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| 2012/01/09 12:49:04瀏覽500｜回應0｜推薦5 | |
 Pioneering: The Cat House on the Kings in Parlier, California is the largest no-kill cat sanctuary in the world  Just a few: A 'small' group of cats gathers at The Cat House on the Kings  Well, hello: One of the over 700 residents of the Cat House on the Kings no-kill sanctuary, nestled in his favourite resting spot - the cupboard  Rescued: In the back of Lynea Lattanzio's van, crates of rescued animals await their new life at the Cat House on the Kings sanctuary  Big world: Just a few of the hundreds of stray kittens and cats rescued by the Cat House team  Feeding time: Lynea Lattanzio, owner of The Cat House on the Kings, begins feeding her hundreds of felines early each morning  Litter overload: Litter boxes fill a room inside the cat sanctuary  Loving: Ms Lattanzio and volunteer Tammy Barker examine a stray Siamese cat at the SPCA  Sanctuary: Lynea Lattanzio lives alone with 700 cats on her 12-acre spread in Parlier, California  Care-free: The feline haven is California's largest no-kill, no cage sanctuary and is also a home to 15 dogs  Cat house: Divorcee Lynea takes in rescue cats from around the world and has helped rehome 19,000 of the animals  Feline heaven: The cats being fed, the sanctuary survives because of generous donations  'At least they have a life': Lynea cares for a kitten. She insists she is not crazy and would prefer to refer to herself as eccentric  Mission: Lynea aims to place rescued cats and kittens into permanent homes and to prevent overpopulation by spaying and neutering  Yard time: Cats of all shapes, colours and sizes make hundreds of new friends when they arrive on the estate  Down time: Cats are often flown in from New York, after owners decide their apartments are too small for their pets  New arrival: An hours-old kitten is brought into the facility for medical attention at The Cat House  Dinner time: It costs almost $40,260 per month to buy the cat food and medical supplies  Everyone is welcome: The estate is also home to 15 dogs  Grub's up: The gated sanctuary supports eight specialised cat homes and boasts felines of all breeds and sizes  Help around the house: A team of dedicated volunteers chip in with much-needed work around the estate  Carring: Lynea Lattanzio, who was banned by her mother from having cats as a child, started to take in rescue animals and strays after her divorce in 1981 拉坦齊奧自幼愛貓，但童年時卻遭母親禁止養貓。一九八一年她與丈夫離婚，之後便開始收留在街上流浪的動物，更將近五萬平方米的住宅變為貓屋，有「育嬰室」和「護老院」，更設置「深切治療室」。她照顧這群動物不但耗費心力，更花大量金錢，每周支出逾四萬美元，所幸得到善心人士捐款，更有義工出力幫忙。雖然有外界捐款幫補，但多年來要賣掉結婚鑽石戒指和私家車，才能維持下去。 雖然有人認為拉坦齊奧瘋了，但她對貓的喜愛始終不改，表示成立貓屋是要為貓隻提供一個無籠、不殺生的庇護所。縱使整天家裏貓聲四起，但拉坦齊奧仍堅持這樣做﹕「我沒有瘋，若我是貓，我也會住在這裏。」家中不少貓隻均來自紐約，牠們的主人因為家中地方淺窄，而將牠們送到貓屋，亦有當地居民會把不要的小貓放在她家門前。 根據國家地理頻道，拉坦齊奧聘請23位員工替貓咪和狗服務。他們家，每天四點半就開始提供貓和狗使用早餐。貓咪尿尿和上大號後，他們會把貓砂盆和環境清洗乾淨。貓咪用過飯之後，也會清洗乾淨檯面。拉坦齊奧和她的助理甚至會定期每年拜訪鎮上的其他Animal Shelter審查可出養的貓狗，然後帶很多空籠子去把一群待出養的和欠缺醫療照顧的貓狗回去她的Animal Shelter。 - 摘自昔日東方電子報 相關新聞網址： http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20110924/00423_049.html |
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