The Brightside: A sanctuary for forgotten cats on Chincoteague Island

CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, Va. – Cats are such simple and gentle animals. The felines at Island Kitties on Chincoteague Island got a second chance at life.

Gladys Baczec, Kerry Perry and Allison Wilson are the powerhouse behind Island Kitties, a sanctuary where stray cats live and are sometimes nursed back to health, until they’re adopted into loving homes.

Gladys said it’s work that gives her a much-needed break from her day job.

“I’ve been in real estate for almost 40 years, and dealing with the animals is much easier than dealing with people,” Gladys said.

But not every day is easy. Island Kitties is one of only a few animal rescues on Chincoteague, which means they take in a lot of cats.

Kerry said it can be tough keeping up with the stray cat population.

“There’s a lot of cats that are feral cats. They can’t be socialized, they can’t be adopted out, but the kittens that we get, we get them at eight weeks, 10 weeks, usually you can socialize them and get them out, but the other cats, you can’t,” said Kerry.

But that’s when the community steps in. Gladys said they’re always looking for folks to take in their cats, even if it’s just temporarily. That support from everyday people who want to continue to see these ladies do this work on the island is what will help keep their doors open.

“We need fosters. It’s all based on fosters; people that take these animals into their homes, care for them, we work with them, we help them out with medical needs, whatever is needed for the kitten, but we cannot do this alone. We need fosters– fostering saves lives,” said Gladys.