
Photo: The Happy Cat Sanctuary/Facebook
Founded in 2006, The Happy Cat Sanctuary has been funded out of Chris Arsenault’s pocket and whatever donations he received over the years. And taking care of over 300 cats is not cheap. In 2016, he spent $101,000 on food and medicine for his felines, and that’s administering some of the medication himself, to cut costs. However, he always contacts veterinarians if the medical problem is something he can’t deal with himself. “Every day I have to treat the sick cats too,” Chris said. “To keep control of this, I use colored paper collars. Depending on their illness, I treat them with different medications, and if it’s something I can’t fix, I make sure the cat gets to the vet.”
Last year, Arsenault has spent $22,000 on vet bills for his cats, but he considers every penny of that well spent. Without his sanctuary, most, if not all of these cats would have been euthanized. “When I open my bedroom door, there are about 50 or 60 cats waiting for me,” Arsenault said. “Most of these cats were abused or abandoned when they came to the sanctuary, so it’s been really a really rewarding thing to be able to give them a home and a place they feel safe.”
To learn more about The Happy Cat Sanctuary and the amazing work of Chris Arsenault, or to make a donation to the cause of abandoned cats, check out their official site and their adorable Facebook page. For more amazing animal sanctuaries, check out Santuario Igualdad Interspecies and the Iguanario of Ramon Archundia. For more cat-awesomeness, you have to see Koshlandia, the Siberian Land of Cats.