Two cats bumping heads together

Cat World at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary: A place where cats rule

All the animals at Best Friends receive individualized care. This is especially evident at Cat World, where residents are thoughtfully placed in the house that best suits their personalities, behaviors and medical issues.

Home to more than 600 rescued cats, Cat World consists of 11 attractive buildings along a quiet dirt road, with each building designed for the cats’ comfort, safety and well-being.

Feline enrichment

Each building features indoor and enclosed outdoor “catios,” with room to climb and hidey-holes for privacy. Cats can choose how to spend their time, which includes hanging with people or looking down from rafters. Enrichment activities, stroller rides and walks are just a few of the ways that staff members meet mental and physical needs of the residents. And should issues arise, the Cat World staff members are experts in curbing less-than-stellar behavior.

Woman taking a cat on a stroller ride next to a The Meowzers Meadow sign

Houses tailored to each cat’s personality and needs

Aptly-named Hope House is where all cats are admitted to the Sanctuary and quarantined for two weeks so that caregivers can observe and interact with the cats to determine where they are most likely to thrive. The cats then move on to their new home-between-homes at one of the Cat World buildings.

  • Cat HQ (Cat World Headquarters) is where volunteers get assignments, ranging from taking cats for walks in strollers or on harnesses and helping with clicker training, as well as cleaning and general caregiving. Cat HQ features 20 rooms and caters to cats who prefer to live alone or in small groups of two or three. A few rooms are set aside for kittens.
  • The Colonel’s Barracks houses cats who tend to need a little extra help with behavior issues. With room for about 100 cats, The Colonel’s Barracks is the largest of the Cat World buildings.
  • Benton’s House and Quincy House are home to cats who are incontinent, have mobility or neurological issues or are just getting up there in years.
  • Casa de Calmar cats have feline leukemia (FeLV). Although they may need some extra TLC for their condition, FeLV-positive cats can live perfectly happy lives.
  • Sinjin’s House is an area where highly adoptable cats live in an environment that allows potential adopters to spend time with them and get to know them. It features a kitchen,  laundry and break room. Our Cat World adoption team is also based out of this building.
  • Morgaine’s Place houses many of our young, highly adoptable cats and kittens.
  • Jill’s Diner, Mondrian’s House and Vinnie’s House, three of the smallest buildings in Cat World, house cats of all shapes, sizes, personalities and needs.

All the Cat World residential buildings provide residents with a chance to live a life of dignity while receiving the medical care, food, attention and love they need to heal from a hard life’s journey and prepare for permanent homes.

Volunteering or adopting

At Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, we're always busy keeping the animals happy, so we're unable to offer animal interactions to walk-in guests. To ensure you get quality time with the cats at Cat World, please sign up for a volunteer shift.

To adopt a cat from Cat World, check out our list of adoptable cats. After you fill out an adoption survey, one of our adoption specialists will be in touch.