PAWS of Bremerton animal shelter focuses on caring for cats, community

BREMERTON — At PAWS of Bremerton, the cats are king.

The nonprofit animal shelter, located at 3306 N. Perry Ave. in Bremerton, is a cat-only shelter that was opened 41 years ago by Betty Alcorn and her husband.

“The people that started this foundation … they are the best two people I’ve ever met,” said current PAWS manager Roxanne Chavez.

Chavez said that currently, PAWS has about 20 cats, but can have fewer or up to 30 depending on the time of year. But they try not to have more than that, because it can get a bit crowded.

“We always allow our pets, after they’ve acclimated to our shelter, they get to roam free inside the house,” Chaves said. “They’re not always kept inside small cubicles. That’s why we can’t have too many cats, because you can only have so many running around.”

PAWS also offers low-cost spay and neutering for cats as well as flea control. Chavez said they ask for a donation to cover the cost of the flea medicine. But they also do their best to help everyone, and will even try to assist with medical bills for low-income residents of Kitsap County.

“Without PAWS, there’d be a lot of animals that didn’t get help,” Chavez said. “I’ve only been in Kitsap County for about four years (but) I don’t know of any other place that will help somebody with vet costs in the area.”

Until they get adopted, the cats are cared for by PAWS volunteers — Chavez said everyone who works at PAWS is a volunteer. They have about 20 volunteers working off and on.

“The animals are always treated with love, and our volunteers are wonderful and they care about the pets,” Chavez said.

For more information about PAWS of Bremerton, visit www.pawsofbremer ton.org or call 360-373-7043.

Michelle Beahm is a reporter for the Central Kitsap Reporter and Bremerton Patriot. She can be reached at mbeahm@soundpublishing.com.