Friends of felines

Friends of felines Bailey Newsom and other caring volunteers help cats in so many ways

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Writer

For West Grove resident Bailey Newsom, the $64,000 question has two answers.

The first is literal: That figure is about the amount that he and his wife, Nanci, have donated in the last dozen years to help feral cats and lead kittens to good homes.

The second is philosophical: his legacy.

“The plight of feral cats is that they didn’t choose to be outside,” he said. “People have choices, and these cats don’t. My way to give back is to help as many cats as possible and give back to society.”

And for friend Debbie Learn Alchon, the question differs. She demurs when asked how much she has spent to help cats but easily reveals she bought a Landenberg property to shelter many, many cats.

But her philosophical answer echoes Newsom. “I love animals,” she said. “I love cats. They deserve to have the best possible life.”

Newsom handles most of the work on his group, Frosty’s Dream, while Learn Alchon has significant volunteer help for her nonprofit, the Landenberg-based Angel Wings Kitty Sanctuary.

Frosty’s Dream

Newsom, 72, grew up with cats, and when his son was four, the family welcomed their first cat into their home. Today the retired chef and his wife share their rancher with nine cats they have adopted.

His charity is called Frosty’s Dream (named for a cat whose life was sadly cut short), and it specializes in low-cost TNR. That acronym refers to trapping feral cats, neutering them so they do not produce future generations that need help and returning them to their colonies.

Along the way, he and his network also encounter kittens, which get their own routine: introductory medical treatment, neutering, eight weeks with a foster family (so they learn how to behave nicely in human homes) and then a return to Newsom, who transports the kittens to the Brandywine Valley SPCA for adoption.

His epiphany began with two heart attacks that forced

Volunteer Linda Ellingsworth is in a building created for an outdoor cat colony that lost its home due to development.

Photos by Ken Mammarella

Bailey Newsom of West Grove created Frosty’s Dream, an organization devoted to low-cost trapping, neutering and returning feral cats.

Bailey and and Nanci Newsom have chosen to adopt some of the neediest cats, such as Rusty, who has no eyes, and Buddy, who has no tear ducts.

him to retire at age 61. During a visit to Utah, he and Nanci volunteered with the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, America’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Back home, he helped University of Pennsylvania veterinary students learn field service, primarily dealing with feral cats and setting up both their garages as neutering surgical centers.

The university stopped the program, and a frustrated Newsom took over. What he does for cats has evolved over the years, partly as his own health has changed, but care for the cats remains paramount in his life.

“I am determined to make a difference, one cat a time,” he said. “That includes rescues, fosters, rehoming, medical and spay/neutering.”

Newsom charges $50 to $75 for neutering (and accompanying medical treatment) and only wants to cover his costs – which can skyrocket with medical emergencies, he said, citing a $1,500 bill for one cat. Continued on Page 10

At home with the Newsoms

The Newsoms have chosen to adopt some of the neediest felines, he said, immediately acknowledging that all the cats that he encounters need a home.

Of their nine cats, three are blind: Daisy, Onyx and Rusty. Two have no tear ducts: Buddy and Peppy. Two have interesting traits: “Tinkerbell walks like a duck, and Nemo likes onions,” he said. “I don’t know why.” The final two were introduced to this reporter without comment: Harley and Ivan. Over the years, Newsom’s reputation has spread wide, and he’s received cats from as far as Baltimore, Reading and South Jersey.

After helping more than 20,000 cats, he now limits himself to about 15 cats a week. Cats and cat supplies still dominate the garages, and 42 cats are buried on the property.

Friends of felines

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Sanctuary residents can safely sample the outdoors in the catio – a patio for cats.

“I’m getting tired,” he said, and his often-stooped posture shows how the care has weighed on him.

“You say that every year,” he quoted his wife when she hears that complaint.

“I’m going to drop dead doing this,” he quoted himself.

Yet … there’s a saying from writer John Bunyan that he reads daily: “‘You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

A commitment

Learn Alchon began the sanctuary in 2017, after several decades with the New Bolton Center, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine operation in Kennett Square.

She recalled being emotionally moved when encountering hurt cats, needy kittens, unadoptable cats and colonies of outdoor cats who have lost their homes to the march of development.

So she bought a 2-acre foreclosed property near Elwood L. Crossan Park. She’s renovating the house for herself and her cats (she declined to say how many), but the big draw was another structure, about 1,300 square feet, once used to repair cars. That building is for the sanctuary. She added a catio (a patio for cats) and a building for a colony of cats that lived on a farm lost to development.

“The primary mission of the sanctuary is to provide

Aubrey Chase is one of 20 or so volunteers at the Angel Wings Kitty Sanctuary in Landenberg.

compassionate care for homeless cats and kittens in a safe environment until they are adopted, and most importantly to provide a place where senior, disabled and unwanted cats are loved and can happily live out their lives,” Learn Alchon said.

“We also have taken in cats with special needs and support other kitties who were losing their homes,” she said. “I continued to trap and pull kittens as well as work with Bailey, so I expanded to a foster-based rescue finding adoptable cats and kittens forever homes.”

Continued on Page 12

The concept of the forever home takes on a different meaning in the sanctuary cemetery.

Friends of felines

Continued from Page 11

More than 80 cats live at the sanctuary, and she hopes that she could reduce the number.

It’s quite a commitment. “If I’m not sleeping, I’m taking care of the cats,” she said, estimating she has helped thousands of cats over the years.

‘It’s my happy place’

“She would feed a cat before she feeds herself,” said Linda volunteer Ellingsworth.

“That’s true,” Learn Alchon replied.

Ellingsworth is one of the sanc- The Newsoms’ living room is decorated with feline art.

tuary’s 20 or so volunteers, and about seven fosters, including “an amazing bottle feeder who cares for the tiniest, days-old kittens,” Learn Alchon said.

Seven cages at the sanctuary hold different types of cats: shy females; free roamers; “older gentlemen,” most with feline immunodeficiency virus; semi-feral cats; cats with inflammatory bowel disease; a cat “who’s a project, emotionally shut down”; and kittens in waiting.

Pet Supplies Plus in Avondale showcases cats for adoption, Learn Alchon said.

“They’re our friends,” said Ellingsworth, who shares her home in New London Township with four cats and was also the sanctuary’s first foster family.

“This has been my life’s dream,” said Gail Morrison, another volunteer, who shares her home with four cats. She and her husband, Kenny, oversee everything related to the sanctuary. “It’s my happy place. This is my retirement job, financially and emotionally. This is where I want to be and long as I can get around. And it’s a reason to get up every day.”

WANT TO HELP?

Frosty’s Dream largely relies on the work of West Grove resident Bailey Newsom. He appreciates supplies (such as cat food and cat litter) and cash to cover costs. Frosty’s Dream can be reached at 610869-0657 or bnewsom12@gmail.com.

The Angel Wings Kitty Sanctuary in Landenberg, a nonprofit since 2019, is led by Debbie Learn Alchon and has about 20 volunteers who help care for and have quality time with resident cats and coordinate adoptions. The sanctuary appreciates supplies (such as cat food, paper towels, trash bags and cat litter) and cash donations at angelwingskittysanctuary.com.

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