Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/long-island-shelter-renovation/

A New York heiress created a stir in 1975 when she bought a house in Oyster Bay, NY, and converted it into a sanctuary for stray and homeless cats.

Not only did Long Island’s strays and homeless cats finally have a safe place to live, but they also had free reign of the property, without the cages or restrictions of other shelters.

Decades later, the Patricia H. Ladew Foundation, which maintains the historic property, is back in the news with a fresh, cat-friendly renovation that’s delighting feline residents–-and helping them get adopted!

But despite the sanctuary’s new look, rescued cats still have free reign of property, just like the house’s late owner (who passed away in 2002) intended.

“Allegorically, we were taking a cue from the media flack that Pat Ladew received in the ‘70s when she bought the property as a sanctuary for stray and homeless cats,” architect Mario Abore–whose company, Square Paws, helped overhaul the house’s fading interior–explained in an email to the Animal Rescue Site. “We fashioned these spaces as suburban rooms as if the resident cats fully own the house.”

When designers were finished, the house had been reborn with fresh, neutral tones, natural wood finishes, and bright accent colors, including the foundation’s trademark blue and green hues.

Another reason for the updated color scheme? Cats stand out better against lighter decor, increasing the odds visitors will notice and adopt them.

Designers also took care to preserve the house’s historical status with retro ‘50s-’60s accents and nods to Long Island’s fishing history, which is also perfect for a house run by cats.

Renovated rooms are filled with cleverly “cat-ified” furniture, allowing the cats to climb, nap, hide, play-–and connect with future adopters.

A Modern House Where Cats Are In Charge

For instance, the renovated living room features a climbable faux fireplace and mantle, a cat-friendly bookcase/cat staircase, wrap-around catwalk “crown molding,” and a grandfather clock made for climbing and scratching.

Renovated Kitchen

Likewise, the kitchen–once an un-inspired space filled with loose cat condos–has been reinvented with double-wall “oven” cat perches, a movable kitty “dining table,” cleverly disguised litter box enclosures, and a retro cat “fridge.”

A Cat-frindly Rec Room

Meanwhile, the basement adoption room has been transformed into a 1960’s rec room, complete with wall-mounted shadow boxes, enclosed cat bed and litter box cubbies, and even a feline-friendly TV console where the rescues can unwind by scratching replaceable scratchpad “speakers.”

A Bedroom Reborn

Even the late heiress’ bedroom figures into the redesign–albeit with a few cat-friendly modifications.
Now Pat’s bedroom includes a replica of the original house, with newsreel wallpaper, scratchable portico columns, and lots of comfy cat beds.

pic pats room

“There are so many more areas that they climb than before and of course cubbies if they want some alone time,” said Dr. Susan Whittred, the veterinarian who lives on-site. “In the shelter before the renovation, it was just carpeted cat tree after carpeted cat tree, with dark cubbies that they could really hide in.”

The renovated floor plan also offers adopters many more opportunities to interact with the cats, thus increasing their odds of adoption.

“Now that it’s more open when people come to adopt, they can see the cats better and therefore have more interaction,” said Dr. Whittred. “At the same time, if a cat does want to get away, the 150-foot linear upper “catwalk” gives them alone time if they want.”

The sanctuary’s new look has already helped at least one rescue cat, Holly, get adopted–a trend that will hopefully continue as folks continue to come and check out the widely heralded renovations.

Holly’s new owner, James, wasn’t even planning to adopt a cat when he visited the shelter with a friend, but that changed when he met Holly, a rescued cat who made him reconsider his stance on adoption.

“James really just came along for the ride,” said Dr. Whittred, who witnessed the pair’s instant connection. “During the tour, he met a cat named Holly and you could just see them bond.”

The next day, James came back to adopt the cat, who has been renamed Phoenix and, according to Dr. Whittred, now “rules the roost” in her new home. Congratulations, Holly/Phoenix!

What do you think of the sanctuary’s new look? The following photos show how Pat’s house looked before the renovation:

Main room, pre-renovation:

Kitchen, pre-renovation

Basement rec room, pre-renovation

Pat’s room, pre-renovation

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog