The new year started off at the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard with a wonderful, heartwarming story about a stray cat. Early in November, a young yellow cat disappeared from its home in Oak Bluffs. The cat jumped into a truck and was gone. About a month later a yellow cat appeared at a home in West Tisbury, obviously a stray, very thin and quite shy. The homeowner is a devoted cat lover and took pity on the cat but was unable to catch it. So she fed it and gave it a warm bed outside. On Tuesday the cat, who by this time had become quite friendly, was caught by the kind lady and brought to the shelter. The cat was checked for a microchip, and lo and behold there was a name matching the chip. The owner was called and the next day came for a joyful reunion with her wayward kitty. When she had the cat chipped she forgot to register the number, but Lisa,, the shelter manager, had recorded the number and was able to reunite the grateful owner and the cat. Please remember when you have your animal microchipped to call and have the number recorded. It is then easy to match an animal with its owner. Micro-chipping is a marvelous, fairly new thing and we encourage every pet owner to take advantage of it for the sake of their pets. All animals adopted from the shelter have been micro-chipped.

The cat roster has thankfully diminished and there are only three adult cats and two kittens available for adoption. They are Rex, the elderly tuxedo lady; Brody, an elderly gentleman who has special needs; DJ, a three-year-old tuxedo new to the shelter who is being neutered this week and will be ready for adoption today. Finally there are two sweet little kittens, brother and sister Cedric and Cherry who are so devoted to each other that it would be nice to find them a home together.

The Edgartown Hardware store is keeping a wish list for anyone who would like to donate a tool or two to the shelter for repairs to our building. A new heating and air conditioning system is being installed, thanks to generous donations.

Shelter hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday. The telephone number is 508-627-8662.

Contributions are always gratefully accepted; the shelter is funded solely by donations. Please make checks out to The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard; the mailing address is P.O. Box 1829, Edgartown MA 02539.