Carmelita has been helping cats all her life. “I just do it because I love to do it,” she says.
People call her all the time with questions about cats. Carmelita is a cat resource for her friends, giving advice on trapping and fostering. For years, Carmelita ran a one-woman rescue, trapping cats, bottle-feeding kittens, getting the cats spayed/neutered, placing ads in the newspaper, and finding each one of them a good home. She says she would always charge a little bit to get decent people.
Back in 2004, Carmelita and her husband moved to Morgan Hill from San Jose. Within a year, she had adopted Rea from PetSmart Gilroy, and beautiful Rea is still the matriarch of the family. When the founder of Town Cats, Rosi Mirko, met Carmelita, she recognized Carmelita’s expertise and dedication and Rosi talked Carmelita into fostering for Town Cats. Carmelita has been involved with Town Cats ever since. Carmelita now shares her cozy home with Rea and two, feline “foster failures” – Olie and Leila.
Back in the 1960s when Twiggy was a famous fashion model, Carmelita was a local fashion celebrity. Like Twiggy, Carmelita is tall, thin, and strikingly beautiful. Carmelita worked in San Francisco modeling at the City of Paris, The White House, Saks Fifth Avenue, and The Emporium. Her fine eye for marketing and merchandising with her modeling days. For years now, she has been merchandising our cats at our adoption centers. She creates colorful blankets and beds for the cats, cage toppers, table cloths and curtains for the adoption fairs and our shelter. Carmelita loves the change of seasons and loves decorating for the holidays. Carmelita says that when Rosi saw her cat-sized themed blankets, she liked them so well that she asked Carmelita to make all new blankets and beds for the new PetFood Express adoption center and so she did.
She has two beautiful daughters, Cindee and Julie. Carmelita says, “Our cat slept in Cindee’s basinet at her feet” and like her mother before her, that is how Carmelita began to share her love of cats and dogs, and her deep compassion for others with her daughters. Carmelita donates her time, talent, and treasure to Town Cats to help market our cats to prospective adopters.
“How could you resist once you’ve seen these beautiful babies?” she asks. Indeed. Thank you, Carmelita, for your kindness, generosity, and contributions to Town Cats.
Carmelita Coleman (1940-2022)