{"id":28273,"date":"2024-04-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-kennel-free-cattery-brings-12-cats-displaced-by-lahaina-fire-back-to-mainland\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:25:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:25:24","slug":"durango-kennel-free-cattery-brings-12-cats-displaced-by-lahaina-fire-back-to-mainland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-kennel-free-cattery-brings-12-cats-displaced-by-lahaina-fire-back-to-mainland\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango kennel-free cattery brings 12 cats displaced by Lahaina fire back to mainland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Padgie
Padgie Kimmick, owner and founder of Cat Care Durango, with a kitten that will go up for adoption at the cattery in Bodo Park. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The August 2023 Maui fires killed more than 100 people, destroyed over 2,200 structures and caused about $5.5 billion in damage on the Valley Isle of Hawaii, according to a preliminary after-action report by the United States Fire Administration.<\/p>\n

But humans were not the only ones impacted by the blazes.<\/p>\n

Padgie Kimmick, founder of Cat Care Durango, a cat adoption agency and sanctuary on Suttle Street in south Durango, traveled to Maui last week to take 12 cats off the hands of the Maui Humane Society.<\/p>\n

Kimmick said Cat Care Durango did not do a \u201cgigantic deed\u201d by bringing a dozen cats back to the mainland.<\/p>\n

The humane society is currently caring for more than 700 cats displaced by the fires in Lahaina, but she and several members of her staff lent a helping hand at the shelter and learned a lot about how to improve their efforts in Durango.<\/p>\n

Cat Care Durango has been open for about a year. But Kimmick has performed trap, neuter, release efforts over the past two decades. She said she has spayed and neutered more than 40,000 cats in Durango and the Four Corners.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit takes in and cares for kittens and adult cats. New cats are taken to Riverview Animal Hospital, where they receive a full exam, including vaccinations, blood work, testing for feline leukemia, and spaying and neutering when necessary. The cats are then put up for adoption.<\/p>\n

\"Bailey
Bailey Wilson, left, kennel technician manager at Cat Care Durango, and Shiann Swapp, operations director, examine one of 12 cats on Saturday that they rescued from Maui last week. Cats are kept in spacious kennels while they await intake processing at the cattery, but otherwise, the cattery is a kennel-free space where cats can roam as much or as little as they prefer. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cat
Cat Care Durango is a permanent home for some cats and a temporary home for others. The cattery has an intake room for new cats where they are monitored for their health, a quarantine room for sick kitties and open spaces for integrated cats to play and rest. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019ve got diabetic cats. We have kidney failure cats, we\u2019ve got liver failure cats,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got cats who were abused, cats that were left in houses, cats that came from big hoarding situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Younger cats are more likely to be adopted than older cats, Kimmick said, but that\u2019s OK. Once the cats warm up to living in the sanctuary, they\u2019re allowed to roam free within the nonprofit\u2019s walls. Many are adopted, but cats that aren\u2019t adopted can live out their days in bliss at the sanctuary.<\/p>\n

Cat steps and cat trees line the walls of the sanctuary. Spacious birdhouses are wedged into the upper corners of the lobby and feature comfy cushions for tired cats to curl up and nap. Kimmick said she wanted to make sure every cat under her care has a quiet hideaway.<\/p>\n

She said kitten season is gearing up and so is the nonprofit. Cat Care Durango has found new homes for 29 cats so far this year and has 29 cats left at the sanctuary, in addition to the Maui cats brought back from Hawaii last week.<\/p>\n

She said the cattery will likely aim to get the Maui cats, which are mostly younger, adopted first.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be perfectly vetted and vaccinated and everything,\u201d she said the day before she left for Maui. \u201cThey\u2019ll go into the intake room when we get home and they\u2019ll stay here for hopefully about a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A young cat taken from a Maui shelter and brought to Cat Care Durango climbs about its kennel as it awaits intake processing on Saturday. The cat and 11 others were displaced by the Maui wildfires that tore through the historic district of Lahaina on the island of Maui in August 2023. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bailey
Bailey Wilson, kennel technician manager at Cat Care Durango, holds a cat on Saturday that the group rescued from Hawaii. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The impact area is fenced off, although destroyed homes and wreckage are visible behind the chain links. Cat Care Durango Director Shiann Swapp said she saw large photos of those who died hung on the fences alongside Hawaiian leis and quilts in a long memorial that stretches for half a mile.<\/p>\n

Authorities were discovering the remains of people who died in the fires, she said.<\/p>\n

During the trip, the cattery crew visited the island of Lanai\u2019s cat sanctuary that houses more than feral 800 cats.<\/p>\n

Kimmick said they met with the sanctuary\u2019s director for over three hours. He gave them advice they hope to implement at Cat Care Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that they\u2019re doing in Lanai was just a mind-blowing inspiration to see how they\u2019re functioning as a sanctuary for ferals,\u201d kennel technician manager Bailey Wilson said on Saturday. \u201cSo, I think we (learned) what we can do here in our little space to improve upon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmick said Lanai is home to three species of endangered birds that were being hunted by feral cats. The cat sanctuary was developed in coordination with the Hawaii Department of Wildlife to mitigate the confrontations of local birds and feral cats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey even had a big gigantic placard in the middle of their sanctuary that (the director) was so proud to show us about how they have really worked with this and how it was something that was being recognized and given to him by the (wildlife) department,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said she would like to work with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and bird advocates to implement something similar in Durango.<\/p>\n

An outdoor feral cat sanctuary is something she\u2019d like to pursue in addition to a cat cafe that would help the nonprofit generate a sustainable income.<\/p>\n

\"Cat
Cat Care Durango is abuzz with activity Saturday at the business at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cat
Cat Care Durango is seen Saturday at the business at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Kimmick said people often drop by Cat Care Durango just to visit with the cats and pet them, and they are welcome to do so. She loves cats, but she also hates cat smells, so cleanliness is a top priority at the cattery.<\/p>\n

Aislynn Galbavy, a freshman at Fort Lewis College, stopped by the sanctuary on Saturday to visit with her adoptee, Giovanni, a tiny black and white kitten.<\/p>\n

Galbavy said she adopted Giovanni, but she is waiting to settle into a new apartment with her boyfriend this May before she brings him home.<\/p>\n

She learned about Cat Care Durango from friends. She loves visiting the cattery because she finds cats to be so therapeutic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that work here, I think they take amazing care. They\u2019re super friendly. Their cats are beautiful,\u201d she said. \u201cI really like what they\u2019re doing and I want to support them and so I wanted to get a cat from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she can\u2019t express how grateful she is for the cattery.<\/p>\n

Kimmick said the trip back to Durango from Maui took about 40 hours in total, including a stay in a hotel in Albuquerque where the rescued cats had the chance to get out of their travel kennels and stretch their legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cats did well. I mean, they went through a lot to get here,\u201d she said on Saturday. \u201cI got into my car last night at the airport after we dropped off the van and I just burst out crying, and I\u2019ve been crying ever since. Like, I can\u2019t believe we did this. We actually made this happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really moved that we learned so much,\u201d she added. \u201cI hope that this is something that we can do again. We learned a lot. \u2026 I have the most amazing staff in the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One
One of the cats at Cat Care Durango on Saturday at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"One
One of the cats at Cat Care Durango on Saturday at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A toy on the wall at Cat Care Durango on Saturday at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Padgie
Padgie Kimmick, owner of Cat Care Durango, in the boarding room on Saturday at the business at the Bodo Park location. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Durango a sanctuary, shelter and rescue all rolled into one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[382,2357,950,350,28,714,1613,1269],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-28273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animal","tag-disaster-general","tag-durango","tag-fire","tag-headlines","tag-human-interest","tag-natural-disasters","tag-nonprofits"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28273"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80364,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28273\/revisions\/80364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28273"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=28273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}