Jan 1, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Catnip Acres closed its day-to-day veterinarian clinic two months after reopening a new office in Morrisville, Franklin Township, although the nonprofit organization said it will continue to provide various “free and low-cost” services to pet owners.

The spay and neuter clinic and veterinarian office had reopened Nov. 2 in the former Waynesburg Roller Skating Rink at 175 Wade St., after closing its former office on East High Street in June. The new clinic’s last day was Wednesday.

Carol Pultorak, the founder of Catnip Acres, said the clinic was closed to allow the group to restructure its operations.

Pultorak said Catnip Acres will be looking for a veterinarian who is willing to own and operate the clinic. The group felt it needed to have a veterinarian who has “some skin in this,” she said.

“Catnip Acres has not given up on the clinic. We are already moving forward,” she said.

Pultorak said she will be in charge of operating the spay and neuter clinics but wants somebody else to be in charge of the veterinarian services portion of the operations. She noted the clinic has more than $250,000 worth of clinic equipment she had donated to the organization.

“I need to hand Catnip Acres over to someone who understands the importance of what we do, someone who cares as much as we do,” she wrote in her posting.

“That will happen. We have a caring board of directors and a wonderful group of volunteers. Our clients are the kindest and most appreciative pet owners,” she said.

Pultorak also said the group will continue to conduct fundraisers to help it cover the costs of the free and low-cost spay and neuter services it provides pet owners in the community.

Prices that are charged for its services don’t cover all expenses, she said.

“Nobody makes money on this,” she said.

Pultorak noted people who have purchased the 2016 lottery calendars will receive their prize money should they win. The money for the payouts, she said, is all in the bank and has not been touched.

Pultorak has worked with various groups to save feral and neglected cats for almost 25 years. In 2011, she opened her own low-cost clinic at her Franklin Township home.

The operation of a veterinarian clinic in a residential area was challenged before the township zoning board in late 2012, forcing Pultorak to move the clinic to High Street in Waynesburg.

Catnip Acres operated its clinic at the High Street address until June 30. The center closed after Pultorak, announced she was retiring. The clinic also was in need of more suitable offices and money to help make the transition to a new site.

Upon hearing the center was closing, more than 600 people signed petitions asking for the clinic to remain open. Volunteer also provided support and helped raise money so the clinic could have a new start.

Catnip Acres, for now at least, is going “back to the basics, sterilization and vaccinations, the two most important things we can do for our pets’ health,” she said

The group is now scheduling cat clinics for Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. Anyone who has a pregnant cat or cat in heat is asked to call the clinic at 724-627-0846 and leave a message, said a letter Pultorak posted on Facebook to explain the closing.

People on the waiting list will be called Jan. 3 to confirm their appointment for the Jan. 9 clinic, it said. The group also is trying to find veterinarians to conduct dog clinics.