Town Cats under new leadership following founder’s passing

Since the passing of Town Cats’ beloved president and founder, Rosemary (Rosi) Mirko, in early July, the no-kill cat shelter and adoption center in Morgan Hill has made some changes and is looking ahead to the future.
“Rosi was an amazing woman with so much energy – even when she was sick, she was able to outwork people,” recalled Patricia Abreu, now the current president of Town Cats.
Mirko, of Gilroy, founded Town Cats in 1997 and fought for countless animal rights throughout San Jose and the South County during her lifetime, according to Abreu. Mirko died at age 55 after a long battle with cancer.
Abreu has been an active volunteer in the lifesaving animal rescue community for more than a dozen years. Before Town Cats, she served at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley as a volunteer, board member and eventually president. She has been volunteering with Town Cats for the past 10 years and is a self-proclaimed, die-hard animal lover, friends say.
Abreu first got involved with the nonprofit by volunteering on Sunday afternoons during adoption fairs with local pet stores such as Petco in Morgan Hill and Pet’s Delight in Los Altos.
“You’ve got families looking for pets and cats who are in dire need of families, so to watch them come together, it’s just magic,” Abreu said.
Abreu, one of 120 volunteers who keeps Town Cats operating, described volunteers as the blood and backbone of the organization. Volunteers are needed to do everything from capturing feral cats to transporting cats to and from veterinarians.
“Town Cats is always looking for volunteers,” Abreu said. “We’d love to expand if we had the money but what’s really important is doing what you can the best that you can.”
Abreu said Town Cats is a dedicated group of people in the community striving to nurture, restore to health and find loving homes for as many abandoned, surrendered, orphaned stray and feral cats as possible.
“We’re looking to make stronger and faster connections with people who are looking to adopt,” Abreu said.
To make a donation or learn more about volunteering with Town Cats, click here.