Weddingbee boards

Our new place is on 3 acres. Sounds grand except for the past 15 years I have been livijng on 70 acres surrounded by thousands of acres of state forest lands. Man I hate leaving here but the property owner is dead-set on developing this into a blasted housing development and we have to leave. We had the land appraised and offered top dollar but he refused to even consider our offer!

There is a small patch of woods in front of the new location, a good-sized front yard, a giant back yard (where we are having the Amish build the kitties a two-story barn) and then a wooded lower level that borders a canoe-able stream. There is a stone fire pit and a stone patio in the lower level so I anticipate some slamming summer parties. The house itself is a 3 bedroom ranch with a two car garage. It is going to be cool having two fireplaces, but I haven't had neighbors in 15 years and it will be weird. I guess no more nude sun-bathing for me!

Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited. Hell no! Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to catch and transport 40+ cats? Some will no doubt have to be re-trapped as they are feral. But our motto is NO CAT LEFT BEHIND and I got permission from the owner of the property next door to set up the traps there if we miss any of the kitties. This whole thing has me as nervous as a cat in a room full of hungry lions!

I WAS a normal person with four cats. Then I started feeding the cats that roamed the forests around us. All were feral ,or "dumped" pets. I am a soft-hearted sucker and started feeding them. As we got more, I started getting them spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Then we got Amish-built mini-barns for them and built feeding and water stations. EVERY cat here is a cat rescued from the surrounding forests. EVERY cat has been spayed/neutered and vaccinated. I spend over $400 a month on cat food. I don't even want to calculate what I have spent on vet bills.

We are a private sanctuary. Most of these cats are un-adoptable and there are several with disabilities that require special care. The name is the Shawnee Om Shanti Cat Sanctuary or SOS Cats for short. The sanctuary is a living memorial to my daughter Shawnee, who died unexpectedly almost 10 years ago. I keep quiet about the sanctuary as I have all I can handle and when people find out about us they always try to get me to take their unwanted cats! Unfortunately I can not save them all!

@ashbee2415: Thanks! I appreciate that! It is often a thankless job. But I do love my furbabies - even the anti-social ones!

@bluespurrs: Wow. Thanks for taking in all these cats. I have three in our 848 sq ft apartment and it irritates me when people just abandon their cats when they move/get tired of them.

@Soon2beeMrsM: Yes they will be fenced in. We are making a 40' x 40' play yard for them. We are installing 6' chain-link fence with special "toppers"  that are designed to prevent cat escape. I am transplanting a tree in there and putting in Pampas grass along the perimeter as the kitties think they make for fine kitty cabanas. I just put down the deposit on the barn today! The Amish are just making the basic barn and there will be full-sized insulated windows and double barn doors downstairs. There will be a two-door foyer installed so I can enter and exit without fear of cats escaping. There will be a stair case to the second floor. We will be installing insulation and interior walls ijn the early fall as well as having electric put in for a shop light and outlets for the heated water bowls.

Obviously you didn't want to know that badly! LOL

@bluespurrs: Good for you knowing your limits (and being willing to take in so many!) I keep hearing on Fuglyblog about rescues that take in too many (horses usually because of the nature of the blog) and getting themselves in trouble.

Your set up sounds incredible for the cats! I always have such faith in Amish-built barns.