{"id":20243,"date":"2016-08-22T16:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=20243"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:55:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:55:03","slug":"cat-heaven-lanai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/cat-heaven-lanai\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat heaven on Lana&#8217;i"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We came to the Hawaiian island of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/Lanai-City-Hotels.d2109.Travel-Guide-Hotels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lana\u2019i<\/a> to unwind, play on the beach, and indulge in the lap of luxury at one of the nicest and most talked-about Four Seasons hotels in the world.<\/p>\n<p>We left talking about cats. Hundreds and hundreds of cats.<\/p>\n<p>No, the cats weren\u2019t at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/Lanai-Island-Hotels-Four-Seasons-Resort-Lanai.h2980.Hotel-Information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Four Seasons Lana\u2019i<\/a>\u2014the only animals there were the rescue parrots (and, I guess, the spinner dolphins that regularly swim into Hulopo\u2019e Bay). Instead, the furry felines were a 30-minute hotel-shuttle (or taxi) ride away, at a magical place named the <a href=\"http:\/\/lanaicatsanctuary.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lana\u2019i Cat Sanctuary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On paper, the Sanctuary works like any other cat shelter. Residents are either former feral cats or animals that were abandoned by their owners. Just about all of the kitties are available for adoption.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, however, the 25,000-square-foot Cat Sanctuary operates like a free cat caf\u00e9 without the coffee. You go. You sign in. You clean your hands with a squirt of (complimentary) hand sanitizer. Then you enter the main habitat. And you spend the rest of your visit petting and feeding and playing with more cats than you\u2019ve ever seen in one place at any other time in your life.<\/p>\n<p>Overall population numbers vary depending on the time of year. On the day we visited in late July, there were 495 cats there. To quote my kids\u2019 favorite book, \u201cMillions of Cats,\u201d by Wanda Gag, there were \u201ccats here, cats there, cats and kittens everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(In case you\u2019re wondering how the place smells, it doesn\u2019t. Seven giant \u201clatrines\u201d are hand-scooped multiple times a day, and the trade winds help keep unpleasant odors from lingering.)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Viewfinder Tip: Allow plenty of time to visit the Lana\u2019i Cat Sanctuary. It\u2019s hard to leave.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>During the two hours we stayed, my three daughters were in their glory. The 7-year-old hugged and cradled about 10 different animals. The 4-year-old hung out with kittens in a special area dubbed the \u201cKittengarten.\u201d The 8-month-old laughed and giggled from her perch in Momma\u2019s baby carrier, occasionally reaching out to touch one of the kitties my wife picked up.<\/p>\n<p>The kids could have <a href=\"http:\/\/wanderingpod.com\/cat-heaven-in-hawaii\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stayed all day<\/a>. And they\u2019ve not stopped talking about it since.<\/p>\n<p>Keoni Vaughn, the Sanctuary\u2019s executive director, likens the facility to the \u201cFurr Seasons,\u201d a play on the name, Four Seasons, because of how luxurious it is for the cats. The comparison is apt. Both places make for an unforgettable experience on Lana\u2019i. We can\u2019t wait to go back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_123512-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The sign for the Lana&#8217;i Cat Sanctuary is as unassuming as the place itself. The facility is located just west of the island&#8217;s tiny airport.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_112426-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sanctuary staffers allow kids (and grownups, don&#8217;t worry) to feed the kitties snacks throughout the day. The cats get very excited when they know treats are imminent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_120623-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Everybody knows cats love attention, and the kitties at the Sanctuary are no exception to this rule. In many cases, the cats will follow you around and nuzzle you until you pet them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_104544-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some of the cats at the Lana&#8217;i Cat Sanctuary prefer to sit quietly in the grass and relax.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_113946-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My biggest girl was in her absolute glory at the Lana&#8217;i Cat Sanctuary. When she wasn&#8217;t hugging and cradling the cats, she was feeding them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_110833-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My middle daughter spent most of our time at the Lana&#8217;i Cat Sanctuary playing with the cats. This particular kitty loved chasing strings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_105831-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After two hours at the Sanctuary, I was ready to sit down. This cat made it clear I was not welcome to sit here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo-stream-block\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/20160728_1128020-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There really were cats everywhere at the Lana&#8217;i Cat Sanctuary. For cat lovers, the destination is a must-see.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">How do you like to interact with animals when you travel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discovering a one-of-a-kind destination in Hawaii<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1900,1782,1777,1890,1788,1891,1792,1774,1818,1776],"tags":[],"authors":[2227],"class_list":["post-20243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-destinations","category-family","category-hawaii","category-interests","category-maui","category-nature","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-summer","category-type-of-vacation","authors-matt-villano","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site 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