WEST KENNEBUNK — A cluster of folks stood chatting quietly near a small, gray building tucked up near the woods at the Animal Welfare Society, waiting for the appointed hour to conduct their business. At the rear of the building, a black, furry shape suddenly appeared. It was a feral cat ”“ a wild cat ”“ looking for a mid-morning snack.

But the feline was too shy to venture closer to where the people had congregated, even though he or she was the reason they had gathered.

The building is Margie’s Cat Cabin, designed as a space where feral cats can get inside, away from the weather, and have some food and water. In the winter, puss can stay warm with a shelf heater that turns on only when pressure is applied ”“ when the cat lies down on it. This time of year, the cabin, which has a number of separate rooms, is lined with straw. Kitties enter from the back of the building, through special, cat-sized openings.

Margie’s Cat Cabin is named for Margie Rhoades, a cat fancier who died a year ago. She was the mother of John Rhoades, the president of the Animal Welfare Society Board. He and his partner, Kevin Honaker, spearheaded the effort to see that a colony of feral cats could live out their lives with a measure of comfort. Margie’s Cat Cabin was dedicated Thursday morning, with Rhoades’ siblings and other family members on hand, flying in from the West Coast for the occasion.

The feral cat colony currently numbers about 15 felines hailing from around here and nearby communities, said Rhoades. The cats are brought in and spayed or neutered. Some ”“ most often those cats that have had prior human contact but were later abandoned ”“ may adapt well enough to be adopted. Others may be adopted as barn cats to help with rodent control. But others remain wild ”“ too distrustful of humans to accept more than a bowl of food placed near enough so they can get it ”“ but not too close to those who placed it there.

“Mom was a big cat lover, and we wanted to honor her memory,” said Rhoades.

He said Margie’s Feral Cats, a nonprofit under the AWS helm, has worked with students at Wells High School, who build smaller versions of the cabins to be made available in other venues.

Kerrie Leclair, development director for AWS, said working with feral cats was unimaginable seven years ago, when she joined the agency, because the shelter was already coping with so many domestic cats. But spay and neuter education and programs have worked, freeing up the nonprofit’s ability to tackle the issue of feral cats.

“Most people are not looking for cats they can never touch,” she said. “These cats don’t want to live with people.”

But they like to play and run and frolic, and are often seen in the adjacent fields in the mornings as AWS employees come to the office. They’re out there in the summer and in the winter ”“ playing in the snow ”“ as long as a human doesn’t venture too close.

“These cats are not welcome in neighborhoods,” Leclair said, but they need someplace to go.

AWS began working with feral cats in 2012, and after Margie died, Rhoades and Honaker came to the agency with a desire to recognize her love of felines.

“These cats get a second chance,” Rhoades said of the feral felines that have been neutered, and then live out their days free to roam the woods behind AWS, but close enough to Margie’s Cat Cabin to warm up on a snowy night or have a meal when the hunting is poor.

Bud Rhoades, one of John’s brothers, was among the family members who flew to Maine to attend the dedication.

“Mom would be so happy with this,” he said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].