Lāna'i Cat Sanctuary
Lanai City, Hawaii
Lāna'i Cat Sanctuary is a nonprofit open-air cat sanctuary on four acres near Lanai City, about five minutes from Lanai Airport. Founded in 2006 by Kathy Carroll with 25 cats and an old horse corral, it is now home to around 700 rescue cats, known as the Lanai Lions, and has saved more than 3,000 cats. It is not a cafe: visitors walk among the free-roaming cats inside a fenced enclosure about the size of half a football field. Entry is free, donations are welcome, no appointment is needed, and it is open every day. There is no food or drink for sale, so visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic. Every cat has a name, a microchip and a medical record, and the sanctuary also protects the island's ground-nesting seabirds. Many visitors arrive by ferry from Maui. Cats can be adopted or sponsored.