Casey Joseph had always been involved with cat rescue in some form or another, but she had just never ventured out on her own until she decided to open Murphy’s Kittens, Inc. two years ago.
“We took in our first cat two weeks before the (COVID-19 pandemic) lockdown in 2020,” Joseph said. “We started out kind of small, but it has really begun to grow over the years.”
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit stray cat sanctuary and adoption program currently has 70 cats and only has a max capacity of 75. The facility is located at 2600 U.S. 1 S., Suite 3 in St. Augustine.
According to Joseph, getting close to capacity is not ideal because the cat population has grown locally since the pandemic ended.
To combat the need to find homes for the growing number of stray cats, she is currently working on a couple of projects.
The first of which is the search to find and lease a larger space than what they have now, so that more cats can be housed without issues.
“We are working on getting a bigger space, with the hopes that it will double or even triple the number of cats we can take in,” Joseph said.
According to Joseph, educating the public is one of the best ways to help reduce the number of stray cats.
“If we can get a bigger space, there would be more space to teach people how to trap and give them the necessary knowledge and tools needed to make an impact,” she said.
The other project she is working on is getting a mobile unit that can spay or neuter cats to help control the rapid population growth.
She is in the process of raising funds for both the new space and a work van that can be fitted with a proper surgical operating space.
Although Joseph is aware that it will likely take some time to raise the needed amount of funding for both projects, she also understands that a dream cannot become a reality until you aim for it, and she believes there are many in the community that share her passion to help animals in need.
“When I was a kid, all I ever wanted to do was go to veterinary school,” Joseph said. “Every job or volunteer opportunity I ever had dealt with animals in some way.”
Murphy’s Kittens does receive some help with housing an additional 25 cats thanks to partnerships with two Petco locations at 675 Durbin Pavilion Drive, Suite 101 in St. Johns and 430 Cbl Drive in St. Augustine.
Through the partnership Petco has weekly adoption days where the public can come in and meet and greet with the cats.
The St. Johns location’s weekly period is Sundays noon to 1 p.m., while the St. Augustine location has meet and greets Thursdays 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 1 p.m.
They also work closely with the St. Augustine Humane Society and other cat rescues.
There is a sanctuary room at the main facility where cats that have been long-term residents, cats that have been up for adoption for a while but not received much interest, are housed. There are currently 26 cats in the sanctuary.
“It’s just not a healthy atmosphere for them to be in a cage for that long of time, so that’s when we move them over,” Joseph said.
However, the mission always remains to continue striving to get each sheltered cat a permanent home.
As a result, during the month of July all long-term sheltered cats are available for adoption for $30, which is half price from the usual $60 fee.
Photos and profiles of cats available for adoption are listed to be viewed at murphyskittens.org.
