Feral Cats are a major problem throughout the streets of Hartford, Connecticut as they seek shelter and food. Many residents and workers complain about the large population of felines and defecating all over, causing concerns with flies, worms, and fleas. The concern for some is that so many of these stray Animals can be a health hazard. The cat population is ever-growing since each female feline can have at least a couple of litters annually, which is more mouths to feed. Willie Ortiz works in an area that sees at least 70 neighborhood feral cats daily.
Willie opens his heart to the cats and makes headlines.
Sheet metal worker feeds numerous cats daily
Willie Ortiz is a 76-year-old sheet metal worker who is known as the cat man for feeding hundreds of feral cats daily throughout area streets. He has been doing this for more than 22 years. Willie, a Puerto Rican native, is a veteran and has been married to his lovely wife for 52 years. He has always had a passion for these stray critters, driving around in his minivan filled with cat food. He uses his income to provide food for the neighborhood felines. Willie can be seen driving around to help the various cat colonies every single evening, rain or shine. The cats seem to recognize his voice when he gets out of the van, swarming around him.
Willie loves all animals and is proud to do what he does to help these poor, unfortunate cats.
How Willie gets the resources to feed the feral cats
Although Willie is a scrap metal worker who donates much of his income to the feeding of the stray animals, he is always in search of other ways to generate money. He is always in search of discarded scrap metal that he can resell for cat food.
He also looks for items to sell and make a profit on Craigslist. His mission is to provide sustenance to the cats. His passion started years ago when he saw a person push a hungry, stray cat away rather than give it food to eat. Then and there he decided to feed cats.
Willie has fed 16 colonies of stray and feral cats each night, 365 days a year, for the past 22 years, without fail.
Not only does he feed them but also cares about their health and well-being, bringing them in for medical attention when needed. He even traps any new arrivals to have them spayed and neutered. He is a real hero to the feline community.
