A Palatine cat rescue and adoption center celebrated its first 10 years by showcasing its new veterinary care center Saturday.
Barb’s Precious Rescue and Adoption Center, 313 N. Quentin Road held an open house featuring guided tours of its facility, including the new David A. Helt Veterinary Care Center at Saturday’s open house.
The center will offer such essential services as spaying and neutering, along with dental care for rescue cats.
Barb’s Precious Rescue and Adoption Center celebrated its 10th anniversary this year by opening a new veterinary care center.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
The event was also an opportunity for guests to learn about the center’s plans to build an adoption center on a nearby lot.
Barb Weber, the center’s founder and vice president, started the rescue with 50 cats.
Barb Weber, founder and vice president of Barb’s Precious Rescue and Adoption Center, said the center will soon be accepting dogs.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
“I was rescuing cats in Palatine, and it came to a point where there were too many to handle at home,” Weber said. “So my husband and I decided that we would see if there was a building that the village would support.”
They found an old farmhouse that had been converted into a law office.
Since then, the 7,500-square-foot, no-kill, cage-free shelter has provided care for more than 5,000 cats and kittens.
“As soon as we opened, there were calls every day,” she said. “We support (Palatine’s) animal control, so we take their kitties here as well as the kitties from the community or are found outside.”
The new David A. Helt Veterinary Care Center includes two surgical suites.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
It currently has more than 200 cats in its care.
Weber led guests through the new space, which includes pre-op and post-op rooms, two surgical suites, a dental room, an ultrasound lab and an X-ray facility.
The space also provides a permanent home for cats with disabilities or feline leukemia. There is also a maternity ward that includes a separate space for the moms.
It cost the center $657,000 and one year of construction to create the new space within the confines of the existing building. It was collected through donations.
The center not only plans to expand onto the nearby lot. It is also anticipating taking in dogs next summer, with a limit of six at a time.
For more information about the center, visit the website.