She Fosters a Fondness for Feline Castaways

“I want you to see what wonderful babies I have,” she said, leading the way through a gate to a large fenced yard. Gravel crunched underfoot. “Come on, babies. Come on to your mommy.”

Carol Winner, a sandy-haired and high-spirited woman, is fond of cats.

And cats are fond of her.

“Aren’t they wonderful?” she asked, not really expecting an answer.

Cats gathered around her ankles, pranced after her across the yard, bumped each other for position to receive her caresses and dropped from cat perches onto her shoulders.

One simply sank its claws into her jogging suit, climbed up and forced its way into her arms.

Winner isn’t exactly sure how many babies she has at a kennel in Canoga Park, but it is about 200.

That almost makes her what Thomas Walsh, supervisor of the West Valley Animal Shelter, calls a “collector.”

Definition of ‘Collector’

Walsh’s definition of a collector is someone who has at least 50 cats, can never refuse a cat in need and can never give a cat up.

“Actually, the collector is just about our biggest problem,” he said. “They all do it for love and they wind up being charged with cruelty to animals.”

Winner isn’t like that. She can give a cat away. In fact, she’s trying to all the time.

But a lot more people want to give her cats than want to take them.

“It’s a losing battle,” Winner said. “I must get daily at least 10 to 15 calls asking me to take their animals. I could take 40 to 50 a month but I just can’t do it. We’d be overrun with cats. I try to take in the ones that are the most destitute. The ones that are in alleys, or their owners are going to destroy them.”

There also are people who have too many cats and want to get rid of some, people who are moving and can’t take their pets with them, people (usually women, Winner said) whose spouses have ordered them to get rid of a cat.

There are only about 10 calls a month from people wanting cats, Winner said. And those don’t always lead to an adoption.

The prospective owners must fill out adoption papers and persuade Winner that they intend to treat the cat like a member of the family. Winner often checks up on her clients and said she has taken cats back when she didn’t like how they were being treated.

“I don’t have such a good reputation,” she said, coyly. “People say to get a cat from me is about impossible. I’m really, really fussy. That’s why I have so many. I can’t place them where I think it’s not a loving home.”

According to others who do similar work, Winner is one of a handful of private pet patrons in Los Angeles who take in unwanted animals and try to find homes for them. She works through an organization called Pet Adoption Fund.

Similar organizations include the Holiday Humane Clinic in North Hollywood, Pet Orphans Fund in Van Nuys, Pet Rescue in Burbank, the National Protection Agency in Long Beach and the Cat Care Club in Santa Monica.

Unlike some individuals who accumulate large numbers of animals in their homes in violation of residential zoning laws, these private humane organizations operate in commercial areas where veterinarians and kennels are allowed.

Generally they charge fees of up to $50 to adopt a pet. They sterilize all animals that come in. And they refuse to kill animals that are not adopted. Those that are not adopted stay indefinitely.

Winner is one of the few who deals exclusively with cats. She said she charges an adoption fee of $15 for a kitten and $25 for an adult.

The Department of Animal Regulation takes no official position on private pet rescue organizations, according to Walsh, supervisor of the West Valley Shelter.

Walsh said there is no official record to show how many cats and dogs are saved by private rescue operations. But he said their effect on the problem of stray and unwanted animals is only minor.

The department destroyed about 20,000 stray and unwanted cats in the past fiscal year, Walsh said.

As long as the private rescue operations are clean, violate no zoning laws and do not bother their neighbors, they do not come under city authority, he said.

Walsh said he is aware of no problems with Winner’s operation.

Winner boards her animals at Shoestring Kennels, 9925 Canoga Ave., in Canoga Park. The kennel’s owner, Frank Parsons, has given the front part of his property to Winner free of charge for her cats, and pays part of the food bill. Winner, who is married to a physician, pays out of her own pocket to have all the cats spayed and neutered, and for any other veterinary expenses.

“I spend just on food daily about $30,” she said. “I’m always in debt. My husband would probably shoot me if he knew. But he probably knows.”

Winner comes by the kennel every afternoon to feed her cats and keep them company.

“This is a seven-day-a-week job,” she said. “I never would desert my babies for anyone. I have to do it.”

The animal caretakers, especially those who deal only with cats, work against frustrating odds.

“It’s tougher than dogs,” said Lynne Drain, a volunteer for Pet Orphans. Drain said most people who adopt a dog prefer an adult, but those looking for a cat usually want a kitten.

“For some reason, people just don’t want to take in adult cats,” she said.