The Cat House on the Kings

Cat House On the Kings

The Cat House on the Kings is an American nonprofit corporation that operates the largest no-kill, lifetime cat sanctuary and adoption center in California.[1] It is located in Parlier in Fresno County, and currently supports over 700 cats as well as a small number of dogs and goats in a cage-free environment on land with the Kings River as its border. The organization's founder, Lynea Lattanzio, started informally in 1992 when she became active in caring for abandoned and homeless kittens and cats on the 6-acre property. Since its inception the facility has received donations and volunteers to expand up to 12 acres. The cats are allowed freedom to go indoors or out whenever they wish, but some are segregated due to age, illness, or sociability. The corporation also offers temporary boarding services and holds adoption fairs.

Mission

The mission of the organization is to place rescued cats and kittens into loving, permanent homes; to provide a safe, happy and healthy home for unwanted cats and kittens in a unique, no-cage facility; to prevent pet overpopulation through spaying and neutering; and to educate the public about responsible pet ownership.

Lynea Lattanzio
Since its founding 22 years ago, The Cat House on the Kings has saved over 20,000 cats and 6,000 dogs (not counting the 40,000 animals we have spayed and neutered!) and currently cares for more than 700 cats and kittens, a dozen or so dogs and a handful of goats, who earn their keep as lawnmowers!
Cat House river

Funding

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, it receives no government or public funding and relies on private donations to fund its operations.[2] The cost now is about $80,000 per month to run the Cat House, just for the basic needs of the animals they care for plus the spays/neuters/medical care for the community cats. With medicine and vaccine costs rising this amount will continue to rise. The Cat House on the Kings relies on donations of all kinds to keep their animals in the comfort that they deserve as well as reduce the amount of homeless animals in our community.

Petco adoption center

The Cat House on the Kings has partnered with Petco and the Petco Foundation to build a 1500 sq. ft. adoption center inside Petco in Fresno. The PETCO Adoption Center has a live kitten cam. To enable many people to view the video stream from a webcam simultaneously, they must pay a video streaming service. Sponsoring a webcam helps defray the cost for providing this view into The Cat House on the Kings. This video stream is helping kittens and cats find new loving adoptive families.

Services

The Cat House on the Kings offers a variety of services.[3]

Advice and education

They offer assistance and education in behavioral problems with cats and assist people in finding new homes for their cats. They also advise thousands of people from around the world who contact them through their web site (they have sponsors as far away as Denmark and Australia) and at the local, public events about all manner of cat issues.

Adoption center

All of their cats are available for adoption. "We do our utmost to find the best possible homes for our cats; none are euthanized except to relieve suffering. The cats live out their lives in our sanctuary until they are either adopted or die of old age — however long that may be." Every year, The Cat House adopts out approximately 500 cats (and many dogs).

Sanctuary

They are best known for their sanctuary, where they care for over 700 unwanted cats and kittens. Individuals may surrender their cats for a fee of $5000 per cat, this allows the sanctuary to provide lifetime support and care. As a courtesy, payments towards the fee may be made monthly at a minimum rate of about $2.00 per cat per day. Upon arrival at The Cat House, every cat is given any necessary medical care, and is spayed/neutered and vaccinated. They are then placed in cottages where they can become familiar with their surroundings. Once they're comfortable with their new digs, they are released onto the sanctuary grounds, and can roam about at will. The grounds are fully fenced and secure.

Boarding

Several sections of the facility are reserved for both short and long-term boarding.

Low cost spay/neuter

The Cat House works with local veterinary clinics to provide affordable rates for spay/neuter surgery. They also provide transport between The Cat House and the surgery clinic. They have been selected in several spay/neuter grants for their productivity and efficiency.

References

  1. ↑ http://community.cbs47.tv/blogs/kathryn_herr_blog/archive/2009/10/31/4263038.aspx
  2. ↑ "Contribute". cathouseonthekings.com. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "What We Do". cathouseonthekings.com. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, November 03, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.