For 22 Years, A Retired Veteran Has Been Feeding Stray Cats With Scrap Metal He Earns

Willie Ortiz, a veteran soldier, school bus driver, mechanic, and welder at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, fills his ancient minivan to the brim with cat food and makes his rounds every night.

He makes 16 trips across the city, feeding a total of 68 stray animals. This gentle, unassuming man has not missed a single evening of caring for his feline pals in the previous 22 years.

Ortiz first noticed a starving stray asking for food outside his friend’s car body business in 1995. People pushed the cat away, unwilling to listen to its cries for aid. Ortiz began feeding the cat and quickly learned that there were numerous more stray colonies in need across Hartford.

The cost of feeding over 70 cats on a monthly basis is around $600. Ortiz also catches and releases wild cats, gets medical care for any ill ones, administers immunizations and spay/neuter operations, and gathers kittens to be fostered and adopted out – the expenditures mount up quickly!

Ortiz, 76, spends his days gathering scrap metal to sell in order to continue his nighttime quest — rain, shine, snow, sleet, or hail. He earns anything from $20 to $60 each day by locating, transporting, and selling garbage to recycling facilities. Willie frequently receives metal contributions from people of the community who have heard about his excellent project.

Ortiz accepts monetary gifts gratefully, but refuses to use them for anything other than food and cat care – he won’t even accept money for petrol for his van! Mr. Ortiz’s buddy has established up a GoFundMe website in his honor, where you may learn more about him and donate to his goal.