Each cat has a name, and sanctuary guides are tasked with learning them all.
Photo: Great Went
Posted on 01/17/2024 7:25:02 AM PST by Twotone
Lāna‘i is a place like no other.
On this tiny island you’ll find coffee shops that open and close when they please, a relaxed mood among residents and an idyllic cat shelter, among other things.
Started in 2004 by Kathy Carroll, the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary has become one of the biggest visitor attractions on the island, and its purpose and mission—to help control Lāna‘i’s wild cat population—has remained the same. After moving to Lāna‘i with her husband, Mike, who now owns an art studio in town, Carroll quickly found herself caring for a small stray kitten. Lāna‘i didn’t have a Hawaiian Humane Society location back then—it still doesn’t—and it didn’t have a shelter of any sort, or vet to care for stray animals. So Carroll, a spirited cat lover, traveled to Maui to get her kitten the procedures it needed.
But for her, the lack of a shelter on Lāna‘i was a concern. So she made it her mission to secure a place for her feline friends to live, and was able to convince the Four Seasons
Lāna‘i to loan her a horse stable, where she put up deer netting and used the space as a makeshift shelter.
In 2009, the sanctuary was moved to the plot of land it’s on now, which at the time had access to running water and not much else. However, with the aid of volunteers and other dedicated cat lovers, she was able to get the place up and running. Now, almost two decades after its start, the sanctuary has been elevated to a whole new level. Keoni Vaughn joined the team in 2014 as executive director; he helps to run operations and provides plans and strategies to increase revenue and expand the sanctuary. Since his arrival, dozens of renovations and changes have been made to the property.
“There’s a total of 665 cats right now at the sanctuary,” says Joe Adarna, who joined the team as a sanctuary manager in 2019. “We take in, just on this small island, 150 to 200 cats a year. There are that many stray cats.” But, to the unknowing eye, the sanctuary doesn’t look crowded. Housed in two main facilities, cats can be spotted napping up in the branches, sleeping in tiny cat houses or tucked away in patches of brush. There’s ample room for them to roam, and probably hundreds of napping spots too. 03 Lanai Cat Sanctuary Great Went
Lānaʻi Cat Sanctuary is home to more than 650 cats. Photo: Great Went
At the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary—which wasn’t a visitor attraction at all, at the start—visitors will find colorful outdoor signage and selfie spots, and a store full of adorable cat-related merchandise. Upon entering the sanctuary, they’re greeted by a chorus of “meows” from the greeting committee made up of cats who know that affectionate behavior up front gets them treats. If you meet one you truly adore, you can either adopt it on the spot or “sponsor” the kitty by making monthly donations to the sanctuary. In exchange for that sponsorship, you get monthly photos and updates on your favorite cat.
Many of these moneymaking initiatives were introduced by Vaughn, who previously served as vice president of the Hawaiian Humane Society. “I feel like there’s a lot of ways for people to volunteer and get involved without even being here by donating. I mean, with a little over 3,000 people on the island, we gotta raise $1.2 million a year to keep the place running,” says Vaughn.
On-site volunteering opportunities are also available for visitors looking to help out. And for the volunteers, the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary is probably the most relaxing place to lend a hand in Hawai‘i. Volunteers help out by simply socializing with the cats, many of which come in as strays and need a little push to get them comfortable with humans. Fortunately, as they see more and more people coming in and giving treats to the sociable cats, the unsociable ones pick up on those behaviors. 04 Lanai Cat Sanctuary Great Went
Each cat has a name, and sanctuary guides are tasked with learning them all. Photo: Great Went
Other cats, for various reasons—from medical to behavioral—are housed separately from the two main communities. Visitors can also volunteer to hang out with them, and visitors are given bags of treats and brushes to help groom some of the older, more fragile ones.
Of course, adopting a cat and supporting the sanctuary financially is the best way to help out. “We adopt out 50 to 100 cats per year, and I like seeing our numbers staying flat or better yet, going down,” says Adarna. “It means we don’t have to keep building and expanding the sanctuary, because the best thing you can do for your cats is give them more room and spread them out.” Of course, even if some of them are never adopted, the cats at the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary seem more than happy to spend their days there, basking in the sun.
In the early 2000s we visited the Hemingway estate on Key West, home to around 60 cats.
TBH I saw a few that probably needed to be euthanized.
I can’t imagine the time and expense of taking care of 650.....I guess if they get sick they stay sick.
Also, in before the nasty jokes.
If they don't, aye yi yi, this is just one big giant virtue-signaling operation.
(yeah, I get that they're keeping the cats away from the birds - that's okie dokie)
I have three cats from Hawaii. Best cats I ever had. Nice to see some of their cousins.
I wonder if this sanctuary publishes a calendar featuring some of their cats. That would be a great way to raise funds for this worthy cause. And I wonder if they now have access to local veterinary care, so they don’t have to schlep kitties to another island for it. I imagine they spay and neuter the cats they have to prevent getting even more cats that need homes.
I enjoy diving in/near Lanai. Don’t see many cats swimming out there?
My story for cat haters from a friend who was a long-range recon guy in VN, retired from the Army & decided he loved animals & wanted to be a vet. Ultimately, didn’t complete vet school, as taking care of hurt animals was too emotionally exhausting for him. He became a policeman, then a juvenile court judge & for many years ran a shooting course in OR.
Anyway, one of his classes was psychology. One day the professor came in & spoke directly to the ladies in class:
“Ladies, if your boyfriend doesn’t like animals, DUMP him. If he likes dogs, he’s probably okay. But if he likes cats, STALK him!”
The Ephesus ruins in Turkey has dozens of well-fed beautiful cats...
They will pose for photos ...
:)
I’ve been around and had cats even when I lived with my parents as a kid.
Right now we have 3 rescues as well as one canine.....he being 6 pounds of raging fury! Lol
Some people just don’t understand the relationship of unconditional love from animals.......as I like to say, pet children ARE family.
I’ve seen that.....insane
I was there in 1985 before it got developed. It was mostly a big pineapple farm. It was a magical place - we stayed overnight on the beach, swam with dolphins, body surf, snorkel. Awesome.
The story said the lady had to take the first kitty to another island. With all the improvements, I hope they have a vet that comes over periodically for spay/neuter. That would probably be a very nice place for a vet to set up shop!
Wife and I sort of run our own little sanctuary on the Big island. 5 indoor and 2 outdoor cats born wild. One outdoor is very friendly, the other is a strict “do not touch me” type that is only there as a buddy to the other one.
They are a hoot, as different in personalities as you could imagine. Socializing them was interesting.
The least sociable of them is the one that insists on sleeping between us. Go figure.
It must smell swell there with all the cat scent sprayed all over the walls marking their territories. Ugggh!
That reminds me of the time Sza Sza Gabor appeared on the Johnny Carson Show. She had a large cat on her lap.
You know the thing.
The feral cats of the islands need to be exterminated. They have wiped out native species.
Anyone notice the price of pet food lately?
Unless you don’t mind feeding your pets crap, it has gone up more than eggs or beef.
Just jaw dropping.
Each cat has a name, and sanctuary guides are tasked with learning them all.
Photo: Great Went
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