Herding cats

Sandi Beard, 63, was never a cat person. In 2012, her husband, Ricky Beard, reunited a Rottweiler they got from the shelter back to its original owner and, in return, the Beards received a small black kitten. Then he brought home another stray. And another. Despite never wanting pets in the house, Sandi eventually started bringing strays home, too.

More than a decade later, the number of cats inside their home has multiplied. Sandi doesn’t even know how many cats there are now between inside and out. “Somewhere around 30,” she said. 

For the past 14 years, Sandi, a Winchester native, has run a cat rescue out of her home for what Sandi calls “misfit cats,” whose chances of being adopted aren’t high. More than 30 cats roam around her double-wide home and neighboring barn, ranging from three-legged cats to cats with no eyes. 

“We got blind ones, and they’re not something that most people want,” Sandi said. “I get attached to some of them. I get attached to most of them.” 

One Stray At A Time, a nonprofit rescue started by Sandi and her friend, Mona Baxter, aims to spay, neuter, feed and provide shelter to homeless animals. They take in cats, get them spayed and neutered and, most of the time, find them homes. The duo met more than a decade ago when a large cat colony turned up behind the Winchester Goodwill and they teamed up to help the cats. Now, they respond to a handful of calls each week. 

“I don’t like her taking in kittens because she won’t give them up,” Mona said of Sandi. 

In case she stumbles across a cat in need, empty cat carriers are always in the backseat of Sandi’s car. ”A good cat lady always carries an empty,” Sandi said. 

On a late October evening, Sandi sat in her living room on the couch, five cats all within arms reach, as she held an eyeless black cat and wiped its face. She recalled the first cats she brought home, which looked similar to the one she now held. 

“They were too little to go outside, they had my heart by then,” Sandi said. “I was a dog person before ‘em.”