They say all dogs go to heaven — and apparently all cats go to Hawaii. Well, almost all of them.
If you venture to the small island of Lanai you’ll find a cat sanctuary scattered with nearly 500 cats, according to the Huffington Post. These “Hawaiian Lions” have the freedom to roam around the 25,000-square-foot property filled with large huts, trees to climb and human visitors to scratch their stomachs. RELATED: Does your cat have a regional accent? The Lainai Cat Sanctuary opens its doors to the public to play with the uncaged cats for just a few hours every day, between 10 a.m and 3 p.m. Can’t afford to schlep all the way to Hawaii? No problem — the sanctuary offers an “adopt in place” program that lets feline lovers sponsor or adopt any cat of their choosing. Executive director Keoni Vaughn calls the nonprofit community service organization the “Furr Seasons” which he opened in 2008 with the aim of giving homeless Hawaiian cats a safe place to live, according to the Huffington Post. Although primarily a cat haven, the feline friendly grounds has a dual purpose of protecting endangered indigenous birds.
“We started on the premise of saving our native birds on the island,” Vaughn told the Huffington Post. “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.” All cats receive a health exam, a microchip, and are sprayed and neutered before entering the main population, and if they’re never adopted they can live in the sanctuary until they’ve exhausted all nine lives. One man flew all the way from Japan to Lanai to get his daily dose of furry cuteness. If traveling all the way to Hawaii isn’t in the cards for you, at least you can virtually enjoy the sanctuary via Instagram.
