C & W Rustic Hollow: Field Of Dreams Cat Heaven.

Today’s guest post is by Ellen Beck. Her guest post about her feral black cat Punchy inspired me to create Black Cats Tell All, our nonprofit book and black cat awareness cause.

Of the thousands of shelters and rescues in the U.S., a few exceptional ones stand out like Cat House on the Kings, Best Friends Animal Society or North Shore Animal League. They are well-funded media darlings with celebrity klout but there are other less famous and exceptional havens for cats. We’re shining the light on one deserving shelter with a magical touch.

Is This Heaven? No, This is Iowa! Much like the Field of Dreams, there is a place, nestled on 90 acres that for some lucky cats are what would be considered heaven. It is located outside a small sleepy town best known for a song “Church in The Wildwood” near Nashua , Iowa. C& W Rustic Hollow as it came to be known, started much by accident. Carmen Linda Conklin & Wanda L. Orric had moved back to the Conklin family farm to care for Carmen’s parents. They built a small log cabin on site, and for eleven years took care of her folks.

In the late 80’s they began the first step towards building cat sanctuary by converting the 1913 family barn into the Kat Barn, and then Carmen’s childhood home, now Kitty Kottage. C & W for Carmen and Wanda, continued their kitty field of dreams for special needs cats no one wanted. In 2004, 2007 and 2009 more buildings were added. Each building has air conditioning, catios, special places for those cats who wish to lounge about to do so.

There are over 300 cats there at any given time.

I had the pleasure of visiting C & W recently. On that day they were holding a low cost spay/neuter clinic, and as each came out from their procedure, there were ‘kitty kuddlers’ to hold and keep the kitties comfortable while they came out of sedation. Carmen and Wanda believe that to control and benefit the cat population, that spay and neuter is the answer, and it has been proven to be true. From housecats to barn cats they serve them all but those kitties are visitors, with humans or colony caretakers picking them up later.

C & W has veterinarians, vet techs and volunteers who care deeply and passionately about the care and welfare of each and every cat that comes through their doors.

The most striking difference between most shelters and C & W is that the cats who live there are not up for adoption. This kitty heaven is their forever home.

The cats come in every hue, color, and condition. There are cats who are elderly, blind, those with medical conditions, those with FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and those with FelV (feline leukemia).

Some cats that are sponsored. One example of sponsored cats is best seen at The Sandra McIntire Building, named after Sandra McIntire to house her own cats when she learned she was dying of cancer. Her cats share the building now with other cats, often watching videos on TV or doing what cats do best, lounging about.

As you walk about the C & W Rustic Hollow buildings, you can tell these cats are loved. They wander up and want to be petted. Some insist on being held, and hug as they purr into your ear. It is hard to leave the buildings, and in each one, the cats pull at your heartstrings.

Food bowls are full, water dishes sparkling, cat boxes clean, this is not a warehouse, these cats are cherished for who they are. Volunteers are smiling, visitors are treated like friends, and the cats treated like the royal animals they are.

The cats are cage free, although some are in partitioned area for their safety such as the blind or those who need a quieter area. C & W is a 5013C and is supported solely by donations, sponsorships of the resident felines, grants & estate giving. They also also conduct fund raisers each year. All sponsorships & donations go directly to the daily care of the felines in residence. Recently they had an open house, and sold items at their store in town as well. Many of the cats are sponsored throughout their lives by the same person, others by many coming together.

It takes work and dedication and these folks are doing a wonderful job at providing homes for special needs cats that in many cases would not have otherwise had a life. There are many residents there, but anyone who visits will be ‘picked’ by the cats to be loved on.

Each and every cat has a name, a personality, and is loved, and really what is life about but loving and being loved until the very end.

Thank you to Carmen, Wanda, all the volunteers and of course the cats. To borrow again from the Field of Dreams ” If you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true.” and it has again in a small town in Iowa doing incredible things.

To learn more about C & W Rustic Hollow, visit /http://www.rustichollowshelter.org

or visit them at their Facebook Page.

The shelter will rehome or find homes for some cats but they live in foster homes and not at the shelter.

The nonprofit relies on monetary donations and a wish list of needed items.

Photos courtesy of the Rustic Hollow Facebook page by folks who love the cats!