Over time we have been asked many times why there is purebred cat rescue. "With all the millions of "regular" kitties out there that are starving and desperate for care and homes, why just purebreds?" they ask. Or, "There can't be really that many purebred cats out there that need help. I never see them in shelters and people spend so much money on a purebred cat they certainly wouldn't dump it!" Wrong on both accounts.

The person who founded this rescue, Kirsten Kranz, did not set out to do purebred cat rescue 10 years ago. She had no idea there was such a thing as rescue at all. She volunteered many hours with local humane societies, dealing primarily with cats, and discovered there was a considerable network of purebred dog rescues but nothing for cats.

One day at one shelter an incredibly neglected Somali (long haired Abyssinian) was dropped off by an abusive owner who had paid at least $500 for this cat before ruining him with neglect and throwing him away. Simon was a mere flea-infested skeleton with piercing eyes and a stare that said "TAKE ME." And Kirsten did take him because his physical condition was so terrible he would have been euthanized on the spot if he ahd not been removed. He was our introduction to this incredible breed and the world of purebred cats in general. Though this rescue started with only one person and an idea, it grew at a rapid pace, and soon a number of volunteers were there to help as well. Word spread and soon shelters and other rescues from all over the midwest were calling, desperate to get these cats into special care. Despite the large number of dog rescues in the area, this is the ONLY one that will take in only purebred cats, and they come to us from as far away as Colorado.

Since Simon, many many hundreds of neglected and abused purebred cats have popped in and out of our lives (now more than 500 per year). Though purebred cats make up only about 1% of cats relinquished to shelters, they tend to have the most specific needs due to their breeding. By far most are Persians and Himalayans; high maintanence cats who do extremely poorly in shelters due to their predisposition to upper respiratory conditions. They are usually in hideous condition when they enter a shelter and overburdened shelter staff are not able to tackle their multiple problems. These poor cats are usually the first to be sick and the first to be euthanized.

Other breeds, such as Abyssinians and Bengals, are extremely high strung and cannot handle a shelter environment at all. We've taken in many an Aby who was listed as "untouchable" in a cage environment and as soon as they were in a home they became totally different. It is unrealistic to assume that an average shelter, dealing with hundreds of cats and dogs, money problems, staffing difficulties and the overwhelming problems generated by the public, is going to have the knowledge or time or ability to deal with the needs of specific breeds. This is where we come in.

 These are all cats someone spent a great deal of money to buy, probably when they were tiny cute kittens. But one soon learns in shelter life that money really means nothing. More than 40% of the dogs given up to our shelter or found as strays are purebreds. Many are never reclaimed. We've picked up $700 cats abandoned at shelters literally because their owners had redecorated their homes and the cats no longer matched their color scheme.

 There are many groups out there feeding, sheltering and dealing with the overwhelming numbers of "regular" cats that still flood our communities. We are only one group and cannot begin to address that crisis. But we do have the knowledge and ability to care for purebreds, and do so happily to this day.