History

it began with one timid cat

The founders of SCOOP, Drs. Barb Wehmann and Ed Lentz, began their efforts in animal rescue in the spring of 2001 when a very thin feral cat began visiting them daily for food. She was so timid that they called her “Timi.” Over the months as they worked in the garden and talked with her (from a distance, of course!), she began to tame. She joined their home that Fall after teaching them lessons in trust and patience.

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From a cat to a colony

The following year Barb and Ed came across a large colony of feral kittens and cats at an apartment complex. It was a heartbreaking sight as very small motherless kittens waited for raccoons to drop them food scraps from the Dumpsters and mother cats had only thrown-away food scraps (when they were lucky) to share with their kittens. They witnessed raccoons protecting, and eating alongside, motherless feral kittens. It was their first close-up experience and realization of the sad life that many millions of feral and stray cats face and it affected them in many ways.

 

Over the course of that year, late at night, they fed, trapped, sought medical care (including spay and neuter services), tamed, adopted out, and kept the unadoptable. Barb and Ed were novices, unaware of the success of trap-neuter-return (TNR). Their only goal was to help these felines. They assisted that colony daily for 10 months, until every cat had been trapped. These were the initial private efforts that would become SCOOP—an inevitable expansion due to the vast needs of suffering kittens and cats.

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Many cats, one goal

In an effort to continue and expand their efforts, SCOOP was “born” in August 2006 when the organization became incorporated in Ohio as a non-profit. SCOOP’s Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) tax exemption status was granted in October 2006.

 

While their knowledge base has grown, the goal remains the same: to help cats in need.

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