They all have names: Cider, Harmony, Fidget, Snowshoe — more than 150 in all. They're young and old, long- and short-haired, large and small. A few live in cages. Most roam freely through the old warehouse that is now their home. The Cat Crossing, a sanctuary for cats on the near west side, is the brainchild of local artist Mary Wawrytko, who founded it in 2012. Wawrytko had a successful career as a sculptor, with exhibitions at the Cleveland Natural History Museum, the Wichita Art Association and other venues in Ohio. But she couldn't ignore the need. And Wawrytko has a way with cats.

More information

As a nonprofit, The Cat Crossing operates on a shoestring budget. There's always a shortage of volunteers and money.

The Crossing accepts donations of dry cat food, scoopable litter, gift cards and cash to help pay veterinary bills. Checks or gift cards can be mailed to The Cat Crossing, P.O. Box 45441, Cleveland, 44145. Call 216-854-3782 to drop off donations.

Volunteers are also needed to help care for the 125 abandoned cats and feed 28 feral cat colonies in and around the Flats.

For more information, go to catcrossingcleveland.org.

When she brings a cat into the Crossing they seem to know they have been given a new home and that getting along with others is a requirement. Unlike a typical shelter, at a sanctuary all the cats can live out their lives, even if they are not adoptable. There is a no-kill policy at the Crossing. Cats in bad shape are given time and care to get better.

Wawrytko took up the cause of abandoned cats more than 15 years ago.

"I found this totally emaciated tomcat. He was ripped to shreds, abscesses everywhere," she says. She took him to a veterinarian who said he had to run some tests before he could treat the cat. He asked her what she wanted to do. Wawrytko had the cat tested.

"He didn't have any horrible diseases, just a bad case of ear mites." She decided to nurse him back to health.

"That's what got me hooked on rescues," she says. And that tomcat turned out to be one of her best cats, adapting from being feral to socializing with others.

Wawrytko doesn't consider herself a cat person. "I'm an animal person first; I will help any animal in distress," she says. A longtime resident of the city's near West Side, Wawrytko recalls that she would routinely see cars drive to the end of Columbus Road, stop, and toss a dog or a cat out the window.

She says cats are the most abandoned and abused of all animals, as there are fewer and fewer places for them to be taken.

The city of Cleveland has no facility where people can bring cats. Every private facility in Cuyahoga County has a waiting list. "The ultimate goal of what we're trying to do is to have the city provide a shelter for cats," says Wawrytko.

Besides providing a home for cats and a place for rehabilitation, the Crossing works with the feral cat population. Volunteers travel the West Side feeding and sheltering cats.

"The Cat Crossing is the true-grit rescue," says Sandy Thomas, who started out early as a volunteer and now keeps the place running alongside Wawrytko. Thomas and her daughter, Lauren, drive the feeding route three times a week. "There's nothing pretty about it," she says, "it's real. You're out there rescuing and trying to save animals," she says.

Sometimes, feral cats can't adapt to being with others. Recently, Wawrytko and some volunteers set up a new feral cat colony for six cats from the Crossing — with shelters and feeding stations they will replenish — in overgrown industrial land on the near West Side.

Wawrytko would like to get back to doing her artwork. But for now, she's put it on hold.

"My goal is to have a little bit of my life back. I had a career. This is my avocation, not my vocation, and I need my vocation a little bit," she says.