Rescue Group Caring for 13 Cats Taken From Savoy Home

Northern Berkshire County Animal Rescue is caring for 13 cats with severe medical issues that were taken from a home in Savoy.

SAVOY, Mass. — A local man is facing multiple charges after 31 cats were removed from his property on Friday.

Carrie Loholdt, animal control officer for North Adams and Savoy, confirmed that charges will be filed in the next couple weeks. She declined to name the person or discuss the conditions under which the animals were found pending her completed report.

The cats, however, are in poor medical condition and will need extensive treatment.

"The one good thing is I also do animal rescue so I kind of know what I need to do," Loholdt said on Tuesday. The key element was that the individual agreed to surrender the cats. "Because they surrendered them to me, we can adopt them out and take them to shelters to be adopted."

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society took 18 of the cats in the best condition and Northern Berkshire County Animal Rescue, of which Loholdt is a founder, took 13.

Loholdt and animal rescue volunteer Kaila Drosehn took the cats immediately to Dr. Keith F. Beebe at Wahconah Veterinary Hospital in Hinsdale. They are currently being taken care of by the rescue group.

"All had upper respiratory infections, some had secondary eye infections," said Drosehn. "They all have ear mites and the majority of them have really severe ear infections."

The cats, about half of them kittens, are being kept away from other animals and people because upper respiratory infections are highly contagious. They are being bathed and treated, and their areas being disinfected three times a day to prevent spread.

Several of the cats have eyes so seriously infected that they will have to be removed; Drosehn said some of them have ears so infected she's not sure they can hear.

"There is another one that we are watching because he has it pretty bad in both eyes," she said. "He's going to be on an extended antibiotic treatment but he may lose his sight because of that."

None of the cats will be available for adoption until their medical issues are resolved and they are spayed or neutered. The cats taken to Dakin are also being treated but are expected to be in better health in a shorter time.

The kittens range in age from about 9 weeks to 6 months; the older cats between 1 and 4 or 5 years.

There are also nine feral cats on the property. Loholdt said the group is working with Animal DREAMS to trap them so they can be neutered and prevent the colony from growing. But once trapped, the cats may end up the responsibility of the rescue group.

The aftermath of a rescue of this size is straining the group's abilities; it also took 31 dogs from a breeder in North Adams last fall and the last mother and pups are still being cared for until they go to new homes.

The rescue group is seeking donations to defray medical costs for the cats.

"Savoy, they don't have a kitty [for care] like some other towns can have," said Loholdt.

And going into situations like this, it's not always a given that veterinarians or other shelters are in a position to help.

 "Dr. Beebe at Wahconah Vet ... that man is a saint. He and his staff," said Loholdt.

But the cost of surgeries and medical care is expected to be significant.

 A spaghetti supper fundraiser is being planned for Tuesday, March 4, at Izzy's Pizza and Diner on Park Street in Adams from 5 to 9; cost is $9 for adults, $7 for kids, takeout available. Local businesses are also donating items for a chinese auction.

 Drosehn said the rescue group is in dire need of supplies including clumping cat litter, Clorox wipes, bleach, paper towels, canned cat food and kitten food, dishes, toys and especially monetary donations.

Items can be dropped off at Bark 'N Cat on Holden Street in North Adams and donations made through Paypal on the group's website or by check to Northern Berkshire County Animal Rescue, PO Box  611, Adams, MA 01220. Donations are tax-deductable.

Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing. 

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said. 

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today." 

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback. 

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director. 

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care.  Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires. 

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs. 

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said. 

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.