On the outskirts of the little town of Walton on the northwest edge of New York State's
Catskill Mountains is a serene refuge for hundreds of cats, kittens and a few dogs
and farm animals. I won't
call these animals homeless because, though most are adoptable, those that aren't adopted have a
warm and safe home for life here! But hopefully many of them will find families of their own
some day. They're certainly hard to resist... walking through the spacious rooms and fenced in
exercise yard, my husband John and I were rubbed against, gently pawed at and meowed to by
dozens and dozens of beautiful cats. If we didn't live in such a small apartment we'd have
brought a carful home to keep our Monday company! It was sooooo tempting!
If you're looking for a furbaby to adopt, or just want to lose yourself in a sea of
hypnotic purring for while, visiting hours are 12:30-4:00pm daily; you can call 1-607-865-5759 for
directions.
The people who were caring for the animals while we were there
kind enough to let us go crazy with our cameras. That's me on the left
with one of the hundreds of happy, healthy cats who live here.
The caretakers of Peace Plantation believe that no animal should spend its life
in a cage.
The dogs are housed in heated indoor kennels with outside runs and have access to a large
exercise yard.
The cats live in heated colonies, most having access to enclosed outdoor areas.
This is just one of their comfortable and spacious "living rooms." Notice the superclean
floor and ample perching space. Those cute wall murals were done by a local artist.
Peace Plantation currently houses over 200 cats!
Here's hubby John soon to be surrounded by a crowd of purring cats! I had to put down the still
camera to catch most of it on video, but believe me, many of these cats are so friendly they'll follow you
around until you bend down to pet them and maybe engage in a little feline conversation.
Of course cats, like people, have different personalities and more introverted ones are given plenty
of
safe places to perch comfortably out of reach when they're feeling shy. But a few of these
quiet ones ventured
down to say hello on our second visit; maybe that first day they were just checking us out
from a safe distance :-)
Peace Plantation is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a central mission "to
provide lifelong sanctuary and adoption services to homeless animals..." It relies solely
on charitable contributions to achieve its mission and does not receive any financial
assistance from local, state or federal governments. Although separately incorporated,
Peace Plantation operates under the auspices of the
National Humane Education Society, from
which it receives needed resources to carry out its program services.
Our inspiring visit to
Peace Plantation is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a central mission "to
provide lifelong sanctuary and adoption services to homeless animals..." It relies solely
on charitable contributions to achieve its mission and does not receive any financial
assistance from local, state or federal governments. Although separately incorporated,
Peace Plantation operates under the auspices of the
National Humane Education Society, from
which it receives needed resources to carry out its program services.