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| Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |  |
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Our new Cat Sky House is now finished, but the bills aren't! Please help us continue our good work for the cats by showing your support. To make a donation, please call 416.392.2273 ext. 2162 and specify the Cat Sky House. Shown below are on-site pictures of this amazing new addition. The Toronto Humane Society is very grateful for all the support received thus far but there is still much more work to be done. Pictures of the Cat Sky House undergoing construction can be seen below: On October 1, 2005 The Toronto Humane Society began construction of its new Cat Sky House. The addition to the second floor will house an additional 280 cats, and when the Cat Sky House is complete in May, 2006, the new facility will provide cats and kittens with roomier housing, better air quality and lots of natural light. “The construction schedule is on track,” say Ezzio DiVona, General Project Supervisor for Dixon Construction. “I’m proud to be involved in this project. It’s going to look wonderful and the staff is upbeat and more than accommodating,” says Ezzio. “We are all very excited about seeing the end result.” The Toronto Humane Society is very grateful for all the support received thus far, but there is still much more work to be done. Please consider making your donation to the Cat Sky House today. The animals will thank you! CAT SKY HOUSEThis brand new facility is in the capable hands of Rebanks Pepper Littlewood Architects Inc. Rebanks has been known for innovative responses to a variety of building types since 1964. The architects have a keen interest in achieving efficient and economical solutions to a wide range of design challenges. Rebanks support the use of energy efficient and environmentally responsible materials and construction methods. Architect Lee Taylor describes the Cat Sky House in detail.
The interior walls will all be constructed of concrete block and painted, while the floor will be finished with epoxy. These finishes have proved very durable in the animal care areas of the existing facility and have required very little maintenance. Inside, the cat house will be broken up into a series of six wards with three additional isolation rooms, which will be able to house over 300 cats. The wards will serve to separate the cats into groups (healthy, recovering and sick) which will limit the spread of infection and allow the cats to progress through the facility. The sickest cats will be contained at the south end of the facility while the healthy cats will be at the north end. Most of the wards will face out onto the west side of the addition where there will be a new outdoor court yard in the same location as the present roof top patio. The new outside wall facing out onto the court yard will be a glass curtain wall with operable windows to provide a steady flow of fresh air to the cats. As well, the glass will provide the cats with sunshine and a view to help stimulate them. A new heating and ventilation system will be added to serve the new cat house addition. The new ventilation system will ensure 100% fresh air is circulated throughout the cat house with a high rate of air exchanges per hour to limit contaminants from being recalculated throughout the facility; similar to what is used in a hospital for people. Also, it should be noted that the cat house will be totally self sufficient with rooms provided for cage washing, food storage/preparation, treatment and administrative functions.
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The addition will be approximately 5800 square feet in area and located atop the east side of the existing roof. Access to the “Cat Sky House” will be provided via a corridor link to the existing second floor meeting area. As well, the existing exit stair at the east side of the building will be extended up one level to the new second floor addition and a new elevator will be added to serve all three levels of the facility. The perimeter walls around the outside of the new cat house will be a pre-finished bronze coloured metal siding to match the existing second floor metal siding, with a few strategically placed operable windows to provide natural light and fresh air. The original building was designed to take a second floor addition and a concrete floor deck is already in place under the existing roof membrane which simplifies the process of adding the addition to the second floor. A new steel substructure will be placed over top of the existing structural grid which will permit the open web steel joists for the new roof to span the entire width of the addition. 
