Our shelter is located on a 10 acre parcel of land in the town of Cullowhee, North Carolina in a quiet, residential area. The entire complex is three miles from the main gate of Western Carolina University. The main shelter building, corner stone of the planned complex, contains a little less than four thousand square feet. There are three large cat rooms, each with a large screened and fenced outside porch. Another room houses incoming cats and cats that may not be social enough, as yet, to join the general population. These cats live in large, spacious cages. In the center is a room furnished like a living room. Here people wishing to adopt a cat can spend time with the cats.. There is a storage room with shelves filled with food and cat supplies and serves as an office. The entire complex is accessible to those who use wheelchairs.
People who visit the shelter will enter the large entrance room then traverse one of three wide hallways where large windows allow a view of each of the (15 by 24 foot) cat play areas. Here the cats have overhead runways to walk on, boxes to hide in and toys to play with. Classical and mood music flows from ceiling speakers. Large windows on the outer wall allow sunlight to beam in and provide the cats with a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside while enjoying the warmth of electric heaters in winter or cooling fans during summer. The outer porches are accessible by two cat doors. Each room has a separate air purification system and Hepa filtration. One might think of a visit to this shelter as a visit to an aquarium, but instead of seeing colorful fish in tanks, colorful cats may be watched as they play, rest and interact. Wide windowsills provide a face to face view of the more friendly cats. People may enter the cat rooms to interact with the cats. Besides providing a view of the cats the walls of the halls are bedecked with the Sims’ collection of cat art, including a collection of Chessie collectibles.
