When the term “crazy cat lady” is brought up, instantly, thoughts wander toward a woman in her late 40’s who lives alone with 3 cats and a plastic cover on her floral couch, maybe watching Days of Our Lives with some Ramen noodles on the TV tray and a fur ball purring in her lap.  However, one woman in Parlier, California is redefining the term crazy cat lady.

Lynea Lattanzio has transformed her 4,000 sq.  ft.  home into what is now a sanctuary for up to 1,000 cats at a time.  Lattanzio’s sanctuary started to avoid euthanization of unadopted cats at the local shelter. The sanctuary is thought to have saved up to 24,000 cats in the last quarter century.

The Cat House on the Kings is run by staff and a team of volunteers to keep the house clean and the cats fed. The sanctuary also employs veterinarians who keep the cats healthy and spayed or neutered. The cats consume about 1,000 cans of cat food a week, resulting in a high expenses. The non profit sanctuary is funded entirely on Lattanzio’s retirement and donations.

The idea spawned from a trip to the local shelter, which ended in Lattanzio returning with a box of 15 abandoned kittens.  She slowly progressed her home into a safehouse for 96 cats coming and going from feral to adoption.  Once her house became overrun and crowded, she moved to a trailer on her 6 acre property and gave the keys to the kittens.  

According to their website, their mission is to provide a no-cage, no-kill sanctuary for feral and abandoned cats and kittens for the State of California; to facilitate the adoption of cats (primarily), dogs and other rescued animals into safe, loving, healthy and permanent homes, to educate the public on how to become directly involved in improving the quality of animal welfare; and to offer low cost spay and neuter referrals.  

To learn more about this heaven on earth for those without allergies, the Cat House on the Kings website is: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com.