LAPS has a new home.

Lycoming Animal Protection Society, Inc. — or LAPS — has moved to an upgraded shelter at 630 Wildwood Blvd., Williamsport. LAPS is a nonprofit no-kill feline shelter and adoption center that serves Lycoming County and the surrounding area.

“We take in people’s pets when they are unable to keep them anymore for whatever reason, or strays. We work with them to make sure they’re spayed and neutered. We have them treated, give them vaccines, whatever they need to get them ready to be adopted by a forever family.” Cyndi Mussina, treasurer, said.

The new facility has a number of upgrades from their last location.

“We went from a facility that was made of raw wood and fencing to this beautiful new facility. State-of-the-art air handling. We have a lot of bedding and toys and what we call cat trees. We have windows which we didn’t have in the other facility so that the cats are able to get up into the windows and see the world outside,” Mussina said.

The new building has 32 enclosures. Some of the rooms are able to fit 3 or 4 cats while other rooms are single rooms.

It also includes an isolation room for new cats to stay in before they are medically cleared to socialize with the rest of the cats, a treatment room that is used to medicate, treat and groom the cats, and a visitation room.

“We have a visitation room which we didn’t have at the other place — so that somebody who comes in and wants to see a particular cat or a couple of cats can have a sit down with them in a comfortable place and see how they interact with each other,” Mussina said.

The move to an upgraded location was possible because of local donors.

“In 2017, LAPS received a tremendously generous bequest from Barbara S. Bressler, a fellow cat lover. The board of directors determined that the best use of those funds would be to purchase our own facility, securing the future of our organization,” staff members said, according to an email from LAPS. “As the expense of all those renovations was mounting, LAPS was once again blessed with another exceptionally generous bequest from long-time supporter, Ruth W. Lamade, which made it possible to outfit the shelter for the long term. We were able to put in heavy duty flooring, a clean-up area with an over-sized sink, water-resistant laminate cabinets, quartz countertops, among other amenities.”

The search for the new facility took the organization time, as they had to find a building with the correct zoning and specifications, as well as a properly sized building and preferred layout for the shelter.

“Fortunately, a building was located at 630 Wildwood Boulevard, Williamsport, which seemed to be an ideal size and layout and met the zoning requirements,” the email said.

LAPS has a group of volunteers who do a variety of work within the organization. Every day, there are teams which go in to provide love and attention, food and water, give medications, scoop litter boxes, and clean.

During renovations, many volunteers stepped up to foster all of the cats and kittens.

“The building was going to be demolished before we could get into this one. So we sent out a message to our supporters, and a lot of people, supporters and donors opened their homes and foster kitties for us while we renovated. We are so grateful for them because we couldn’t have done it without them,” Mussina said.

“We are always looking for volunteers. It’s not always pretty work. We have to scoop litter boxes and groom the kitties and clean up after him. But it’s rewarding because you also interact with the kitties,” Mussina said.

LAPS will be having an open house on June 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be cats for visitors to check out.

“We’d love to invite everyone to come and visit and see our new facility,” Mussina said.

“I am thrilled with our new building and accommodations for our cats. LAPS has been a part of the local community for a long time. Now, with the help of our volunteers, our members and all those in the general public who have donated time, energy, resources and financial assistance, we can continue to serve the public – and ‘our’ cats — for years to come in a permanent facility that is truly state of the art,” said Maryanne Rossello, LAPS president.

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