Lost and Found: Cat Socializer of Central New York

By Shannon Rosenberg

Linda Pettigrass has been volunteering at the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York for a year and eight months as a “Cat Socializer.”  She specified her age as “above 30 years old,” and said that she currently lives in Auburn, where she helps to take  care of her mother.

Pettigrass has always loved cats, and has had them as pets all her life. She first went to the shelter after she lost her cat Rudy to kidney disease. From then on, she has been volunteering multiple days a week.

Pettigrass said she feels very lucky to have a job that allows her to play with cats all day. She owns five cats of her own, all adopted from the SPCA.  She has named them all after Italian desserts (spumoni, cannoli).

Pettigrass is adamant about people getting their cats spayed and neutered.  The SPCA is full of cats and kittens that have been abandoned or were born on the streets, and she thinks responsible pet ownership would help solve the problem.