A $400,000 Kentucky house with a flat-screen TV, sofas and meditation music is a dream come true for the city’s stray cats.
The Shane’s Sanctuary and Kitty Adoption Center, which is run by Jan Malley and her husband Chip, houses 45 cats that have been rescued from the streets.
This Kenton County house is one of the many shelters set up by a nonprofit named The Humanitarian League, which is also run by Jan, to save stray cats from the local council’s abrasive attitude towards the felines.
The 3,000-square-foot facility is spread across two acres and only takes in cats who have been rescued from the streets.
The Shane’s Sanctuary and Kitty Adoption Center, which is run by Jan Malley and her husband Chip, houses 45 cats that have been rescued from the streets
This Kenton County house is one of the many shelters set up by a nonprofit named The Humanitarian League, which is also run by Jan, to save stray cats from the local council’s abrasive attitude towards the felines
But the house is not without its challenges – both legal and fiscal.
As of now, the Malley family is financing the shelter through their investments and retirement money.
While the couple has not disclosed what annual costs are, they have claimed that it costs $10,000 per month to feed and take care of the cats.
They are also paying a bunch of people to help out and feed the kitties.
‘It’s almost like a business except all we do is write checks; we don’t collect checks,’ Jan said.
As of now, the Malley family is financing the shelter through their investments and retirement money
They are also paying a bunch of people to help out and feed the kitties
The family has approached the county council and suggested building a cat sanctuary to officials
The family has approached the county council and suggested building a cat sanctuary to officials.
The cat-loving couple also told officials that they would pay up to $100,000 to build a facility and invest money annually to keep it running but were rejected.
They believe their proposal was shot down due to their demand for a land donation and a roadway.
‘We’ve been turned down every time we want to develop some type of an aftercare program to help these cats instead of (them) dying on the streets,’ Chip Malley said.
As of now to deal with stray cats, Kenton County uses the ‘trap, neuter, release’ method with no daycare facilities.
While the couple has not disclosed what annual costs are, they have claimed that it costs $10,000 per month to feed and take care of the cats
The cat-loving couple told officials that they would pay up to $100,000 to build a facility and invest money annually to keep it running but were rejected
They believe their proposal was shot down due to their demand for a land donation and a roadway
The 3,000-square-foot facility is spread across two acres and only homes cats who have been rescued from the streets.
The method is supported by the National Feline Research Council and other animal advocacy organizations.
Kelsey Mccombs, director of Kenton County Animal Services said: ‘There’s a lot of people who don’t understand that cats can be successful and happy outdoors. And that’s just fundamentally a philosophical difference. I don’t expect to change everyone’s mind.’
To keep costs in control and prevent people from dropping off random cats, the family has purposely kept the address of the shelter a secret.
The Malleys said they even found a kitten in their mailbox once.
But due to keeping their house in incognito mode, many of the cats have also not been adopted by people.
Most people find out about the shelter through word of mouth or by their Facebook.
The shelter also has a very strict adoption policy. To adopt or volunteer help, people have to call Jan personally and set up an appointment.