What comes to your mind when you think of the word paradise? For many people, it is the sandy, beautiful beaches of a tropical island, such as Hawaii. Still others may thing about being surrounded by lots of their furry kitty friends.
If both of those scenarios sound like paradise to you, you are absolutely going to love the Lanai Cat Sanctuary on the small island of Lanai.
There is a boundary around the 25,000 square foot category but inside, there are no cages. The cats, also known as Hawaiian Lions, have plenty of room to roam. Not only can they sun themselves in the grass, they have trees to climb and huts to get in out of the weather.
Executive director Keoni Vaughn calls it the ‘Furr Seasons.’ “It’s 25,000 square feet of open-aired space for the cats to run around and play in, so they’re just kind of relaxing and chilling.”
The sanctuary is open for a few hours every day for the public. On a paradise island, it has become it’s own tourist attraction.
In fact, many people come to the island for the sole purpose of visiting the sanctuary. One gentleman even flew over from Japan and walked to the sanctuary from the airport, just to be with the cats for the day.
Visitors can foster or adopt a cat if it is love at first sight. The shelter helps those who live in Hawaii, as well as those from other areas of the world. You can even adopt a cat in place, caring for them without actually visiting.
If a cat is not adopted, they will live out their lives in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is not only perfect for the cats, it is perfect for other animals, such as the endangered indigenous bird populations.
“We started on the premise of saving our native birds on the island. We focus on trapping stray and feral cats from bird-sensitive areas and then bring them into the sanctuary, so it’s a win-win for both native birds and the cats.”
You can see the kitties in action in this video:
Via: Huffington Post
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