rescue costs well over $100 to raise including food, litter, spay/ neuter, vaccine, medication & any extra veterinary fees. We also support a colony of strays with food and shelter. We appreciate any donations!

We will gladly take donations by:

venmo: @christine-dahlin-2 digits 7166

Paypal: crdahlin@gmail.com

Amazon Wishlist

You can find us on Social Media or follow my research online!

My Research

@drdahlintalksanimals

Yoko is our resident rescue bird. Sometimes we refer to him as "Uncle Yoko" since he likes all the new kitties

Yoko and new rescue Sandy are especially best buds

Sometimes Yoko makes sure Sandy knows that he's still in charge

Mama Frieda was one of our first rescue; she came in just a couple days before her babies came

Five babies came in all! All were adopted out except Sandy; he became our #5.

Lion-tail came in tick-ridden and bedraggled, and positive for FIV. FIV cats can live with other kitties if they don't fight!

By the time Lion-tail was adopted he was sassy, floofy and confident!

One of the strays enjoying the feeding station. We now have a self-feeder to save us work!

Tulip; A rescue who we ended up adopting ourselves !

Socks and Yoko

Sometimes we get festive

Think you want a parrot? If all these cute videos & pics of Yoko are making you consider adopting a parrot (cockatoos are a type of parrot), then you might want to think long & hard! Owning a parrot is much like having a 5 year old child that never grows up! Parrots are social animals that evolved to live in flocks, mate for life, and have relatively large, intelligent brains (equivalent to primates). As a "pet", they will depend on you for all their stimulation and socialization! Parrots that don't get sufficient time & attention can become self-destructive (e.g. feather plucking) or develop really unappealing behaviors (screaming!). Parrots are also long-lived; Yoko is older than 20 and he could certainly live to over 50. That is why many parrots end up being passed from home to home. Yoko has had two previous homes before us because his first two families couldn't handle his demanding personality! Fortunately he found his FOREVER home with us, even though he's destroyed several computer keyboards, windowsills, beloved toys etc. And the MESS; cockatoos constantly shed feather dust and he only leaves some of his poo by his cage! When we are home, we chill with Yoko, because otherwise he feels left out from his "flock". He lets us know by screaming if we even dare to to go to the bathroom without him! If you STILL feel like a parrot is for you, then adopt a "used" parrot from a rescue; there are plenty that need their forever homes!