Cat heaven
August 28, 2008 3:20 PM   Subscribe

We all know what 130 cats look like, but what about 700? Welcome to Cat House on the Kings, California's largest non-profit cat sanctuary.
posted by MaryDellamorte (51 comments total) 39 users marked this as a favorite
 
I contacted them about a month ago when I first saw the video and am going to go volunteer there for a weekend. I live in Arizona, so it is quite a haul.
posted by Mr_Zero at 3:26 PM on August 28, 2008 [4 favorites]


:-D

I know this wasn't your intent, MaryDellamorte, but I'm actually going to try and remember what my PayPal account is so I can make a nice little donation to these guys.

SO MANY CATS ZOMG!

Also, cat owners: I bought my girls a "grooming rake" last night and it is the best. Thing. Ever.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:30 PM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


(By which I mean cat "carers" because you can't actually "own" a living creature, suckahs.)
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:31 PM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


I dunno. Putting Von Neumann machines in an unrestricted growth environment generally only has one outcome - resource acquisition -> expansion -> resource exhaustion -> mass die-offs. In theory I love this idea, but any happy outcome is sort of at odds with the fundamental nature of all biological organisms.
posted by Ryvar at 3:39 PM on August 28, 2008


I'm amazed, I expected a crazy cat lady to be at the heart of this.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:40 PM on August 28, 2008


Ryvar, they spay or neuter all of the cats.
posted by internet!Hannah at 3:42 PM on August 28, 2008


Ryvar, Upon arrival at The Cat House, every cat is given any necessary medical care, and is spayed/neutered and vaccinated.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:43 PM on August 28, 2008


D'oh.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:43 PM on August 28, 2008


Awesome.
posted by rtha at 3:48 PM on August 28, 2008


That's a crapload of cats! There's not nearly as many Canadian cats on Parliament Hill (video).

Thanks for the link!
posted by flibbertigibbet at 3:55 PM on August 28, 2008


Excellent. I can already envision the toxoplasma gondites tossing the remaining humans here for entertainment.
If only it were also an island.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 3:59 PM on August 28, 2008


This was so lovely. Thanks.
posted by onlyconnect at 4:03 PM on August 28, 2008


Totally awesome. No coyote trouble, I hope. That's too many cats to effectively flee indoors at once, though the sight of that would be hilarious.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:04 PM on August 28, 2008


YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
posted by dhammond at 4:09 PM on August 28, 2008


I had just seen this, but the question I had: Why are there no fat cats?
posted by Relay at 4:09 PM on August 28, 2008


I was wondering if a cat isn't occasionally carried off by a golden eagle. They seem to have a fence, and the fence + dogs + that many cats may indicate to (smart) coyotes You Are Not Welcome Here.
posted by rtha at 4:12 PM on August 28, 2008


av- There are pretty serious fences along the perimeter of the property it appears (you can catch glimpses of it in the background of the video).

Also: Totally Awesome.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:18 PM on August 28, 2008


*head explodes* That is the most amazing thing I've seen all day. As much as I am going to support the local San Diego pet shelters, because of the sheer level of excellent care those cats are getting (no kill! Everyone gets fixed! Big bowls of food! Trees! Puppies! They board other cats for $8 a day!) this one has to get either my time, my money or both in the future.

Wow. :D
posted by saturnine at 4:21 PM on August 28, 2008


Donations here: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/contribute.php. Save a cat (or 700) today.
posted by schwa at 4:29 PM on August 28, 2008


Is she using the little black puppy because I want him. He looks like the best friend ever.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:49 PM on August 28, 2008


This would have been a perfect antidote to a disturbing animal-related story I stumbled onto yesterday, but there is a video along side about an ape killing its cat companion at the zoo.

Geezus.
posted by oflinkey at 4:54 PM on August 28, 2008


CAN HAS PRIVASEE?
posted by LordSludge at 5:03 PM on August 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


"That's a crapload of cats!"

and vice versa
(I would think)
posted by Auden at 5:08 PM on August 28, 2008


cool! a SANE cat lady!

Relay: a few of them are looking a bit BIG-BONED.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:08 PM on August 28, 2008


oflinkey - The monkey kills a cat video is faked I'm pretty sure.
posted by MrBobaFett at 5:09 PM on August 28, 2008


I've seen lots of cats & dogs that get along. My cat & my neighbor's dog kiss each other, although he hisses at most other dogs.
posted by mike3k at 5:09 PM on August 28, 2008


Wow. I want to go there and lie down and have all the cats crawl on me.
posted by tehloki at 5:37 PM on August 28, 2008 [5 favorites]


I want to go there and lie down and have all the cats crawl on me.

I would have them carry me aloft, like an emperor.

Then I would have to open seven-hundred single-serve cans of cat food.
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:48 PM on August 28, 2008 [7 favorites]


I wonder what kind of chaos ensues at the sound of an electric can opener.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 5:49 PM on August 28, 2008 [10 favorites]


I was skeptical about this, but it's awesome. I want to go visit.

And yes, that little black puppy is the awesome.
posted by Eekacat at 6:08 PM on August 28, 2008


You'd have to be completely insane to want to have that many shitrats running around. Or any, for that matter.

If nothing else, they need to put those things to work. Hitch them to a turbine or something.
posted by baphomet at 6:44 PM on August 28, 2008


This would seem like a useful place to test my latest invention; the laser beam guided catnip scented bird feather on a string.
posted by Tube at 6:46 PM on August 28, 2008 [7 favorites]


This is pretty cool. :)
posted by darkstar at 6:47 PM on August 28, 2008


That's... so cool.
posted by rodgerd at 7:00 PM on August 28, 2008


Can I drop off my brown lab for a couple of hours just to freak his shit out?
posted by paddysat at 7:03 PM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


nice, nice, very nice.
posted by brevator at 7:09 PM on August 28, 2008


I want to go there with several laser pointers.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 7:51 PM on August 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


I want to go there with several laser pointers.

Laser pointer Gatling gun.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:30 PM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Related Videos:
-Ape Kills Cat
-Ridiculously Hot LATINA girl dancing, not asian! (ORIGINAL)
-How To Kill A Cat

posted by milkrate at 8:31 PM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


@milkrate
How unfortunate....
and ridiculous.
posted by ooklala at 8:55 PM on August 28, 2008


When I make my millions, and when I have 'sold out', this is totally what I am doing.

Screw the yacht, screw everything else. I want a Cat Ranch.
posted by bhance at 10:41 PM on August 28, 2008 [5 favorites]


if they could just harness all that potential static electricity...being off foreign oil in 10 years would be doable.
posted by edgeways at 10:47 PM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]


I've never understood the people who seem to get off on hating cats. It just mystifies me. Although I've always had cats — from childhood up until now, as an adult — I think dogs are pretty cool, too.

I'd never walk into somebody's house, and upon realizing that they had a dog, imply that it would be a really all-around good time to kill it, yet over the years I've had a plethora of people do that when they realize I have a cat. I get that it's (hopefully) in jest, but it's still off-putting.

It seems like cats are an acceptable target for a lot of "har har dead animal" jokes, and I've always been suspicious that the attitude leads to some real abuse, the sort of stuff I've seen every once in a while and really shuddered at (and which also seems to fall disproportionately on cats). Particularly since most of the really heinous stuff that I've had the misfortune to run across looked like it was being committed by young people, who are presumably getting the message that such things are acceptable and funny from somewhere external.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:52 PM on August 28, 2008 [9 favorites]



If nothing else, they need to put those things to work. Hitch them to a turbine or something.

Are you kidding? I can't even get my cat to do the dishes.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:58 AM on August 29, 2008


"Joe! Hey bro, where you been."
"Hey Jimmy! Oh man do I have a story for you. I don't know if you know this but I went out one night and I got a bit lost. Go figure. I can see as clear as day in the middle of the night, smell delicious treats a half mile away, and can hear the sweet flutter of a small bird's wings from a hundred meters. But I get outside, do a little exploring and for the life of me I can't find my way back for nothing."
"Oh man, that sounds rough. So's you gots lost huh?"
"Yeah, but that ain't the half of it. I ended up at this place where our kind ruled!"
"What??? No dogs?"
"Well there was a couple of them around, but they were real cool...cats! Ya'know?"
"Well what doya mean our kind ruled?"
"Well, you always hear about these types of places, but this ones for real. Plenty of open space, more than enough friends to have fun and snuggle with, and the food was just everywhere!"
"You mean there was plenty of hunting to be had?"
"Well, the hunting was sparse."
"I don't know...it doesn't sound that great."
"Look, man, you have to see it to believe it. Trust me you go there you don't ever want to leave. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and enjoy being with them, but I'll tell you what. That place was like a dream..."
posted by P.o.B. at 2:22 AM on August 29, 2008 [5 favorites]


MaryDellamorte, thank you ... you've made my day.

I can only hope that if reincarnation is real I can come back as a cat there ...
posted by aldus_manutius at 7:27 AM on August 29, 2008


Lots of cats no birds.
posted by pianomover at 7:50 AM on August 29, 2008


A really inspiring and warm-hearted story. And loved the Talking Heads soundtrack.
posted by nickyskye at 11:37 AM on August 29, 2008


...and I've always been suspicious that the attitude leads to some real abuse, the sort of stuff I've seen every once in a while and really shuddered at (and which also seems to fall disproportionately on cats). (Kadin2048)

I take care of a feral cat colony (now, fortunately, almost all spayed/neutered), and of the three ferals in the past few years who needed X-rays, 2 of them had embedded pellets (one cat had two). These were surviving cats; I also had one unexplained death a few years ago which may have been due to a fatal shot, but I didn't find the remains in time to make a definitive diagnosis. The local SPCA and my vet estimated 1/3 of local feral cats may have been shot at least once. This is in an area in Northern California that has been transitioning from agriculture to suburbs over the past few decades.

Another large animal rescue operation:
Best Friends, in Utah (not just cats, but dogs, birds, turtles, snakes, ...)

One of the major US organizations dedicated to humane feral cat rescue/reduction:
Alley Cat Allies

Lastly, a plug for my local organizations:
The Feral Feline Organization and the local SPCA.
posted by foonly at 1:34 PM on August 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


Who cleans all the litterboxes?
posted by desjardins at 2:20 PM on August 29, 2008


Volunteers, I think.
posted by darkstar at 9:44 PM on August 29, 2008


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