A new animal adoption center and used bookstore at Petaluma Village Premium Outlets in north Petaluma is the cat’s meow.
Literally.
The shelter, named Morti’s Used Book Nook and Cat Adoption Lounge, is affiliated with Petaluma PET Pals and already has facilitated about a half-dozen adoptions. The center opened to the public Sept. 11 following a fundraising campaign earlier this year.
All the cats at Morti’s are rescue kittens, which means all of them may have been euthanized at other shelters if they hadn’t been moved someplace else. Adoption Coordinator Tanya Reyes, a longtime Petaluma resident and volunteer with Petaluma PET Pals, said this makes the work at Morti’s even more important.
“We exist to provide a safe landing spot for these cats and connect them with the people who will provide their forever homes,” said Reyes, who also works as a veterinary assistant in Sebastopol.
The idea for Morti’s began out of tragedy: the death of the center’s namesake special needs kitten, Morticia. Last summer, Reyes fostered the kitten after someone dropped off her and her brother in a Ziploc bag. She bottle-fed both kittens for weeks.
The brother did well. Little Morti did not.
After $3,000 in vet bills, Morti died and Reyes felt helpless.
“It was the hardest thing to being an animal advocate and not being able to do anything about it or seek enough help,” she said. “That’s when I knew I had to do more.”
Fast-forward to March of this year. Reyes and Shannon Freiberg, director of Petaluma PET Pals, wanted to open a cat café but didn’t have the $80,000-$100,000 to do so. Instead, they pivoted. The duo realized they had some underutilized space at the Great Stuff Thrift Store in the outlet mall and agreed to turn the 1,300-square-foot area into a cage-free adoption center.
Along with a handful of other volunteers, they held a fundraiser in April to underwrite the transformation. They raised more than $20,000.
With the money in hand, volunteers got to work on the next phase: buildout. Over the course of the following few months, teams of dedicated workers erected walls out of corrugated metal and wood and divvied up the space into an inviting book nook with three separate adoption rooms.
They collected donations of used books. They purchased a cat tree for the center. They put up signage.
Finally, the new adoption center opened its doors. In addition to several older cats who live at Morti’s full time, there were 16 rescue kittens available for adoption on Day 1.
As of press time, five of the kitties had been adopted.
Petaluma resident Allison Jones is one of those lucky new parents. Jones was among the original donors for Morti’s, and has given used clothes and books to Petaluma PET Pals for years. She said one of the main reasons she’s so involved is because she admires how Reyes always puts the well-being of the cats first.
“She is so passionate about the animals,” said Jones, who has four cats. “She treats them like family.”
Cats at Morti’s change all the time.
As kittens get adopted and leave, others come in. Freiberg and her team at Petaluma PET Pals spay and neuter about 20-30 rescues per month, and many of these cats eventually (after foster care) end up at Morti’s.
Adoptions at Morti’s go through Petaluma PET Pals and cost $100 per cat. But the center lives on more than adoptions alone. Reyes said her operation is supported by donations and revenue generated from book sales and sales at the thrift store next door. Morti’s also sells cat food, cat toys, and other cat supplies at a small markup.
Freiberg added that what makes Morti’s so special for the cats is space to roam.
“For years we did adoptions and fosters out of PetSmart—it was nice to be able to have the space there, but the kennels were so small,” she explained. “Here, at Morti’s, even in the kitten rooms, the cats can wander around, play, sleep, and do what cats do.”
Looking forward, Reyes and Freiberg have their eyes on stability.
Currently Morti’s is open on weekends only, and volunteers would love to see it add more hours in the future. Of course, more donations wouldn’t hurt, either.
As for adoptions, Reyes said she is happy to find homes for kittens in need, but she noted that she also does not want to crank out adoptions just for the sake of numbers. Here she said the process is less about visitors choosing the right cats and more about cats choosing the right owners.
“At the end of the day I want to make sure that my kittens are going to homes where they’re going to be cared for, places where they’re going to have better lives than the ones they’ve had here with me,” she said. “It’s emotional and rewarding to make those connections, but it’s a lot of no’s and negativity until you find the right family.”
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