Closing brings new opportunities for Bucktown animal shelter

Every Monday night for a year, Julia Chosy, 31, has left her Bucktown apartment and spent her evening scooping litter boxes, sweeping floors, changing water bowls and cleaning up hairballs. The three hours she spends caring for cats at the Furry Friends Foundation in Bucktown are a highlight of her week, Chosy said.

“I love it,” said Chosy as she stroked one of her favorite red-and-white tabby cats. “It’s more than just cleaning. Some of the cats have come a really long way in terms of socialization. The volunteers do a lot to build that trust.”

After eight years, the Furry Friends Foundation, a no-kill animal shelter that specialized in housing bully breed dogs, closed Nov. 1.

Later this year, the Tree House Foundation, a no-kill cageless shelter for cats, will take over the building on North Ashland Avenue. Officials at Tree House, who have served the Chicago area from its Uptown location since 1971, hopes to use the new facility to expand adoption and veterinary services, said Jenny Schlueter, director of development for Tree House.

The changeover came as a surprise to many of the Furry Friends all-volunteer staff. In August, trustees for the Furry Friends Foundation informed volunteers they planned to close the shelter in November. All animals with the foundation needed to be placed in homes before then, Chosy said. At the time, the shelter had about 20 dogs, 85 cats and several guinea pigs and rabbits.

After the initial announcement, volunteers sponsored a number of open house events to encourage adoption of the remaining pets. By late September, the shelter still had eight dogs, mostly pit bulls, and more than 30 cats.

“I was pretty scared,” Chosy said. “We thought we had two months to place 85 cats and at least 20 are feral or not easily placeable. …We didn’t have a lot of options.”

Eventually, the last of the dogs found homes. But the cats, who occupy the entire second floor, never dropped below 30. Volunteers contacted a ranch outside Pittsburgh that housed feral cats, but found the Pennsylvania facility could take up to 25.

The big break came at the beginning of October, when trustees for the Furry Friends Foundation notified volunteers that Tree House had agreed to buy the facility and accept the remaining.

“There was a huge sense of relief when we found out that Tree House was going to take over,” Chosy said. “They have a really good reputation.”

Though Tree House will continue Furry Friends operation as a no-kill, cageless shelter, its approach is slightly different. Tree House specializes in strays and cats with special needs, the type of animals that are more difficult to place in homes, Schlueter said.

Located inside a renovated house in a residential area of Uptown, Tree House maintain a home-like atmosphere in the building’s interior. Cats with special needs have the full run of the first floor and often lounge in the offices or on the desks of administrative workers.

“We try as best to make it like a home [for the cats] until they can get their own a home,” Schlueter said. “The idea is [to make it] as comfortable as possible. Once someone is cleared for adoption, they can come back for as many times as they like. They can hang out in a room and see who gets on their lap. It really allows people to get to know the cats and personalities.”

Tree House hopes to maintain that atmosphere at the North Ashland Avenue facility. On Thursday, workers had already begun construction to add more nooks and crannies on the second floor to give the cats more places to nest.

Tree House also has large community outreach effort. The cat shelter offers free and low-cost spay and neutering options and generally performs about 400 to 500 operations in a year, Schlueter said. The foundation hopes to expand that effort in the new building.

In spite of the differences, Chosy said she plans to continue working at the shelter once Tree House takes custody of the building. About 20 other Furry Friends volunteers have also said they want to stay on after the change, Schlueter said.

“We’re asking for [the Furry Friends volunteers] to stay involved with us and volunteer for us,” Schlueter said. “We really hope we can keep working together.”