OPHS’s Kitty City sets open house

The Olympic Peninsula’s newest home for felines and other animals is nearly ready for visitors.

Representatives with the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society (OPHS) host an open house for McKay Kitty City — the new, 7,500-square foot campus that houses cats, kittens, small critters, veterinarian services and administration — starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 18, at 91 S. Boyce Road.

Clallam County commissioners will offer a proclamation at that time, with public tours offered between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The event includes a raffle.

“We are very proud of the new facility and can’t wait to share it with the public,” OPHS executive director Luanne Hinkle said.

“It has everything from huge custom catios, roaming rooms and condos, to a fully equipped surgery suite. The facility can take us into the future providing even more services to the public such as a low-cost spay neuter program.”

The building purchase and remodel, costing $1.6 million, was funded by a combination of capital campaign donations, bequests, and some equipment grants, allowing OPHS to remain debt-free, humane society representatives noted.

A Clallam County requirement for a Conditional Use Permit issued by Clallam County when the property on Old Olympic Highway was purchased required the removal of three mobile coaches being used to house Kitty City, veterinarian services and Administration, Hinkle said. Building new on their existing property — to be used now strictly a canine campus — proved too costly, and the new Kitty City building, formally a church with classrooms, was the perfect fit for the displaced services, she said.

The entire project from capital campaign to building purchase and remodel, including equipment acquisition, took a little more than a year.

“Conducting a capital campaign and remodeling during a pandemic with staff and supply shortages was certainly a challenge, but the outcome was worth the wait,” Hinkle said.

For more than 75 years, OPHS has maintained an active presence in Sequim, Port Angeles and surrounding areas. The private, nonprofit, no-kill shelter cares for domestic animals “of all types regardless of breed, health or disposition.” OPHS is financed primarily by private donations and gifts and is not associated with a national organization. About 1,500 animals pass through the doors of the facility, representatives say.

For more information about OPHS, call 360-457-8206 or visit ophumanesociety.org.