Blue Bell Foundation for Cats
The Blue Bell Foundation for Cats nestles on the green hillside on the winding Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, California. It will possibly accommodate 60 residents and offers care to senior felines in a tranquil, forever-home setting due to animal lover Bertha Yergat, who founded the organization and willed her beautiful Laguna Canyon property to it within the late Eighties. Pamela Knudsen, who handles communications for the organization, says, “There’s a chosen feline dining room and spacious sleeping and napping accommodations throughout the house with special perching places, a bunk bed, sofas, all with steps for quick access especially for the cats with arthritis. There’s also a special section of the property reserved for cats with special medical needs.” And secure outdoor enclosed areas allow the cats to nap in sunshine and luxuriate in the sounds of nature. Most residents come to Blue Bell when their pet parents pass away, Pamela explains. “Our Lifetime Care Program fee per cat is $7,500, which covers housing, medical care, food and a number of love from staff and volunteers. Cats have also come to us when their pet parents need to move to assisted living housing or who’re sick and may not take care of their pets. We also provide a ceaselessly home for unadoptable senior cats with special needs,” she adds. The Community Cat Fund underwrites costs for the unadoptable senior shelter cats that come to live at Blue Bell. More at bluebellcats.org.
Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians
Jeanmarie Schiller-McGinnis, founder and president of Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians, purchased an 8-acre property in Tucson, Arizona, in 2013 that backs onto a desert landscape. This feline retirement center is currently home to 25 cats. The organization also oversees senior cats living in private homes as a part of their Senior Kittizens foster care program. Jeanmarie explains, “They are usually not adopting the cat; ownership of the cat stays with Hearts That Purr, and we maintain responsibility for all veterinary care including transportation. Initially, we supply all of the essentials a brand new cat needs, reminiscent of a litter box, scratching post, food bowls and toys. Essentially, by way of our Foster Care Agreement, the foster parent is providing a secure home, a warm lap, love and a spotlight for one in every of our felines for the remaining of its life.” Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians only accept elderly cats who’ve turn into homeless as a result of their owner’s death, illness or incapacitation. It’s going to also step in when a cat has already been surrendered to a municipal shelter. The common age of residents is 17, while the oldest resident to this point was 24. Learn more at heartsthatpurr.org.
CATS Cradle Shelter
The CATS Cradle Shelter in Fargo, North Dakota, has a long-term care foster program for senior cats to live out their care within the comfort of a typical domestic setting. “The carers of our senior cats are given whatever they need for the cats of their care, reminiscent of low-entry litter boxes, steps or thick beds,” says Co-Founder and Executive Director Gail Ventzke. “There’s a resident senior named Burbank who’s our office cat on the shelter,” Gail says. “She is sort of 20 years old and in kidney failure. When she got here to us, our veterinarian said she didn’t think she would survive per week because she was so sick and so thin. That was a 12 months and half ago. She continues to be happily camping out in her bed next to the essential desk, loved and really spoiled by all.” CATS Cradle operates on donations, which also cover their high special veterinary diets and drugs bills. Try catscradleshelter.org.
Belleglen Sanctuary
Established 21 years ago, this sanctuary is home to 35 to 40 cats. Two thirds of the present residents are over 12 years of age, and 4 of them are 16. “Belleglen will adopt out cats under special circumstances, but most of them have health problems and are usually not really adoptable,” explains Donna Kemp, president of Belleglen. “Typically, we’re coping with kidney failure, chronic bowel syndrome, stomatitis, chronic heart failure, diabetes and arthritis.” Like other senior feline residences, the sanctuary focuses on creature comforts with ramps for quick access to litter boxes and cat furniture of various heights, together with a wide selection of washable cat beds. To assist cover costs, the sanctuary has sponsors for individual cats for whom they receive individual information and pictures. The web site also details how one can buy and sell on E-bay and profit the sanctuary in addition to designating them as a company of selection on Amazon Smile. More at belleglensanctuary.com.
Milo’s Sanctuary & Special Needs Cat Rescue
“Cats come to us from all walks of life, eleventh hour rescues from shelters where they’ve been listed for euthanasia, to being flown to us from Egypt, Turkey and even Mexico,” says Michele Hoffman, president of Milo’s Sanctuary, Inc. (also often known as Trueheart Haven) in Burbank, California. “We regularly work with other local rescues which have a special-needs cat and can give them two of our adoptable cats in exchange for one in every of their special-needs cats.” Michele explains that it gives the adoptable cats a probability at finding ceaselessly homes, freeing up space at a rescue that will not give you the chance to cope with long-term special needs. Senior residents are about 16 and older. The team provides ramps for the cats to access couches and windowsills, in addition to low-entry litter boxes. Two fully enclosed catios are accessible to all of the special-needs or elderly cats in order that they can safely go outside, bathe within the sunshine and take heed to the birds. The organization operates solely on donations. More at milossanctuary.org.
—
Sandy Robins is an award-winning, multimedia pet lifestyle expert, writer and pet industry personality. Her feline muses, Ziggy and Tory, wish to disrupt the workflow by demanding games of fetch with wand toys and directing food operations within the kitchen. Learn more about Sandy at sandyrobinsonline.com.
