Myni Ferguson, president of the Flathead County Animal Shelter Advisory Committee, has received the Health Board’s endorsement for an $88,000 project to add a 20-foot addition on the cat wing of the shelter.

“The advisory committee has been focusing on strategic planning,” she said. “One of the things we realized we need is some increased housing, especially in the cats’ area.”

Ferguson said the shelter has had to turn away quite a few cats at times due to overcrowding. Because county ordinances don’t not require the shelter to accept cats as it does dogs, the staff copes with crowding by offering owners cat food and other assistance to keep their cats until space opens up.

“Unfortunately, occasionally they might just dump them which is a health hazard for the public — cat fights, kitties using gardens,” she said.

Ferguson said the proposed 20- by 28-foot addition would allow the shelter to accept more cats as well as shift spaces to create a much-needed dog intake area. Dogs brought in by the public and animal wardens now go in the staff break room for examination, evaluation and vaccinations.

“This is not a good situation,” she said. “The room is getting trashed by the dogs.”

The stressed canines have chewed and scratched the walls and doors. Even worse, they often make “foul evacuations.”

“This is a room where staff are eating,” Ferguson said. “Their [animal] medications are stored in there and it’s not a healthy situation.”

Kittens would move into the nursery room in the cat addition that also would have a sick/recovery room and cat stray hold/intake area. The plan calls for moving small dogs into the existing kitten room and using the area formerly known as Smallville as the new dog intake area.

“This room is already equipped for intake. It has three small kennels and also a sink,” she said. “All it needs is a refrigerator for medications and it will be all set.”

Ferguson said this allows the animal wardens to bring the dogs in through the back of the building instead of in the front past the public area. She said they can drive in the back, close the gate and eliminate the risk of dogs escaping during the transfer.

She called it basically a health and safety issue. Ferguson said the advisory committee and Flathead Shelter Friends wanted the board’s endorsement before submitting the project to the county commissioners.

“What we are hoping, if the county builds the footprint and the physical plant itself, Flathead Shelter Friends will outfit everything,” she said.

Cliff Bennett, animal shelter director, said Friday that construction would cost $76,500 while equipment or outfitting would take $11,500. He didn’t know how commissioners would receive the project but called it modest while solving safety, hygienic and efficiency problems.

“We can certainly show the need,” he said. “It makes the county look bad when we have to turn cats away. That makes people mad.”

Following Ferguson’s presentation at Thursday’s board of health meeting, members raised their hands to show consensus about having a letter drafted expressing their support for the addition to the animal shelter.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.