EASTON, Pa. — Take a stroll down Northampton Street in Easton and you might lock eyes with a cat chilling in a thrift store window.
They may just be keeping an eye on you, but there’s a chance you’ve just been adopted by one of the little residents at Project Paw.
A combination thrift store and kitty rescue, the location has been open for about two years now, with a constant cast of new cats occupying the space for a few days at a time.
As store manager Amy Rutt explained, the operation is connected to the Center for Animal Health and Welfare, from where the crew of cats comes. Visitors to Betty’s Corner – the cat lounge where those felines hang out – can spend time playing with the little residents, possibly cultivating a relationship which can blossom into an adoption.
“So once they get adopted from here, we get more from up there. We usually have up to six in here at a time, and there are six in there right now; one is getting adopted today,” Rutt said, adding the facility features plenty of other things to help promote adoptions and sheltering.
“And then we also have our thrift store. All of the proceeds go back to our homeless animals, both here and at our main shelter. We have pet items, jewelry, housewares, clothing, and books. We also do pet food banks where we give out free cat food, dog food and litter to the community twice a month.”
And while it's not a cat café — that requires a whole other sort of clearance — visitors can pick up some snacks and coffee while they're enjoying time with their newfound feline friends.
Project Paw also hosts children’s events each month, with a “Cats and Crafts” get-together scheduled for June, and a “Barks and Bingo” session set for the near future.
Rutt said those who swing by the store largely haven’t heard of it, and just happened to pass by on a walk through Easton. Fortunately, word of mouth and online posts have raised awareness, inspiring plenty of people to line up with supplies when Project Paw hosts its food bank events.
“We have a line usually like halfway down the block an hour before it starts. So it's been really, really beneficial for the community,” Rutt said.
Inside Betty’s Corner, the cats have plenty to keep them occupied even if they have no visitors. There are plenty of toys, tubes, scratchers, nooks to nap in, and, of course, a television streaming bird cam footage.
The setup has worked well for the store – behind the front register, there are dozens of photos of former residents who have since moved on to furr-ever homes.
While plenty of people might assume working alongside a cute collection of cats is a dream job, Rutt said it can be heartbreaking to see some of their furry residents passed over for extended periods of time.
Rutt said adoptions peaked over the winter, though they have declined a bit as the spring sets in and kitten season takes hold. And even though those tiny little kittens need a place to live, Rutt encourages potential pet parents to consider an older kitty.
Adoption fees are also much lower for older cats – kittens are $200, adults aged 1 through 7 are $100, and seniors are just $25 – which help cover vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and microchips.
“Some of them, they’ve been moved around multiple times. So you already know what they're like, you already know their temperament. You'll already know if they're going to be a relaxed cat or a more outgoing cat or a lap cat,” Rutt said.
Fortunately, some people seem to just connect to the Project Paw cats on a surreal level, resulting in an adoption. According to Rutt, a woman once came in saying she had originally been interested in adopting a kitten. When she was able to visit Project Paw, she mentioned she had a dream that included a one-eyed cat.
Rutt was thrilled to introduce the woman to Sissy, a gray, long-haired girl with one eye. As it happens, the woman’s gray hair was surprisingly close to that of little Sissy, making for a match made in heaven.
Christianna Stoddard became enamored with Project Paw after she visited a cat café in Doylestown, where you can pal around with the cats for a price. Once she discovered Project Paw and met Rutt – who told her they merely ask for donations from visitors, who can stay as long as they wish – “I was like, ‘Well, I’ll keep coming back.’”
“That's the only thing, is that when they come, if they are here for like a half hour, and hour trip, $10 isn't going to kill you when you get all this serotonin hanging out with the kitties,”Christianna Stoddard
Stoddard said she’s normally a dog person, but she has fallen for Dewey, a little cat who loves to keep inside his cubby hole.
Since she first started coming, Stoddard has advocated for visitors to chip in $5 or $10 to help the operation.
“That's the only thing, is that when they come, if they are here for like a half hour, and hour trip, $10 isn't going to kill you when you get all this serotonin hanging out with the kitties,” Stoddard said.
Rutt said while it might break her heart to see a little friend go, it warms it right back up knowing that cat has a new happy home.
“It is really funny to come in and see how some of them are and to watch them open up, because sometimes when I bring them here, they're very shy, and they'll hide under the couch for a while,” Rutt said.
“And when you get to see them take their first steps out from under the couch while there are people in here, it's like watching your kid learn how to walk. It really is.”
