Secret Cat Haven
ETA: On August 13 2009, I recieved an e-mail from one of the volunteers kindly letting me know that it is okay to let people know that it is okay to publish the name (Richmond Animal Protection Society or RAPS) and website (www.rapsociety.com) and to let people know that they are located are in Richmond, BC, Canada.
Quote: “It’s true that we don’t publish our street address or exact location, but if people are truly interested, they will call or email us through our website and be provided that information. Our organization has grown and is now more public because we operate the Richmond city animal shelter as well now.”
The organisation always welcome new volunteers and donations, so please do help spread the word if you know of someone locally who are interested in doing so :D
I apologise for the lack of activities here in a while, had just been really busy trying to get the two furry kids to settle down, you don’t want to know the details of what we were doing this morning at 5am ish lol… Let’s just say it involves some… samples the husband had to bring to the vet ^^;
Below is a picture of a secret haven for possibly over 800 kitties.
Interested see some pictures I took from my first visit to this place?
The reason why I am not gonna name or say where this is is because this is not a place for you to dump your cats after you got tired of them! ^^;
It is a no kill shelter mostly for cats who are adult/senior or with conditions which deemed them unadoptable, example cat with health/bowel problems, or social problems etc. Adoption has to be by appointment only and they’re only open for public a few hours on a weekend day.
This kitty has extra toes! He allows visitors to pick him up but will meow when you do so and also when you put him down XD
This place is run by a group of cat loving volunteers and they keep the place running by donations. It has both indoors and outdoors type settings which are enclosed, a laundry area where tons and tons of towels are being washed each day, food and water is always available for the huge population (all spayed/neutered) so it is generally peaceful = no cat fights.
Cats which need to be isolated due to contagious illnesses or if they are new have rather big custom made cages which has their own litter box and other necessities like food, water, basket to sleep in and toys.
Cats are allowed to roam around in the huge enclosed space and many things are built with them in mind, lots of high places where they can climb to and look down at us lowly humans (LOL)
The volunteers actually know most of the cat’s names in there, if not at least a large number of them (over 800 names to remember, imagine that!) We were told while going on a tour with a volunteer that this kitty likes to jump on people’s shoulders lol!.
This kitty has a very curly tail which keeps springing back to it’s curl! And you can see it’s friendly :)
Special patterned kitty under the chair, passerby black kitty wants to be in picture too?
We were told that if we brought treats (we forgot! LOL) the cats will swarm around us ^^;
This kitty looks fiercer in this picture than it really is ^^;
Cats which are unpredictable will have a collar on them as a warning — meaning they may bite or scratch if you tried to pick them up or touch them.
Some cats look very different from the others, take short round guy in the picture below for example, he unfortunately has bowel problems :( he would pee or poo and it’ll just drop off behind him =_=; So he cannot be adopted out, since he would leave his pee or poo around the house unfortunately. He has a sibling who looks more “normal” but also have the same bowel problems, apparently it is a hereditary condition.
White kitty with a black “beard” XD
The cat below is a victim of severe condition of earmites which resulted in him shaking his head so much that blood clot formed in his ears and damaged the cartilage, causing them to become deformed. It enjoyed head scratching and pats like most cats do tho!
I’ll leave you with this cute picture of a cat tail which reminds me of a bamboo shoot ;P
That really does look like kitty heaven, what a wonderful place and what amazing volunteers. So many cats, but they all look so different. Must have been amazing to be there, must admit that looks like heaven to me too XD
@Aquilla it was an interesting experience for sure! :D And I really salute the volunteers :) they definitely made a difference for these cats!
I want to go there I love cats but can’t have one cus of my parakeets ^~^
@garuto62 awwww! no pix of the parakeets? :3 Thing with cats is they get into everything lol!
This be so cute I almost died. So unfortunate for most of the kitties in there though. :(
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3426293353_406ff2744e_o.jpg <— I spot Lincoln.
meow~ XD
wow with so many cats i guess the volunteers taking care of them must be a lot. kudos to them for having such a big heart!
@Panther lol death by kitties? ^^; And yah so sad that they cannot have a “normal” home, esp those who are sick =_=; now that you mention he does look like LOL!
@agito Nyoron~ lol
@gordon not as many as the cats, there are actually some part time volunteers who can actually go to help for an hour or 2 ^^ and I have to agree they DO have very big hearts! ^^ they’re the kitty’s angels :)
That fierce cat actually looks cute! Wow so this is where you got Yoshi and Ginko from, eh? Very nice shelter. Is the outdoor area covered? I mean, if it rains or snow it’ll be hard for them to be in the outside and forced to stay in the indoor parts.
800 names to remember?? I could hardly remember 8 strangers’ names in my office!
You mentioned just about everything except where this place is located ;)
What a wonderful place. I would LOVE to work there!! So sad that in my country people just don’t care enough!! =(
Ooh~ I wouldn’t mind spending some time playing around there:)
love “Mr. Blackbeard” XP What great people with caring hearts. My 2 kitties came from a shelter and they are quite the handful! I am glad your enjoying your new furry friends. :)
@lightningsabre it does! And actually we didn’t get Yoshi from this place lol! We got them from a different no kill shelter ^^ The outdoor is fenced up in such a way that the cats cannot get out easily, and all cats have a space in the inside if in case of snow and such ^^ I can only imagine it may get a bit crowded tho lol!
@Michael Flux :) We were told by the lady who showed us around that they’re not advertising the place since it will just result in too many irresponsible people dumping their cats there! lol I think this place is more for older/senior/sick cats too, so people come only thru word of mouth and I can only think when they’re extremely desperate ^^;
@theblackcatpt awwwww the funny thing is some of these people who worked there started by keeping/helping strays/abandoned cats at their own homes first ^^;
@aprilius20 hehehe it was an interesting experience ^^
If I ever need a cat, I’ll ask you where it is. ^_____^ (pssssst, is it around here?)
@kmyk hehehe I’ll probably msg U over FB or flickr lol!
i like the cat with the bowel problem.
hes the cutest :)
This is awesome. ^-^
I want to go there and adopt some kitties. :
I’ve got a cat with a worse case of cauliflower ear than that! I need better pictures, and maybe I’ll get that done this week and throw them up on my blog.
The cute “guy” who had bowel problems is lady. Calico cats are always females.
And also, The kitty with the extra toes is something that is not new to me. Up here in the Keweenaw Peninsula, A LOT of cats have this deformity. When you go to the local shelter most of them have extra toes. I’ve never seen this in any other place…
What a wonderful cat sanctuary! Made my day to read this, and I loved the pictures.
My heart melted when i saw this? Where is it? More importantly, how much would it cost to make one?
this made me so happy, it brought tears to my eyes!
I used to work for the organization that runs the cat sanctuary. The people who work there and volunteer there are all very amazing people. It is a very special place for all these stray and abandoned kitties. All the extra time these people have goes into the sanctuary and all the critters in there! (They also have a few bunnies!)
These people do amazing work and area always there to show compassion.
I miss you guys!!!
I love the pictures. Thank you for sharing them. Please check with the shelter and see if they want the free publicity. If yes, then please publish the location, and address for donations. How else do they get donations without publicity?
It is usually not possible to “dump” cats at a no-killl shelter. They typically require a donation from the dumpee that is large enough to more-than cover the care of the dumped cat. This is a good thing, because there are bad alternatives to doing so:
1) The kitties end up at the pound and get killed, therefore negating the point of no-kill.
2) The kitties get left out, and make more kitties, therefore raising the feral population, and getting more kitties killed at the pound.
3) etc.
So, please check, and if they want the publicity (for donation purposes), then let us know!
Arigato,
Paul
could you email me the location of the kitty sanctuary? if it’s possible for me to get there, I would like to visit and maybe adopt one. I’ve been looking for a new “sibling” for my other cats, and I only adopt (my oldest I adopted from a friend, and my youngest is a rescue).
This place is awesome! I would love to volunteer or at least donate. I get my cats as strays or from kill shelters because I can’t stand the idea of them getting killed. It would be nice to be a part of something so positive. My friend just lost a cat and will need another eventually. Where are you located? This may not even be anywhere near me, but if it is I would like to be involved.
I have a 6 toed cat too! the first piccie was brilliant! great post! I like this cat haven!
:D What a wonderful place. So many kitties! Things like this make me happy.
This place looks amazing. It’s good to know that these cats are well taken care of even though they can’t be placed in real homes. Could you possibly let me know if there’s a website or any other way I can donate?
(e-mail edited out)
Thank you!
what a great place, Big Kudos to the helpers and whoever had the idea …
“The reason why I am not gonna name or say where this is is because this
is not a place for you to dump your cats after you got tired of them! ^^;”
I’m sorry, but I hardly think people would go out of their way to take their cats here. It would be nice to have a link or some sort of contact information to send donations.
@laura hehe apparently a few comments down I was told that it’s a girl :)
@blufindr aw!
@Bryan Price what happened? :O was it ear mites too?
@jstema thank you :D I wouldn’t have known ^^; I think it’s kinda cute that they have extra toes tho :3
@Eve Glad you liked them :)
@Jack hmmm you know we were told by the care takers there not to publicize it that is why I didn’t ^^; But please do try doing a search for no kill shelter in your area if you are thinking of adopting a cat.
@basementlily awww :)
@Lowrehn they are! They have really big hearts :D I hope you’ll visit them sometime?
@Paul Danger Kile Well when we were there we were told not to publicize it so that is why I haven’t. Even adoption of a cat from there you’ll need to book time, and also some are meant to stay there for good. But for donation purposes, please look for no kill shelters in your area on google, might help ^^;/ Sorry!
@Jenn well I’ll need your e-mail first! :) If not you may have better luck to do a search online for one near your location?
@leitis if you would leave an e-mail here I’ll try to contact you on the location, if not, google is a good resource for one in your area :3
@harleyblues I’m glad you like this post :)
@Isa :)
@Toni B I’ll e-mail you after this! (and I’ll probably edit out your e-mail to prevent spam)
@ceeque :)
@laura you’d be surprised what some people do :P lol I could e-mail it to you privately tho, I was specifically told by the lady at the shelter who gave us a tour not to publicise it, so I hope for your understanding ^^;/
I have a cat who is eleven years old and had a stroke. We don’t want to put her to sleep but we can’t take care of her anymore. Do you think this place would accept a cat like her? Also if it’s not too much trouble do you think I could have contact information?
My friend has a cat that is 18 years old and incontinent. she was going to have to put him down or lose her home. Her landlord wants her out due to this problem. Is there any possibility this cat haven would take her cat ?!
God bless the people who run this place! It is such a touching story.
@Katie I e-mailed you (and removed your comment with your e-mail just in case of spammers)
@Maureclaire well I’m not sure where you live! But I think a google for No Kill Shelter in your area hopefully might help you, good luck!
@Gergana :)
d’awwwwwwhh… <333
I want to go to that place XD
I would really like to know where this place is, I would love to make a donation!
I can totally understand not leaving the location, but is there any kind of contact information you could give us? With this many cats, they could always use help – it’s hard to keep track of signs of illness and injury without many eyes looking. It would be great if your post could strum up some more volunteers. Maybe a phone number, web site, or email address?
It’s wonderful to know there are people in the world that really do care about those that are neglected, forgotten, or just need a place to stay. I’d love to go to this place but even if I knew where it was my husband wouldn’t let me cause I’d want to bring back a handful :)
Unfortunately I live in a place were people toss out there animals, mostly cats :( and they are left in the streets and bread so there are always new ones running around. It really has gotten to me but see this makes me hopeful.
Thanks a lot for posting this!
@Kaitlyn J I sent you an e-mail :) (thru your other comment)
@Kelley I’m sorry, as I mentioned in a couple of comments above, I was informed not to publicize the location by the caretaker that is why. I should be able to e-mail a website to those who might be interested to make a donation tho.
@Valarie oh dear =_= sorry to hear about the stray situation in your area! People really need to be educated about the Trap Neuter Return programes =_=;/
Great! I am interested in making a donation. My girlfriends birthday is coming up, and she loves cats so much… perhaps a donation in her name would be a kind gift?
Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. When I saw the first pic, with the huge dome walkway for all of these cats, my heart rejoiced.
I have six cats, two with known medical conditions. I am an RN, so familiar with disease conditions. Pablo has an enlargement of his heart muscles, that works inward reducing the volume of blood that is pumped out to his body, so eventually he would have dropped and died, and he also had a seizure disorder. The youngest little girl, Bojangles has diabetes, and more recently a bladder infection that set me back about $800. I maintain them both on meds, and two and a half years ago was finally able to buy a house with a front porch with lots of windows, and a fenced in back yard. I had to extend most of the fences to at least 8 feet, but they are so happy when they are able to be outdoors in Minnesota. Summer, spring, and fall are the best, but they even like trudging through the snow, if its not subzero farenheit. Since I bought the house, Pablo has been seizure free, and Bojangles diabetes is near under control.
These no kill shelter cats all look so content, and I understand why. Cats are meant to have indoor and outdoor lives, and just because we have made their outdoor lives dangerous, doesn’t mean we can’t adapt and give them both freedom and safety. Well done and kudos for this shelter.
The sad part is, a lot of people fail to get their kitties neutered and then hundreds of homeless kitties are spawned. (Weird words, but true). It’s good to know that there’s a place out there for all those kitties to live their lives happily. Is there a website to send donations to? I wonder how easy it would be to get a volunteer job there as well. Nice post!
@Ben well I’ll need your e-mail address lol otherwise maybe you’d like to do a google search to find the nearest no kill shelter in your area? ^^/
@Nancy that’s really nice to hear :) Thanks for sharing your story!
@Maryssa they definitely welcome volunteers ^^ But I’d rather privately e-mail the information if possible ^^/
I would love to donate money to this shelter! I can’t volunteer because my mom is afraid I’ll bring home diseases that will hurt my kitty so I try to donate money when i can to places like this.
i want to go there!
I wouldlove to know more! I love cats! How can I edit out my email where everyone won’t see it?