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
Please send me info on this place so I can visit and donate money. The biggest danger from me would be that I would adopt one (at least) of these kitties…
This would be my house!!! we have 7 right now and theres always room for more. 2 are my roommates and 2 are our originals the other 3 where givin to us cuz they couldnt be cared for or where abused by another animal in the house they are all spayed and neutered!! Im glad to see someone else out there with a heart like mine for they fuzzy ones :)
Oh my lord, I would pitch a tent there and camp out here for weeks! Imagine the pile of kittens on you…you’d never get cold! I too would like to know here this is so I may visit or at least donate.
This is simply amazing. I love it when people actually try to help out injured/deformed/retarded animals. This was truly a heart-warming stumble.
Wow, what a wonderful thing for people to do! I would love information on this place so I can donate!
You should post where this is, we would love to visit or donate!
To those who expressed interest in donation or volunteer I have e-mailed whoever have an e-mail, I was specifically told not to publicize the location as I believe this sanctuary is probably reaching it’s limit to take in anymore cats at the moment. Also Thank you for the kind comments :)
Oh WOW! What a wonderful place & such gorgeous cats. Where is this marvelous sanctuary? I have to go there & take lots of toys & treats!
This is chun here ^^; edited to add that that the sanctuary doesn’t belong to me lol! have contacted Stephanie to clarify :)
Admirable thing you’re are doing there. I was just telling my husband that we need to buy a farm where we can start a cat rescue, I don’t think we would be able to handle 800 cats, but on a smaller scale we would succeed for sure. We have three, one rescue off the streets (Best cat we’ve ever had) one rescued before going to the pound (He used to be a pee-er, but we managed to break him of the habit with help form online and the vet), and one who’s owner died last month, (she is very sweet, but is also experiencing pee problems due to adjustment issues, what with her mom being in and out of the hospital these last two years and her being tossed home to home until she reached us.) wow that was long.
I would like to make a contribution!
Cat haven/heaven indeed! Wish all shelters could be like this! Is there any way to donate?
These are beautiful cats and look like they are taken very good care of. With that many cats I hope they get a lot of human interaction.
This is amazing! I love seeing places that will actually care for animals that have nowhere else to go. I’d like to visit and donate sometime; could you send me the information? Thanks!
what a nice thing to do to setup a haven like this for cats..i’ve always love cats..i personally ‘adopt’ cats from the streets, markets and bring to my house (which made mom furious!LOL), n currently i have over 15 cats altogether..in my country, the stray cats are much worst than in developed countries like in the US or UK, n it is heartbreaking to see them wandering around the markets, asking food from ignorant humans… ;(
This is so amazing, please send me the information so I could potentially donate or volunteer.
This is so amazing! If I had my own place, I would love to take in cats like this… =] Anyway I can donate? And keep up the good work!
This is amazing, I wish they had a place like this in Missouri where I could volunteer. I would love to make a donation, either through you or directly to them. That had to be a great experience, I’ve always wanted a whole pile of cats to play with, but my 2 will suffice for now!
I’m late to the party here but would love to know where this is so I can send a donation. It’s so wonderful that this place exists and these kitties can have happy lives instead of being homeless or worse. Thanks for finding such a cool cat haven!
please sent info so i can send donations!!! (Edited: wrote you back!)
Edited: wrote you with information, good luck~
This is fantastic, it is incredibly hard to adopt out cats. My husband and I do cat rescue in our state.We have 7 house cats, one cat that was born with no eyes. Millions of kudos to this sanctuary. I too would like the information so I can donate.
This place is the cutest ever! i love all the happy cats that are there i would love to visit that would be so much fun.
thats probably my house i have 10 cats!!
LOL
I would love to become a volunteer at this place or learn more about it!
Great! I have three cats
Totally Awesome!!! When I win the lottery I’m gonna set up one of these sanctuaries in South Australia!! And then end my days blissfully caring for lots of kitties, day in …day out! *DREAM ON* How lucky are the workers/carers to be frolicking with all those pusstophers…I’d spend my whole life smiling like the proverbial cat if it was me!!Some people have all the luck!
I love these photos and I’d love to visit and adopt, It would be impossible to choose though.
YahH!! Puddys get a bad rap, I’m glade people out there take care of them
This is why I Stumble. Hats off to these kind and caring folks.
please send me the address of this place PLEASE. I’m dying to know this place so I can adopt one.
the URL which leads to the address/contact is right at the top of the post ^^;/
In the fifth picture are two cats, two the left, who look just like my Vicky, I wonder if they bite your ankles like mine does (only in play)… and the black one two the right of that photo looks like my Splinter, who sadly, I don’t have anymore.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69539571@N00/4212213439/
Wolfie!
This is so amazing! I am going to make one of these myself! I totally believe in my cats, they come first in my life. This is truly cat heaven. When I get my own home, it is going to be a cat house, complete with the catwalks, baywindows, cat furniture, clean litterboxes, (preparing to teach them toilet training), they will have everything! God bless you, and any advise on how you created this, please share!
love it
Paula
Hey I did not create this place! ^o^; To find out more information about it please check this place http://www.rapsociety.com/ :)
Let me in on where this place is! email me with the info pleease. i love cats and would be more then happy to donate and visit
Hey there! I actually included the website where this place is affiliated to right at the top of the entry ^^;/ but for good measure: http://www.rapsociety.com
I would love more information in order to volenteer or donate, what ever is needed. This one of the most wonderful places i have seen and would love to help keep them going.
HI Andrea, if you checked the top of the page of this entry, you will find that I have put up the link to the website where this shelter is affliated to :D It is http://www.rapsociety.com/ :) Thanks for thinking of the animals/cats :)
Can someone let me know where this is?
nevermind. lol.
This is incredible! After hearing about and seeing horrible conditions that some cats are in, it’s wonderful to see a happy and healthy place for cats exists! I hope to one day open something like this of my own in the US
Esther I
Kitty heaven, do they take in humans?
What a dedicated lovely volunteers you must have. The pictures were delightful.
I have four cats of my own. Each like people have their own individual personality.
Would like to donate in some small way. Could I get some more pictures of the cats. ????
I hope you get some recognition for the lives you are saving.
All the very best Sylvia
Hi
The cat pictures are a joy to see.
I would like to donate to such a wonderful place
Hi! if you read the top of the post you’ll see information to contact the shelter and donate if you wish :) And oh I am not the one who started the shelter ^^;;; we merely visited it and taken photos :) I do agree that cats have individual personalities even if they’re from the same litter!
I am so blessed to work at this shelter located near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is truly as peaceful and amazing as it looks. As we receive no government funding, we are very grateful for any and all donations. As a no kill shelter, vet bills can get very expensive. Thanks to one and all for your wonderful comments!
Thank you for the hard work Debbie and all working at RAPS!
Debbie, is there a web site for this shelter?
Hi there, if you view the top of this post you’ll see the website :) They kindly allowed me to post it ^^
Oh, yes, I see it, thank you!