Scout’s project adds special touches to cat retirement home

Kitties staying at the Blue Bell Foundation for Cats in Laguna Canyon are enjoying new perches and decorated rooms thanks to a Lake Forest boy’s Eagle Scout project.

Colin Crookston, 17, raised money for supplies and oversaw a crew that installed shelves for the cats to sleep, a bench and a picket fence. Friend Julia Ghavini painted trees with falling leaves on previously blank walls.

For two weeks Colin’s crew, which included his parents and other scouts, spent time after school and on weekends making the cat scratchers, perches and steps.

The project’s purpose is to teach leadership skills and educate scouts on what it’s like working as a professional.

By completing the work, Colin will advance from a Life Scout to Eagle Scout, an honor just 6% of scouts in Orange County attain, Colin’s mother, Janell Crookston, said.

The project cost $469 and Colin, part of Troop 604 from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, raised an extra $518 that will go toward a renovation of Blue Bell’s main house.

Work on the 1940s-era cottage includes new laminate wood flooring, a reconfiguration of the kitchen and cat care clinic, painted walls, new fixtures, shelving, desks, storage and cabinets.

The nonprofit Blue Bell Foundation for Cats offers lifetime care for senior cats whose owners can no longer care for them.

For more information, call (949) 494-1586.