It's not the first time Pottsville businessmen have stepped to the plate to facilitate cat and dog adoptions from the Hillside SPCA.

After the recent Mahanoy City hoarding case involving more than 100 cats and kittens, they swung for the fences.State Farm agent Jeremy Buchinsky and Savas Logothetides, owner of The Wheel Restaurant, both of Pottsville, have routinely sponsored pet adoption photos. Moved and saddened by the overload of cats and kittens, the two have prepaid the adoption fees ($50 each) for 50 of the felines."Jeremy and I, when we saw the crisis, we felt compelled to go above and beyond what we'd done in the past," said Logothetides. "I love cats and have two, Princeton and Stanford, both adopted from the Hillside. We both felt that it was an awful case, and wanted for these cats and kittens to get a better chance at finding homes."In late July, responding to neighbors' complaints about outside odors, SPCA workers went to a house on East Mahanoy Street in Mahanoy City. Initially, they expected to remove about 40 cats and kittens from the residence; in all, they have removed more than 100.Workers stressed that although the residents of the home had "way too many" animals, all were well-fed, healthy and clean. The animals also had another condition in common - they are all in need of homes."We currently have about 300 cats here - right after the case in Mahanoy City we had another case from Minersville," said Hillside worker Donna Martin. "About 15 or 16 of the cats and kittens from the Mahanoy City case have been adopted; obviously, we have a lot of cats and kittens here who need a home."The shelter also needs donations to help care for the cats, such as dry and canned cat food and cat litter. Due to the abnormally high call volume the shelter has received with questions about the cats, Hillside officials have asked that people just visit (Shelter Road, which is a turn from the Gordon Nagle Trail, Pottsville) or mail a donation (PO Box 233, Pottsville 17901)For about a year, Buchinsky, Logothetides and Bob Weaver, Bob Weaver Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, have been showcasing pet adoption photos of either four cats or four dogs on their respective Facebook pages. Members of the businesses' Facebook pages are asked to vote for their favorite animal of the four pictured."The public votes and whichever animal gets the most votes, we pay for the adoption fees, the shots and to get the animal fixed," Logothetides said. "We all met as local business owners, and felt this was an important cause to support.""We enjoy sponsoring a dog or cat every week," he added. "But when something like this happens, the (Hillside) shelter needs the support of the surrounding communities more than ever."