[Vision2020] Caturday (February 13, 2016)

[Moscow Cares]

Not news: Man collects scrap metal, sells it, buys food . . . 
News: the food is for the 70-odd feral and homeless cats he cares for . . . BIG News: He hasn't missed a day for over 21 years (or approximately 1,100 Caturdays).


Courtesy of the Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) at:

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-harford-feral-cats-willie-ortiz-20160125-tory.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link

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Scrap-Metal Collector Keeps Hartford Cats Fed
HARTFORD — Willie Ortiz is beaming under his headlamp.

It's 7 p.m., dark and cold. He's driving a beat-up minivan packed floor to roof with cans of cat food.

This is Ortiz's element, and he couldn't be happier.

He walks toward the back of an auto body garage's yard, passing cars, vans, and even a boat, left to rust. Nothing's alive back there.

And then, as soon as Ortiz lifts his voice, they come.

Cats, at least 10 of them. They dart out from the shadows, flashing in and out of the light from the Puerto Rico native's headlamp.

Ortiz has a long resume: soldier, school bus driver, mechanic, welder at Hartford Hospital. It's his latest gig, however, that makes him truly happy.

The 75-year-old is part forager and part feeder, but all heart. He drives around collecting scrap metal to sell, earning money to ensure Hartford's street cats don't go hungry.

His house in East Hartford is a shrine to his work: A backyard full of scrap metal in various stages of disassembly and a dining room loaded with pallets of cat food, piled nearly as high as the table where he eats his own meals.

"I do this because I know no one likes the cats," Ortiz said recently in his home as Whitney, a black longhair, lounged nearby. "I see them, and I see they need help."

Ortiz's philanthropy started in 1995, when he noticed a stray cat, hungry for attention, rubbing up against customers at his friend's auto-body shop in Hartford.

"People were pushing it away, and I could see it needed help," Ortiz said. "So I said to the Lord, 'I know these cats can't understand my accent, but I need to do something,'" he added, with a laugh.

So Ortiz began feeding that stray, as well as a few others behind Hartford Hospital. One of his former co-workers saw his routine and donated $40 to the cause.

Ortiz's mission continued to grow as he slowly discovered places where stray cats gather. Eventually, as word spread, animal-care activists and residents he befriended started phoning in tips.

And in 21 years, Ortiz says he hasn't missed a day — when the snow gets deep, he digs out a path to the food.

People ask me why I feed them every day, or tell me I feed them too much," Ortiz said. "You eat every day, no? You get three meals; they eat once every 24 hours."

Now, his nightly route takes him through East Hartford and parts of Upper Albany, Clay Arsenal and Downtown, a total of 14 stops that serve about 70 cats, he estimates.

The operation runs on scrap metal, and Ortiz spends his mornings gathering it.

A contractor friend in Newington saves him light fixtures, wiring and other bits. Some businesses unload old appliances on him. Aluminum is good, Ortiz said, but copper is ideal, practically gold to him.

No matter the size, he hauls the scraps in his pickup to recycling plants like A&B in East Hartford or City Auto Parts on Fishfry Street near Weston. A good day's haul gets him $20, and it's closer to $60 on a great day.

Every 10 days, he spends about $200 on cans of Friskies shredded food. He's a stickler for that brand, or, rather, his "clients" are.

"I had a friend order me a case of food one time, but it was no good," Ortiz said. "She got chunky food; these cats, some of them don't have any teeth."

When he has the (correct) food in hand, Ortiz takes off, pulling out of his driveway about 6:30 every night. He usually isn't back until about 10.

The timing is no accident. Ortiz, like his four-legged friends, is wary of strangers.

"Some people, if they see where the cats are, will try to bother them," he said. "At night, they don't find them as easily."

It's clear Ortiz is more worried about the cats' safety than his own. He goes where the cats are, and they don't always live in the best neighborhoods.

"I pray before I leave," said Ortiz. "And if I see people coming up to me, I talk to them, show them I'm not afraid."

Despite Ortiz's confidence, the location of his travels still worries William Haines, a doctor at Hartford Veterinary Hospital who has worked with him since day one.

"I do what I can to help, but he's the one going through the back alleys and back streets, trying to take care of them," said Haines.

Feeding the cats is only half of Ortiz's mission, according to Haines.

Over the years, Ortiz has brought ailing cats to Haines. Some need a quick booster shot, others need spaying or neutering.

He's a good person doing God's work," Haines said. "It's like Mother Theresa: She couldn't do everything, but she could do something."

Some of the more docile cats are easy to cart to the vet, like Leo, whom Ortiz started feeding after his family left him behind after being evicted. More feral ones require the use of painless wire traps, which Ortiz orders online.

He usually releases the cats after their treatments. But if the cats are friendly, Ortiz helps find them permanent homes. He's got "a sense" for which ones can function with a family, he said.

"Animals are my passion, too, but this is Willie's life," said Roberta Faltus, owner of Freedom Paws Rescue, an organization in Vernon that Ortiz partners with.

Ortiz's home is littered with photo albums of adopted cats, names and addresses scrawled on the back of each snapshot. They're souvenirs, reminders that the hungry street cats who once relied on him to survive now have a more comfortable setup.

"We've helped hundreds of cats find homes, but there's always more work to be done," Faltus said.

And Ortiz agrees; it's why he still rises early to collect scrap and stays out late to feed the cats.

But when he's asked how long he'll keep up the routine, he just laughs.

"It's up to God," he said. "If He wants me to keep doing this, I'll do it as long as I can."

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Willie Ortiz, 75, has been feeding feral cats around Hartford for 21-years. Ortiz, who collects scrap metal to fund the food, has not missed a day despite rain, snow or freezing cold. 
 http://www.moscowcares.com/Caturday/Caturday_021316_01.jpg

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Willie Ortiz, 75, pets one of his favorite cats as he feeds feral felines at one of his nightly stops, an auto body garage along Main Street. Ortiz, who collects scrap metal to fund the food, has not missed a feeding in 21 years.
http://www.moscowcares.com/Caturday/Caturday_021316_02.jpg

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A cat looks out from under a car as it eats. Willie Ortiz, 75, feeds feral cats at one of his nightly stops, an auto body garage along Main Street in Hartford. Ortiz, who collects scrap metal to fund the food, has not missed a feeding in 21-years. 

http://www.moscowcares.com/Caturday/Caturday_021316_03.jpg

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
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