Hearts That Purr: Feline Guardians in Tuscan, Arizona, is a non-profit cat rescue and organization that specializes in homing cats that have had to be surrendered because their owner has become terminally ill, incapacitated, or has passed away.
It is a place for cats who “were never unwanted but have been essentially orphaned.”
When a cat has been living in the same home for most of its life, a shelter can be a real shock for them, this coupled with the death of their own can upturn their world!
A lot of the cats that the rescue takes in are older themselves or have special needs due to illnesses they have acquired.
The founder of Hearts That Purr: Feline Guardians, Jeanmarie Schiller-McGinnis, saw a need for a different kind of rescue for cats in these circumstances.
A personal story
It all started when Jeanmarie’s friend told her that she had made arrangements with a local shelter to take in her cats if she passed before her cats did.
Jeanmarie hadn’t considered this for her cats and was inspired to make a similar plan for her own cats. When she went to visit that same shelter, she noticed how overcrowded and loud it was there.
Coupled with the knowledge that older cats have a hard time getting adopted, she hated the thought of her cat living out the rest of his life alone and afraid in a shelter cage.
Shelters are vital in saving homeless and abused cats and kittens, but it’s not a good place for a cat to live out its golden years, as Jeanmarie explains:
“Our cats bring joy and companionship into our lives and we owe them a lifetime of loving care that does not end with our life”
So Jeanmarie decided to create a rescue that took care of cats when their owners were no longer able to.
Retirement plan
Because of its nature, the Hearts That Purr: Feline Guardians rescue limits the cats that it takes in. The organization is run by volunteers, and only takes in older cats that have been made “made homeless due to the terminal illness, incapacitation or death of their owners.”
Although the rescue does try to find new homes for the cats under their care, it is not a requirement. If one of the cats under their care doesn’t get adopted out, that’s okay, they can stay at the Hearts That Purr: Feline Guardians rescue forever.