(Photos by Douglas Fox)
A sanctuary that’s 600 cats’ meows
On a central California ranch, Lynea Lattanzio feeds and cares for feral and abandoned cats.
By Douglas Fox | Contributor / July 31, 2008 edition
Reporter Douglas Fox discusses Lynea Lattanzio's choice to turn her house into a cat shelter.
Douglas Fox
Douglas Fox
Tails of rescue: Cat House residents trot alongside Lynea Lattanzio (left) on a mid-afternoon walk.
Reedley, Calif.
‘C’mon babies, let’s walk!” Lynea Lattanzio, a fit 50-something woman with curly brown hair, slides open her kitchen door and five, 10, 15 cats rush through the opening like water gushing out of a pressurized spigot.
“C’mon guys,” she calls out. “Let’s go for a walk!” The flock follows her down the steps.
Ms. Lattanzio, sure enough, is herding cats. But as she crosses the lawn and opens a gate, the subtleties of cat herding emerge. Individuals run in spurts and stops, in a manner distinct from sheep. A black cat, two tabbies, and a Siamese drop out of the procession. They’re replaced by three new cats that materialize from under a tree, eager to tag along for a minute as Lattanzio strolls down to the shady banks of the Kings River, 50 yards away.
Oxymoron or not, feline herding happens all the time here at The Cat House on the Kings, a 12-acre sanctuary for abandoned and feral cats in California’s Central Valley, near the farm town of Reedley. Over 600 cats live here along with Lattanzio, who dedicates her ranch-style home to the cause of keeping them alive and healthy in hopes of adoption.
Cats lounge in every room: on tile floors, countertops, cubbyholes that line the walls, and even in a high cabinet above the microwave. Just off the kitchen, a few sick animals convalesce in cages in the feline intensive-care unit. An enclosure outside houses cats with feline AIDS. And elsewhere on the grounds stand several sheds, fitted with cat doors and rows of feline bunk beds – and cooled, on this 99-degree afternoon, by ceiling fans or misters.
•••
“This was not in my life’s plan,” says Lattanzio, sitting at her kitchen table, a cat in her lap and several others under the table. She studied marketing and biology in college, and worked for years in real-estate development. But life is full of surprises.
Her path toward cat ranching began in 1992 as she searched for two Manx kittens for her father. She returned one day from the Humane Society with 15 kittens that she’d agreed, on impulse, to keep until someone adopted them. By the end of the year she’d fostered and adopted out 96 cats, and 150 more by the end of the following year.
“When you have [only] 100 cats, you still could get out,” she says. But arrivals outpaced departures, and by 1997 she’d reached a turning point. “I had 350, and I said, ‘Even if I quit now, they live 16 years, so I’d still have to be here.’ ” Lattanzio pauses, and asks, “Did you ever ask yourself what you were supposed to do with your life? I realized finally this was my calling.”
Some 16,000 cats have passed through The Cat House since then, most of them graduating to regular homes. Some of the 600 current residents have lived here for more than five years. Many have names. “I know my kitchen cats,” says Lattanzio, rising to point out fur balls curled on the floor. “This is Ms. Wiggles, this is Raisin, this is Cynthia, this is Bessy, this is Sunshine, this is Butch.”
“This is L.T.,” she adds, pointing at a cat with an angular crook in his tail, heading down the hallway. “See, his tail makes a left turn.”
The sheer number of felines provides a surprising window into the fundamental nature of catdom: Cats in large numbers assemble into social structures – a phenomenon most people would never expect.
The same 30 cats mingle all day in Lattanzio’s kitchen – a stable colony, she says, that revolves around a male alpha cat named Boston. Other colonies of 10 to 100 cats hang out in the garage, the living room, the intensive-care unit, the plum orchard, and the trees by the river. And each night, a clique of 65 cats coalesces around Lattanzio’s bed.
The 600-plus cats have a surprisingly small impact on the atmosphere. One notices a faint odor upon arriving at The Cat House, but it quickly fades. Lattanzio converted the entire house from carpet to linoleum and tile years ago. Every day between 5 a.m. and noon, employees sweep and mop those floors clean of hair, and the litter boxes are cleared as well.
But even so, that bedroom colony has spurred Lattanzio to a new life decision: Critical mass has been reached, and someone has got to go.
•••
East Adams Road runs for miles past plum and apricot orchards before turning sharply, narrowing to a single bumpy lane, and dead-ending. The Cat House sits 100 yards away.
Last year, The Cat House took in 1,030 kittens from the Central California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Fresno – “way beyond our capacity,” says Lattanzio, a decision that “broke me [financially]” – but that pales beside the 2,000 cats that Fresno County euthanizes each month.
Observers blame Central California’s animal problem on several factors: a farm environment where animals run free, an itinerant population of migrant workers who often cannot take pets when they move, and persistent myths that animals are healthier when not neutered or spayed.
The souring economy continues to push families and pets out of their homes, and that has produced a secondary wave of migrations – not economic or political refugees creeping across borders, but abandoned cats thrown over the Cat House fence in the dark of night by owners unable or unwilling to care for them.
Some years, up to 100 cats fly over Lattanzio’s fence. The newcomers may turn up the next morning in her kitchen or join an outdoor colony and go unnoticed for days. Lattanzio points to a black cat, with one eyelid sewn permanently shut, resting by a plum tree. “I don’t have [a] black cat with [a] surgically sutured eye,” she says. “I would know that I had one. That one’s dumped.”
All day Lattanzio wears a cordless telephone and headset. The phone rings constantly. She doles out referrals for free spaying or neutering, or suggestions on how to adopt out a litter. But she can’t take new cats right now: She repeats this to callers many times each day.
With monthly bills of $2,000 for cat food and $400 for litter, plus 12 employees who help with seven hours of cleaning and feeding per day, Lattanzio is strapped for cash. Although she receives donations from as far afield as Denmark and Australia, she has shouldered most of the expenses herself over the years.
The phenomenon of homes that double as animal shelters can be a mixed blessing. For one thing, they’re subject to personal circumstances to which public-run shelters are generally immune. The deaths of people in charge of home shelters have occasionally flooded nearby facilities with hundreds of displaced animals.
But in Central California, The Cat House on the Kings has become a mainstay. “Lynea is doing a wonderful thing,” says Kelly Joos of the Valley Animal Shelter in Fresno.
“They’re a great organization,” agrees Beth Caffrey of the Central California SPCA in Fresno. “They pull animals from our shelters all the time. We all work together.”
About 20 people or groups visit The Cat House each week – to adopt, browse, or seek veterinary care. Although not every cat here is a prime candidate for adoption, Lattanzio often sends the healthier, friendlier ones out to adoption fairs, or to shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area, where rates of abandoned and feral cats are lower, shelters and rescue groups have more room, and these feline refugees are more likely to find homes. There’s an element of deal-making to the process: Lattanzio strikes agreements with shelters that she’ll give them five litters of kittens – always popular on the adoption market – for every feral cat she takes away.
“I’m like a wholesaler,” she says.
•••
As night falls, The Cat House comes alive. Catatonic cats spring into action. A Halloweenish soundtrack of bumps and creaks ripples through the house, and each of Lattanzio’s 65 roommates seems to take a turn walking on her bed. Lattanzio doesn’t sleep as well as she’d like; hence, her recent decision.
“The whole thing is theirs,” she says. “The whole house. I’m giving it to them.” From now on, the house where Lattanzio has lived for 25 years will belong to the cats. Lattanzio is vacating the bedroom that she’s shared with 65 cats, and moving into a guest house on the grounds. The sanctuary’s work will continue, but Lattanzio will finally sleep in peace, accompanied only by Pookie-Boo, a petite Manx.
“I have one,” says Lattanzio, “only one out of 600 [cats], that I will take with me to the other house.”
2. MSH | 07.31.08
Bless you…I wish I could do the same.
I have only three, and only one I keep with me at night, the other two have their own sleeping room, I know about the “cat walking over you” all night thing..it does not make for sound sleep. I love them all though and if I had the means and some help, I would open a no-kill shelter with emphasis on spay and neuter education.
Keep up the good work, we other cat people on the east coast are pulling for you!
-MSH in GA
3. MW | 07.31.08
Great story!
It’s good to hear that she is taking care of them and still successfully run a whole ranch full of cats!
4. evelyne hulme UK | 07.31.08
Hi Lattanzio,
A friend of mine in Ohio has sent me your story, with details of your work with over 600 cats. I admire you, what an incredible lady you are ! I know how dedicated one has to be and how hard it is to look after so many cats ! actually I know how hard it is to look after 15 cats and 2 dogs, “600″ is something else……….!whaooooooo !
I foster cats/kittens, and feral cats/kittens for my local sanctuaries, take in strays, and collect cat/cats who are no longer wanted by their owners, which I still find very hard to understand having cats/dogs of my own.
I have been fostering for the past 9yrs, and I cannot see myself stopping, eventhough I am getting older, I am 64yrs old, divorced with 2 grown up sons. I now live on my own, so the work I do with the cats has become a big part of my life. Just like you ,I have done away with carpet in my home, and replaced it with solid floor, easy to clean and desinfect. I have turned a large bedroom into a cat’s play room with real tree trunks going right to the ceiling for them to climb on, wooden platforms to sit on, and hide away wooden boxes, which they love. I take real enjoyment seeing them all fit and happy, and when time comes to part company, I always feel a mixture of sadness and happyness. Looking after 600 + cats ,eventhough you have 12 helpers, is just absolutely incredible……! What a shame you live so far away, I’would have loved to meet you, your home and your cats ! I am of French Nationality, but I am living in the North of England, and have done so for the past 44 yrs. I went to California and florida a long time ago, I enjoyed my holiday there very much. My English friend who sent me your story lives in Ohio.
I hope you enjoy life in your other house with your Manx cat. Maybe you are going to miss the other 64 cats who shared your bedroom ?????? if you have the time……..let me know ! Evelynehulme@bluebottle.com
Take care,
Best wishes,
Evelyne (a cat lover)
5. Mary A McKinley | 07.31.08
I have copied this story to send to a Senior who cares for cats also. She only has 12 now and they are quite spoiled because they have their own carpeted room in which to frolic, they have plenty to eat and drink and much love to give her in return.
How wonderful to have people like Lynea and my dear friend!
7. jackie wells | 08.02.08
i rescue and i thought i had my hands full with 12 cats and 4 dogs. if there were more people like her who took care of there pets, the world would be a MUCH better place. the word needs to get out SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR CAT/DOG
8. David Koblick | 08.02.08
Me, a lifelong catlover, living in retirement housing where pets are not allowed, alas. I feel a categorical imperative to send a small contribution to Lynea Lattanzio, and will immediately do so.
9. holly millar | 08.06.08
Will you please pass on this Thank you to Mr. Fox for his wonderful article on The Cat House on the Kings! I loved it!
10. Adele O’Neil | 08.07.08
I am amazed by the unselfish nature of Lynea’s work and the incredible sacrifice she is making that few would take on.
As for Tim’s comment, I hope Ms. Lattanzio completely disregards it and dismisses it.
11. Carmen Lanning | 08.10.08
God bless you, Mas. Lattanzio. I volunteer for a thrift store trying to raise money for an animal shelter. Our fosters always want to help more but, like you, have their limits. I hope more people will come to their senses and spay and neuter. You are a real animal hero!
14. Scott McQ | 09.19.08
My own cat is there.
When I moved to Monterey from Fresno and found I could not keep my cat, my mom kept him for awhile and then when she moved found them a home there.
I miss Stu greatly, but I know he’s happy and well taken care of there.
15. Marci | 09.19.08
Hi everyone… I am absolutely impressed (to say the least) with Lynea’s efforts… or shall I say actions! WOW! I currently just have one kitty now who I got from a co-worker of mine who had found my little girl & her 3 siblings trying to cross a busy local street when they were about a month old… knowing I’m an animal fan (I don’t discriminate but cats ARE my personal favorite haha) we named her Tabitha and she’s about 4/5 months old now & is what we refer to as our hairy daughter, my son’s hairy sisters… I swear she doesn’t know she’s a cat & probably wonders why we don’t use her litter box too. Cats, gotta love em. We also have a Russian Tortoise named Michelangelo (my son is a Ninja Turtle fan) & Tabitha & him are buddies too… you should see the pictures, it’s super cute. Well, long story short, I praise Lynea’s actions, she has a geat heart, I only wish I could do similar soon (but maybe top-off at like 20 animals at one time). Along with others who said the same… please spay & neuter your pets… it will help tremendously with our over-populated ‘problems’ very quickly! Example: we had a feral momma cat at my work (I work in a lumber yard) & I swear she was popping a litter out every couple months… we could hear her babies crying in the walls & hear rustling in our ceiling everyday! Several of us had taken turns getting them out, caring for them & eventually finding them homes each time! I sought advice, trapped her, got her spayed for $25 by a local vet who understood, I released her back on our property here.. we’ve seen her here & there but we haven’t heard or seen kittens in about 2 months now… see… it works.
Signed, Marci =)
16. Jacquie | 09.19.08
Of course this is a great story of kindness and sacrifice. However, the larger picture is not as attractive. Any large assembly of animals that is not natural, and domestic kitties are far from that, impacts their environment in a negative way. Having all these cats wandering around an artificial enclosure has caused changes for a lot of other creatures that did not invite them to their life party.
Are we doing justice to cats and dogs by breeding them into odd shapes and sizes, and then treating them as inseparable from us? The excrement alone from the domestic animal population is a consideration most of us won’t ever think about, and it’s not a small problem. Neuter, neuter, neuter! Because our pets are cute and furry, does not mean we should harbor them in huge numbers. It’s not natural, and there will be a health price to pay down the road apiece.
17. Pam | 09.19.08
Bless you for doing this great work. Someone has to do it. Tim, get a life…EUTHANIZE? Please!!! Enclose them??? Where do you think cats naturally roam — certainly not indoors!!!
18. Cassandra Wellington | 09.19.08
First of all this story is about an amazing woman who is making a huge sacrifice…that most of us are too selfish to make or are just unable to make because of personal circumstance. And secondly, if people were not so irresponsible and ignorant, she wouldn’t be in the position of taking on this responsibility…(Get your pets spayed/neutered; Do not commit to taking on a pet unless you are willing to accept all the duties that come with it; And do not give pets as gifts) She is not hurting our environment any more than we humans are. We tear down trees, homes, habitats, and destroy land to build businesses, condos and malls. Please get some perspective and do not take away from the humility this woman has displayed. And educate yourself before you post such comments…there are a number of large groups of cats that exist throughout the world in different habitats. They are in herds just like horses, sheep etc. EDUCATE YOURSELF!
19. B.P.GAUR | 09.20.08
I AM VERY MUCH IMPRESSED AND THIS WILL MOTIVATE OTHERS ALSO
TO THINK ABOUT OTHERS. THIS IS REALLY VERY GOOD WORK TOWARDS
HUMANITY AND GOD WILL SURE HELP SUCH KIND OF PERSON IN ALL WAYS.
I AM ALSO PLANNING TO DO SOME THINGH ON SMALL SCALE.
REGARDS
B.P.GAUR
H.NO 255 SECTOR 51 A
CHANDIGARH INDIA
20. Rachel | 09.20.08
This story is amazing!!!! Very inspiring…….. Keep doin’ what you do!!!!! You’re a saint!
~Rachel Clark, Wasilla, AK
21. Delma | 09.21.08
There are indeed many saints with many missions in this world. They are the onestaht keep it goig and give us hope of a better world some day.
22. Bonnie Smith | 09.22.08
What great work she is doing. The numbers she has gotten adopted are amazing.
We must remember……this problem of stray/feral cats is a human problem not a cat problem. Humans do not get their pets spayed/neutered. They move off and leave an unsterilized female cat to have litter after litter after litter.
If everyone would take responsibility for their own pets, this poor woman would not have 600 cats.
Bonnie
This is a great story.
23. Audrey | 09.23.08
In response to Tim, I believe it is the humans and not the cats who should be punished. The cats are just doing what comes naturally - living. I too am concerned about the native animals and think that all lives should be considered equally but I get very tired of the human aspect of the problem being ignored. We allow animals to take responsibility for our actions in many cases (attacks etc)and yet still feel we have the right to treat them as our property. We treat them as calculating and then void of feelings when it suits us. Surely we can do better than that.
24. Audrey | 09.23.08
PS. Well done to a lady who can see what is shared between human animals and other animals, and to care for them accordingly.
25. Aileen Worden | 09.23.08
Lattanzio is a saint. It is good to see the Christian Science Monitor reporting on her good deeds. The church needs to get back to it’s purpose which is to serve and protect the meek. Who among us are more innocent than animals who have no voice of their own. By the way.. to the naysayer who posted before me…You are misinformed. I challenge you to find one shred of evidence that altered and well fed cats do any harm to the environment.
26. Chris Vaughn | 09.23.08
That story was amazing…the sheer numbers I mean. I live in Indianapolis and here TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release) has actually been incorporated into the local law as an option. I have a colony of feral/abandoned kitties that I call the Baker’s Dozen as that is about the number who show up to eat usually. But when I was dipping for fleas last month had a total of 25 by end of day. I am sad every time I lose one or one disappears, but they have a much better chance of survival with me here. I even put heating pads in the large shelters in winter and will let in those who will come in to stay warm. So I too know the feeling when you wake up and the bed is full of kitties. LOL. Please spay / neuter your pets !!! That is the best thing people can do to help with controlling the population.
27. kathy | 10.02.08
I have been a volunteer with The Cat House for nearly 8 years. Thankfully, most of the readers here understand the unique circumstances that came to create this sanctuary and, unfortunately, demand its continuation. Cyclone fencing with a cat proof top encloses the entire 12 acres. Cats stay in while undesirable predators, such as coyotes, stay out. The grounds are maintained just as well as the buildings. Cats are allowed access to the entire 12 acres to allow them the freedom to simply be cats.
Is this the “ideal” situation for cats and kittens? No, of course not! In an ideal world each of these animals would have a safe, loving home with people who would first spay or neuter them, then provide lots of love, attention, food, water and shelter. This shelter does the best it can to at least ensure the food, shelter, and spay/neuter part.
Considering that the Central Valley where Fresno is situated has the fourth highest animal euthanasia rate in the USA, Lynea’s efforts are just a small part of the rescue work that is truly needed. When it becomes unacceptable to the citizens of California’s Central Valley to kill 35,000 dogs, puppies, cats and kittens a year to control our animal overpopulation, maybe then Lynea will be able to sit back and truly appreciate what all her hard work and sacrifice has meant to the animals she has been able to save. In the meantime, each day will be as the last, saving one kitten and/or cat at a time, all the while hoping more people will come to adopt then come to surrender.
28. Deb Conner | 10.13.08
This woman is a saint! And, the guy who tells her to euthanize them or contain them is a moron. How dare you to judge this lady’s fine acts of compassion? What, if anything, do you do to make the world or your community a better place? Probably nothing.
29. Dawna Lee | 10.14.08
Thank goodness there are people like her! I have caught feral kittens and brought them into my home to care and nurture them [bottle feed with special formula for kittens from the pet store, bathe to deflea them] when they are real young they have to be fed every 2 hours day and night! I kept them till they were old enough to be adopted. Eventually I had over 15 feral cats that I fed every day. I bought a have a heart trap and began traping all of them. I had them spayed or neutered. Had them get thier shots and them release them back into my yard. It all started with a pregnant female someone dropped off near my home. I live near the ocean so people have the silly idea that a cat can find plenty of food near the ocean. I still have about 8 of the original 15. It has been 7 or 8 years since I had it done. Every day I put the cat food out on my deck with fresh water. They come and go all day long. I miss the ones that don’t come back. I have names for all of them. some of them let me pet and brush them. Others keep their distance, some come close for a quick touch them run away. I call them my babies also. If I open the deck slider door and call “come babies”they run out of all places. Under bushes and trees or wherever they were sleeping. I love animals! I can’t have any of them in the house because of severe allergies. I could have the kittens in the house because they don’t shed until they are adults. When I go away for a few days I have someone come everyday to feed them. Lattanzio IS a saint! I wish they had more people like her.
30. Carol | 10.20.08
I was so thrilled to find this article. I am a school teacher living near Sydney Australia.I have also devoted my life to collecting strays and unwanted cats and kittens. I have collected about 15 over the years. The most at one time was 12. Sadly both myself and my vet are severely alergic
to cats but we both happily suffer for the love of them! I used to sleep with 7 on my bed but I was so puffy eyed and sneezy every day that I have restricted it to one. To stop my cats going onto our busy road, we have wired in half our block of land and a big verandah. I have a diabetic cat, 16 years old, who I have had to give 2 needles a day to. I too have pulled up the carpets! Great work, Lynea! I would love to meet you one day!
31. J N Petzak | 11.01.08
Thank you, Ms. Lynnea, for doing what we all should be doing out of love and compassion and a sense of personal responsibility for the most blameless of beings. My folks rescued and so do I; cats are the lights of my life and I wish everyone knew the unique benefits of their unconditional love and loyalty, their beauty, and their unparalleled companionship.
32. Margaret | 11.02.08
As an occasional donater to this wonderful Cat Shelter, I must applaud the care she takes of the cats. I do not think that I could care for more than my small brood of 4. (One is a diabetic)
It is truly a blessing and God grants grace on those who put their own needs aside to care for others, whether human or animal.
Those few friendly strays that God has sent my way over the years, I could not ignore and pray that more individuals strive to make a difference in their own communities. Charity and mercy begin at home. I am also thankful that though she has so many, she does not actively seek more.
There are too many horror stories of dogs and cats being killed with kindness by those without the discernment of knowing what is the limit of care that they can provide.
Cat House on the Kings will continue to get my support and I hope one day to be able to visit this wonderful sanctuary.
33. Janeen | 12.09.08
In response to Tim’s comment about “enclose them or euthanize them” and “Look at the whole picture “: the cats are free-ranging, but the are *contained* to the property. It is in a rural farm area. The adjacent properties are all rural. Yes, I’ve been there in person.
Instead of concentrating on criticizing the person who has devoted her life to the welfare of felines, let us turn our attentions to educate those who let their animals breed indiscriminately and are the cause of the pet overpopulation problem. If not for them this sanctuary would not be in existence.
34. Leigh Walth | 04.13.09
I’ve known Lynnea for almost 15 years. She’s helped me numerous times with my 2-3 cat over the years. I currently have a gorgeous lynx point manx declaw I adopted at the Cathouse as an adult from her about 10 years ago. By the way, I only adopt adult cats that have already been declawed. I won’t declaw another cat again, too cruel. The other cat I have she told me about is from another shelter here in the Central Valley, called P.R.O.U.D.
I also sponsor a couple of cats at the Cathouse and have done memorials as well.
Every penny goes to those animals, have no doubt.
Thank goodness for Lynnea Lattanzio.
35. Sherrie | 04.21.09
What a beautiful story. God bless Lynnea Lattanzio and her assistants. They are these animals’ guardian angels.
36. Annie B. | 05.16.09
Ms. Lattanzio is doing a very remarkable thing here. It is amazing that so many cats could be cared for and still be kept in good health. I sincerely hope that she and her sanctuary flourishes. I will do all that I can to help,myself.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
1. Tim | 07.31.08
Enclose them or euthanize them. Letting them free roam is not fair to the native creatures that struggle to survive. You help the cats but turn a blind eye to the destruction they cause to our natural environment. There is more to animal welfare than just cats! Look at the whole picture and you will see that what you are doing in inhumane to say the least.