Page 22 - ALLISON'S MAGAZINE ~ ISSUE #104

to a minimum. Mostly, though, this
is a human issue. Back in the day,
people would let their cats out, which
weren’t spayed or neutered, and they
multiplied. And this is all recent: pets
weren’t even allowed on Lanai until the
mid-nineties.”

LIFE ON LANAI
Vaughn has led the charge to make
Lanai Cat Sanctuary a must-see
destination by capitalizing on the
island’s—and the sanctuary’s—
distinctiveness. “Lanai’s a unique
environment,” he shares. “We don’t
have any traffic lights. We have one gas
station and a couple small grocery stores.
But that makes it a close-knit place.
People come to Lanai to totally get away.
I think they’re really happy when they
get here because it is so relaxed and
so secluded.”

But such seclusion can cause significant Vaughn says. “We barge it in, as well population, treat them, and reintroduce
logistical challenges for a small nonprofit as all our medical supplies. We have them once they’re healthy.
that relies heavily on donations. To get eight people on staff, but we don’t
to the sanctuary, you can take a ferry have a vet on the island. So I fly in The sanctuary’s mission is to provide
from Maui and then a half-hour shuttle Dr. Eric Ako, a veterinarian in Oahu, a safe, healthy haven for cats—but it’s
or cab ride, or you can fly in from Oahu and his two assistants twice a month, also invaluable to another species on
and then commute to the sanctuary. and he provides medical care to the the island. Lanai is home to native and
And good luck finding driving SAVING CATS—AND BIRDS cat sanctuary. He may see anywhere endangered ground-nesting birds, such
directions. “There’s no physical address When you visit the Lanai Cat Sanctuary between thirty-five and forty-five cats as the ‘Ua‘u Kani and ‘Alae Ke‘oke‘o,
for the cat sanctuary,” Vaughn admits. (which is open 365 days a year), you’ll in a seven- or eight-hour period.” In all, which feral cats hunt. By relocating the
“If you google us, you’ll get 1 Kaupili find happy cats lounging virtually Vaughn estimates that the sanctuary overpopulated cats to this permanent,
Road; that’s something that I made everywhere. In the main area, which has spends about $750 per year per cat, safe home, rather than euthanizing
up. We’re on agricultural land in the 30,000 square feet, you’ll find over five which is still under the national average them, Vaughn says it’s a win-win
middle of nowhere.” He’s not kidding: hundred felines. Another recently built of around $1,100 a year. for both.
the sanctuary has running water but area includes senior centers for older cats
no electricity or internet (although it’s to live out their sunset years. The Lanai Cat Sanctuary also takes what FROM FERAL TO FRIENDLY
planning to add them). Vaughn calls a “herd health” approach. As much as the facility itself has been
For the cats to be this happy and When cats arrive, they are spayed or transformed, many of its inhabitants
Nonetheless, people are flocking here: healthy, magic has to happen behind neutered, named, and microchipped, change even more—much to Vaughn’s
Vaughn says that when he started in the scenes—and caring for this many and bloodwork is done, all to ensure surprise and delight. “I’ve been in the
2014, around eight hundred people cats certainly requires a great deal they’re all healthy and fixed before they animal welfare industry about eighteen
visited the sanctuary per year—but in of planning. “We go through about return to the main population. There years. I always thought, ‘Once a feral
2019, it welcomed upwards of 14,000 eighty-five pounds of cat food a day, are also eight treatment centers, which cat, always a feral cat.’ Boy, was I
visitors to see the well-cared-for cats. which costs roughly $48,000 a year,” allow workers to remove ill cats from the wrong. These cats are truly feral—they

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