An Island In Crisis

Kitty Charm Farm is primarily an animal rescue focused on Cats. Cats have it really rough on Maui. Humans brought cats to Maui and humans have also left them behind to fend for themselves. There are thousands of cats living on the streets, at beaches, behind businesses, under houses, in gulches….all simply trying to survive. Some cats were born there, but the sad reality is that most of these cats have been dumped. Who would dump a cat?! This is nearly unheard of on the mainland. But in Hawaii, it’s commonplace. People who dump cats are primarily self-centered people who don’t like free-roaming cats in their yard or at their businesses. But with our island in a major housing crisis, sometimes it’s people who have lost their housing, or people who have to leave the island over finances.  There are even people who dump their own cats at public parks in desperation, at locations where they can feed them every day- IF they survive the location change (dumped cats have a low chance of survival). It is heartbreaking that anyone would be forced to this point. Dumping cat’s (animal cruelty) was recently made a felony in Hawaii, punishable up to 5 years.