Last Updated on: July 9, 2023 by Crystal Uys
Unfortunately, many cats around the United States find themselves in shelters or other situations where they need help. Thankfully, there are cat rescues and sanctuaries that work diligently to help these cats with places they feel comfortable, medical care, and the love they deserve. Let’s take a look at a few of the most unique cat rescues and sanctuaries in the US so you can learn more about what they do and who they are.
Our 10 Favorite Cat Rescues & Sanctuaries in the US
1. The Cat House on the Kings
The Cat House on the Kings is located in California and is considered the largest cat rescue in the USA. At points in time, this sanctuary and adoption center is known to accommodate 500 to 800 felines. They are a no-cage and no-kill sanctuary that has aided thousands of kitties throughout the years. The Cat House on the Kings has its own ICU and hospital on-site. They also provide a senior cat home and kitten house. The sanctuary runs on donations as it costs upward of a million dollars to operate each year.
2. Lanai Cat Sanctuary
Nestled on the island of Lanai in Hawaii is a 25,000-square-foot kitty haven. Lanai Cat Sanctuary allows the cats in their care to roam free in this outdoor paradise while providing them with all the medical care, fresh water, food, and shelter they need to be happy and healthy. The sanctuary allows the cats in its care to be adopted, but if they aren’t, they provide everything they need for the rest of their lives. Like most sanctuaries, Lanai operates on donors but they also offer sponsorship programs to people who can’t adopt but want to care for a kitty.
3. Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians
Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians, located in Arizona, is a very unique cat rescue and sanctuary. They provide homes to kitties whose owners have sadly passed away or needed to be moved into hospice care. While they work with any cat that finds itself in this sad situation, they are especially great with senior cats who are often overlooked when it comes to adoption. Hearts That Purr Feline Guardians use fosters and even offers “Senior Citizens and Senior Kittizens.” This is a program where senior citizens foster kitties until they are ready for their forever homes. If cats in their care have medical conditions or are elderly, the group offers love and medical care for the remainder of their lives.
4. Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc.
At one point, blind cats and kittens were considered unadoptable. This is why Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc., located in North Carolina, built its first rescue. Cats housed in these sanctuaries are not adoptable. Instead, the rescue provides them with love and medical care to give them a happy life. The team also works diligently to teach others about the plight of these cats. Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc. also built a home for cats with FeLV and FIV to prevent them from being euthanized. They are dedicated to providing blind and sick kitties with a great life.
5. Angels Among Us Animal Rescue
Angels Among Us is located in Tennessee. This isn’t only a cat rescue. They strive to rescue as many cats and dogs as possible from shelters with high kill volumes. Throughout the years they have helped over 9,000 animals find a new life after being in shelters. Using its social media reach, Angels Among Us shares stories and photos of animals in need to help secure fosters and potential adopters. They also share updates and success stories so their followers, supporters, and donors can keep up with the lives of saved cats and dogs.
6. Best Friends Animal Society
Another group dedicated to providing rescue and sanctuary to cats and dogs is Best Friends Animal Society. They are headquartered in Utah, and it is their goal to put an end to the killing of animals in shelters. They are also known for running the largest animal sanctuary that is no-kill for companion pets. To help pets in society, they offer spaying and neutering programs and work closely with donors to ensure pets find their forever homes.
7. Rescue Ranch
Rescue Ranch in North Carolina offers sanctuary to cats that are considered unadoptable. Their no-cage and no-kill sanctuary is home to cats that have been abused, have medical issues, or have been neglected. They provide these cats with a forever home where they have access to the medical attention and care they need. Rescue Ranch offers disaster relief assistance and even promotes education in the public to ensure cats are treated properly. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, donations have dwindled. To help downsize, some of the cats in their care have been adopted.
8. Young at Heart Senior Pet Adoptions
Young at Heart Senior Pet Adoptions in Illinois offers assistance to cats and dogs in their senior years who find themselves in shelters. Unfortunately, senior pets are often the first to be euthanized at shelters with high kill numbers. This team strives to provide health care and assistance to cats and dogs. They also offer rescue for terminally ill animals and those displaced when their owners pass or enter hospice. This rescue runs mostly on donations and often provides for pets out in society as a way of giving back.
9. Crash’s Landing & Big Sid’s Sanctuary
Crash’s Landing & Big Sid’s Sanctuary, both in Michigan, are two separate rescues run by the same teams to provide safety for cats. Crash’s Landing works with neglected or abandoned cats in hopes of finding them a forever home. Big Sid’s Sanctuary provides a lifelong home for cats with FIV or FeLV that they cannot get adopted. Ran by a veterinarian, these rescues are staffed by volunteers and run mostly on donations.
10. The Humane Society of the United States
You can’t talk about cat sanctuaries or rescues without mentioning The Humane Society of the United States. This group, headquartered in Washington D.C., works diligently to provide training on the proper care of animals, fight kitty and puppy mills, and even offer disaster relief when mother nature attacks. Over 100,000 animals are helped by this society each year. Donations are greatly appreciated to help them provide all animals with the love and care they deserve.
Conclusion
These are 10 of the most unique cat rescues and sanctuaries in the US. While you may not be near one of these facilities, you can still follow them on social media and other platforms to learn more about what they do for cats all around the country. You can even sponsor kitties, become part of their foster programs, or give donations to help the cats in their care thrive.
Featured Image Credit: Yulia Grigoryeva, Shutterstock
About the author
Cat mom to Ivy – a feisty little rescue kitten that is her one and only child. For now! Throughout her life, she has been introduced to the special love that can be found in the bond with a cat. Having owned multiple felines, she is more than certain that their love is unmatched, unconditional and unlike any other. With a passion to educate the public about everything, there is to know about felines, their behavior, and their unique personalities, Crystal is devoted to making sure that all cats and their owners know the importance of conscious living – and loving!
I will never support such sanctuaries. You feed cats kibble and canned food. Cats are obligate carnivores. You are making these cats even sicker by feeding them garbage. You perpetuate the problem. You are all so uneducated in regards to nutrition.
Hi Jane, here is some insight from our vets:
Dr. Luqman Javed (DVM): “It is indeed very unfortunate that we have a need for animal shelters in the first place. In a perfect world, no pet would be without a loving home, and strays would not exist. Unfortunately, things don’t always go as we intend.
The primary goal in animal shelters is to help animals recover and find a forever home. The food these animals are fed is commercial food because these foods are AAFCO approved. This means that these foods meet their nutritional requirements.
Like you said, cats are indeed obligate carnivores. We don’t think people in sanctuaries dispute this fact. What this means is that cats require animal protein in their diet.
It doesn’t however mean they don’t have the ability to eat other things. After all, even a wild cat would inadvertently consume some grains while they eat the contents in their prey’s stomach and intestines, and they chew on grass too.
There may also be a bias in terms of feline nutrition, as some studies have highlighted (https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-021-02754-8) that the digestive profile of cats does seem to improve when they’re fed some non-meat products in their diet. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be fed meat though, as you’ll find in the study – those cats were given additional supplements too.
There are many shelters that prepare fresh meals for their pets whenever they can. However, in order to ensure that their pets are receiving adequate and appropriate nutrition, and due to the limit of funds, they often opt for a safer food choice.
Could you perhaps clarify your stance to us a bit more? Did you come across a study that highlighted links between the nutrition shelter animals receive and the ailments they developed as a result?
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You could also consider contributing to your closest shelter by providing fresh, home-made food for their resident cats. We’re absolutely sure they would welcome the gesture and be appreciative of any assistance you could offer them.
As always, we appreciate any feedback you provide us and we’re sorry you’re upset about the current plight of shelter animals. However, as we’ve stated, we too wish these awesome animals had loving families as passionate about their diet as you are!”
Dr. Karyn Kanowski – (BVSc MRCVS): “So the main reason why commercial cat foods include things like vegetables and even carbohydrates in their foods is because, although cats are obligate carnivores, meat alone will not provide them with all their nutritional needs. The reason for this is that the diet of a wild cat is more than just meat. When a cat kills and eats its prey, they eat the skin, the cartilage, the organs, the lymph; all of which provide different nutritional components. They also eat insects, reptiles, amphibians. In practical terms, pet food companies are not going to be able to easily provide all those components in a healthy way, so they incorporate other ingredients to provide them.
Certainly some companies will rely on some “filler” ingredients, but that is what makes cheaper cat foods affordable, and higher quality foods more expensive.
There are some pet food companies that produce foods that are a lot closer to the natural diet of a cat, but as you’ve probably noticed, they don’t come cheap, and this is because those types of foods can only be produced in small batches.
Animal shelters, for example, simply could not afford to feed the cats in their care premium, human grade foods. They are often reliant on donations or sponsorships to feed the animals in their care, and cannot afford to be more selective.”
At the end of the day, kibble and canned food is better than having no food.