The Cat Kingdom

Cats are treasured friends and beloved companions to countless people, and studies have shown that caring for a feline has a constructive effect on one’s health and well-being.

Cats are very smart and they can get you; they figure you out.

And they figure out if you like them or not. If they know that you like them, they’ll be around you. And we can see differences in the kitties. You know, sometimes cats, they look after you the way a human being looks after you. But often, I look in the cat’s eyes, I say, “My gosh,” it’s almost like a person is in front of you.

Co-founded in 2001 by Atwater resident Renate Schmitz and her kindhearted daughter Mona, Last Hope Cat Kingdom rescues, cares for and finds loving homes for cats, dogs and other animals.

From the time she was a child, Mona was always concerned about abused, neglected and homeless animals of all kinds, and wished to have a large space where she could look after animals and give them a good life. Mona’s dream began to take shape in 2002 when she and her mother found a seven-hectare parcel of land in Atwater that could be turned into a splendid home for animals.

First we lived in Winton (California), and my daughter worked in a veterinary clinic where they put so many animals down who were healthy. People didn’t want them. She brought a cat home, and finally we had over 10 cats. And she said we have to get a big place.

She said, “Mama, we have to get a big place to save the animals.” She said, “And it’s so troubling every day to see how many animals get put down because people have no space.” And it took us four years before we finally had a place for the animals where cats can move in.

Mona passed away in 2008. In her memory and to fulfill her dream, Ms. Schmitz, along with a group of dedicated volunteers, has continued and expanded on her daughter's plan to create a large haven for animals.

It began as a cat rescue when Mona started, but she started taking in dogs as well. And we have horses and goats and a pig and some turtles. And really any kind of domesticated animals that are in need are welcome. All animals are welcome.

And our place filled up very fast, because the community called constantly … a woman dies, she has three cats, can you take them? Otherwise they have to be put down. Or a gentleman’s getting sick, and they say, “I cannot take care of my animals anymore, but they’re my best friends.”

And my daughter was always (saying) that animals are our friends, our family. So we helped the elderly people first here. That was always our priority. So, that’s how we filled up our shelter very quick. We had up to 200 cats.

And pretty soon, it started that people called us and said, “You know, we don’t have the money. My cat has a broken leg. Can you help us?” So what my daughter did, she took the animals to the clinic where she worked and she took care (of them). And it felt good for us to help the cat, that the cat survived, and is doing so well.

Feral cats are different from stray cats as they have no contact with humans. Ferals are born to cats who once had a home, but then were abandoned or are the offspring of other feral cats.

The feral cats actually were something very special that my daughter took care of. She started to trap the cats and she actually got our volunteers involved, and sometimes in a day we had 20 cat traps set. In one year, my daughter trapped 800 feral cats. She made sure that the animals all got spayed, that they all got their shots, including rabies shots.

And in some places we released them, but in other places we couldn’t release them, so we found some farmers, who took some animals in and we made sure that they fed them. And right now our dream is, it was my daughter’s dream; we have 18 acres, and it was my daughter’s dream to have everything fenced; the 18 acres so that we can have from the whole (Merced) County the feral cats when people don’t want them. Can you imagine what a difference that will make?

Homeless animals are exposed to the heat and cold, receive no medical care, and do not have a steady source of food. To eliminate suffering, it is important to be a loving caregiver and ensure one’s animal companion does not have babies unless all offspring will be placed in caring homes.

Spay and neuter

Is the key and not abandoning your animals, because a single cat can have many thousands of kittens, or be the sire of many thousands of kittens in his lifetime. So abandoning one non-spayed cat can lead to many thousands of lives that will be brutal and short out on the streets. So spaying and neutering and taking care of your animals is… the main thing here, that’s the key.

In addition to animal rescue, Last Hope Cat Kingdom is helping to develop an innovative community program which protects animal companions and aids young people coping with challenging family issues.

Last Hope is involved in a program…. and it’s in very early stages. We’re working with University of California- Merced and with Merced County to create a program that’s called “Break the Cycle of Violence.” And Last Hope’s part in that is that we will take in animals that come from domestic violence situations, so that they will be safely housed here rather than going to the pound to be put to sleep.

And then the families who have been disrupted, and especially the children, can come out here and visit with the animals. And also they will work with social workers and such out here, so… working with animals has been proven to help children learn empathy, and help them to think of others besides themselves and we hope that this program will make a big difference in the county.