Construction continues on the first-ever shelter and event center for O’Malley Alley Cat, on Sept. 24, 2020. The building in Flint will house a room for foster cats, an isolation room for sick or new cats, a boarding business, an enclosed patio area for people and cats as well as space for events.

It’s kitten season in East Texas and Beth Lytle has 20 cats living in her garage. At any point, there might be 100 felines living in temporary foster homes around Tyler waiting to be adopted from O’Malley Alley Cat, a local cat rescue.

This 100% volunteer-based animal charity group survives and thrives off of donations and people’s time, but even when funding abounds, the group must turn away cats in need when there are not enough volunteer foster homes for temporary cat placement.

This October, the nonprofit will open its first-ever brick-and-mortar facility at 17968 FM 2493, #120, in Flint. The building will house a number of adoptable cats, as well as provide an event space and more visibility for the group in the community. The O’Malley Alley Cat staff hopes that having a public space for people to come meet the cats will translate into more volunteers offering to foster cats and litters of kittens.

“We are here to help, but every day we get half a dozen requests to take in stray cats and newborn kittens,” Lytle, the nonprofit’s assistant director, said. “We get calls about injured cats and cats whose owners have died. We try our best to help network the ones we can’t directly help and to point people toward different resources.”

O’Malley Alley Cat aims for a healthy, happy life for cats and kittens in East Texas. They ask that pet owners be responsible by keeping their cats as indoor-only animals and educate against the cruel act of declawing cats. O’Malley provides medical care to each cat they are able to rescue including vaccines, flea treatments, testing for diseases and spay/neuter surgeries.

The new building will have room to roam for 30 foster cats, as well as an isolation room for sick cats, and Lytle will also operate a boarding business out of the facility.

An enclosed patio, or “catio,” will provide an area for people and cats to interact outdoors. Public visiting hours will be accompanied by events such as live music, art shows, game nights and even cat yoga classes.

Volunteers are needed now to help with finishing touches on the building such as painting the walls and installing trim.

Once the rescue opens its doors in October, volunteers will be needed for cat duty – scooping litter boxes and feeding the cats.

Volunteers will also be needed to greet guests, host events and provide information on the cats available for adoption.

Those who are interested in volunteer opportunities should send an email to tylertxcats@gmail.com .

“We saw in April when people were home for the coronavirus shutdown, we had a lot of adoptions,” Lytle said. “People had more time and were looking for a companion.”

A $105 adoption fee at O’Malley covers all the medical work provided to each cat at intake including a spay/neuter, vaccines, a flea treatment and testing for disease.

“We know the cats because we have personally spent time with them in foster housing, and the cat’s been socialized, so it’s not the same as getting a free cat from a friend,” Lytle said.

Lytle says that not only will their new building be good for the cats, but it will be good for people too.

“It’s nice to have something positive that people can rally around in a time when there is so much division,” she said. “No one who comes around the cats is arguing whether cats or dogs are better, they are here because they love cats. We might not be on the same page on other topics, but it’s encouraging that we can both agree that cats are great, and we want to help them.”

A fundraiser and sneak peek of the new facility will be hosted in-person and also virtually on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you go:

Pet Pawtraits To The Rescue art show and O’Malley Cat Lounge sneak peek, hosted from 6 to 8 p.m. at 17968 FM 2493, #120, Flint.

Social distancing and mask wearing will be enforced for the in-person event. The event is free, children are welcome, and donations are appreciated. For remote guests, a video tour of the facility and a slideshow of all the art will be posted online.

No cats will be onsite due to the ongoing construction.

Art buyers will be able to claim their art to take home. A designated pick-up place and time options will be available for anyone who will not be attending the event. Paintings will be mailed to distant supporters following the show.