Island Inhabited by More Than 500 Cats Living Out Their 9 Lives in Tropical Sanctuary
Many animal shelters do their best to provide as comfortable a life as possible to the suffering creatures they house, but even the best shelters are still places with loud noises, lots of animals, and lots of passers-by — all things that can stress out the animals and make it difficult for them to relax and show their true colors.
But Lanai Cat Sanctuary seems the ideal sort of sanctuary. In fact, it’s so idyllic that I bet it makes many humans more than a little jealous.
According to West Hawaii Today, the shelter started in 2009, the brainchild of resident Kathy Carroll. It came about due to some very practical concerns as well as a genuine care for the kitties.
Understand that the island of Lanai contains only 140 square miles of landmass.
So when felines stowed away on early explorers’ vessels, they ended up setting foot (or, rather, setting paw) on what must’ve seemed a garden of earthly delights.
There was land free from predators. There were birds, lots and lots of birds — tasty, tasty birds.
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The kitties started to multiply, and as their numbers grew, the avian population plummeted.
Native species saw their numbers dropped by cute and cuddly little predators, and authorities began to grow concerned.
“In 2006, a huge colony of petrels — the uau, the native Hawaiian petrel — was discovered,” Carroll explained. “There were about a thousand nests, at least, up in the mountains.”
The sanctuary’s executive director, Keoni Vaughn, explained, “They lay one egg. They are ground nesters, so it’s a perfect opportunity for cats to predate on these birds.”
When local government officials planned to kill the cats, Carroll promised to take in 25 of them. What’s more, she did it on the spur of the moment.
“We pulled together a temporary shelter in a horse corral in two days with $200, and that was our first shelter,” she told People.
“A lot of people thought I was crazy, but my philosophy is when you see something like that, doing something is better than doing nothing, right?”
Over the years, the number of felines in Lanai Cat Sanctuary has swelled to more than 600, all of them promptly sterilized, microchipped, and vaccinated.
They’ve gotten plenty of press, which has turned the sanctuary itself into something of a tourism destination — and a surprisingly popular one.
Vaughn told the Los Angeles Times about a very special visitor who showed up several years back.
“He came to the cat sanctuary … from Japan to spend the day with us — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., five hours, only to fly back to Japan the same day,” Vaughn recalled.
“Talk about the ultimate cat lover. He was in heaven.”
Indeed, cat people find themselves in a kitty paradise when they visit.
Located on a lot around half an acre in size, the sanctuary teems with cats, all of which know exactly when people will appear with proffered treats.
The sanctuary welcomes any and every cat in virtually any condition, just so long as the animal isn’t actively suffering. What’s more, all of the kitties are up for adoption.
“When they come to us, a lot of them are really fragile, on death’s door,” Vaughn said. “We are doubling and tripling their lives because they’re getting exceptional medical care and treatment.”
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