Many felines in the community have found their forever homes through Southern Arizona Cat Rescue, and soon the rescue will be able to assist even more with the addition of its first physical location: Hunter’s Kitten Lounge.
The Southern Arizona Cat Rescue (SACR) team hopes to open the lounge this year to help the home-based foster rescue group with its mission to save the at-risk cat population throughout Tucson, Oro Valley and Sahuarita. Within this location, SACR will be able to help find homes for local cats of all ages and educate people about overpopulation and special needs pets.
“It means so much (to open the lounge). I’m only one of four people on the Southern Arizona Cat Rescue team — my friends and I own it, and it’s been just really surreal getting so much support from the community and that everybody thinks it’s a really good idea,” said Melissa Lesinsky, SACR director.
SACR was launched in October 2019 by Lesinsky and her cat-loving friends Kim Fioccoprile, Alex Byler and Cortney Adams.
Over the past three-plus years, SACR has helped nearly 2,000 cats find their forever homes, with around 630 of those felines adopted out in 2022 alone.
SACR is expecting to adopt out an additional 300 cats a year with the addition of Hunter’s Kitten Lounge, which will have around 15 cats living at the lounge at a time, ranging from 12 weeks old and older.
“(A physical location) will allow us to save so many more lives and to really focus on not only neonates, but also focus on teenagers and adult cats,” Lesinsky said. “We can really expand and utilize our platform to find all age groups homes.”
The rescue is currently 100% volunteer run and operates through foster homes, which are families who temporarily house pets up for adoption, so the animals become adjusted to a home environment. Foster families through SACR are encouraged to be a part of medical decisions, choosing a permanent family and the entire foster process to make them feel like the cat is theirs.
Since the rescue’s inception, Lesinsky said it has been “a whirlwind.” The SACR team has gone from participating in adoptions at Tractor Supply Co., to becoming a PetSmart charity hosting adoptions in the pet store’s designated rooms.
The rescue has also expanded to hosting kitten yoga every other month at Barefoot Studio and rescuing cats from high-kill shelters in lower-income areas alongside other rescue partners.
First brick-and-mortar location
To grow their services, the SACR team is searching for a space over 1,000 square feet located near the UA to site Hunter’s Kitten Lounge.
Their goal is for Hunter’s Kitten Lounge to be a nontraditional rescue setting, with a warm, cozy living-room style space complete with a big couch and pillows.
Unlike a traditional shelter, the team’s vision is for visitors and cats alike to casually hang out together, helping feline residents become accustomed to a regular home environment for an easier transition to adoption. Potential adoptees will also be able to better connect with the cats, gauge their personalities and determine whether the animal would fit into their lifestyle.
“We always wanted to open up a physical location, but we didn’t want it to be like a shelter with cats in cages because that goes completely against what we always do. We have 100% foster homes, so cats are running free and they experience vacuums, dogs, brooms, loud noises, all that good stuff,” Lesinsky said.
“So, we thought, what better way to open up a physical location and have people be able to physically come meet cats without a shelter environment?”
The personable setting of the lounge will also allow for those unable to own a cat the opportunity to enjoy the company of felines without any obligation to bring them home — ideal for those who have allergic family members, children whose parents don’t want a pet or UA students who live in dorms.
“You get to love on them, snuggle them and everything, and then you can go home,” Lesinsky said. “So this isn’t just for adoption, this is also for the socialization of the cats and socialization of people.”
The team wants to empty shelters as much as possible and have a range of feline personalities, all while ensuring its residents are comfortable and that the space does not become overpopulated.
Saving medical, special needs cats
While featuring many different types of cats, Hunter’s Kitten Lounge will emphasize the inclusion of special and medical needs cats and the public’s exposure to them.
This objective was inspired by Lesinsky’s late cat Hunter, who died last year at 3.5 years old from an infection he had had since he was a kitten. The lounge was named in his honor.
Hunter “left a little legacy with everybody,” said Lesinsky, as he gave many foster parents the opportunity to learn how to dress wounds, change diapers and become comfortable around special needs pets.
“I’m really hoping that Hunter’s story can inspire people to also adopt special needs,” she said. “We have so many special needs in the community that are just sitting in foster homes, waiting to find a house and waiting to find a forever home. They’re so easy to take care of and they just blend into your routine so easily.”
In tandem with special needs pet education, SACR’s team hopes to help increase adoptions in Tucson by teaching others about the overpopulation of stray cats in the area.
Fundraising to support SACR’s efforts
Lesinsky looks forward to the additional opportunities that Hunter’s Kitten Lounge will introduce. At present, the SACR team is concentrating on fundraising to assist their search for a lounge location.
“We’re so excited to get the lounge up and running, getting donations toward the lounge is going to be a big part of it because it’s going to allow us to open faster,” she said.
Those interested in supporting Hunter’s Kitten Lounge can donate through SACR’s website or GoFundMe. There are also wish lists on Chewy and Amazon for those who would like to donate pet supplies.
The rescue is also happy to receive donations of gently used supplies and toys.
“Right now we don’t have any opportunities to physically volunteer with us other than actually fostering tasks,” Lesinsky said. “But once the lounge is open, we’re going to have many more volunteer opportunities to come in and help out.”
Hunter’s Kitten Lounge (Southern Arizona Cat Rescue)
Donations for Hunter’s Kitten Lounge can be mailed to Southern Arizona Cat Rescue, P.O. Box 65791, Tucson, AZ 85728.
For more information about the rescue, call 520-200-1643, email adoption@sacatrescue.org or visit sacatrescue.org
