It all began with Mama Cat . . . well, not really.

Veronica has always loved animals and Edward grew up in the high desert, taking care of every injured snake or lizard he found. Mama Cat was definitely the catalyst, though, and is the reason St. Francis’ Safe Haven exists.

Mama Cat was abandoned in a Highland neighborhood sometime during the fall of 2023. According to one eye witness, a car pulled into the neighborhood, the car door opened, and three small cats, including Mama Cat, were thrown out of the vehicle before it drove away. We aren’t sure how long Mama Cat (and what turned out to be her two kittens) were homeless before we met them, but by the time we spotted them, all three were emaciated.

We began feeding Mama Cat and her kittens (who we named Cow and Blackie) soon after meeting them but gaining their trust took several months. We began by leaving food out for them and as time wore on, all three cats slowly became more comfortable eating in front of us and approaching us. Mama Cat, having once had a family, was the quickest to warm up to us and eventually began to come when called. Cow and Blackie, growing up without a family to care for them and handle them, were naturally much more suspicious and therefore slower to warm.

Our initial plan was to trap all three cats and have them spayed to prevent the birth of unwanted litters of kittens but before we could find a rescue willing to help us trap, neuter, and release the cats (a process known as TNR), Mama Cat became pregnant and soon thereafter, Chicken Nugget and Shadow were born. Their stories can be found elsewhere on our website and, thankfully, both stories have happy endings. We continued to observe the little colony and provide them with food and water, and, once Chicken Nugget and Shadow were weaned, we trapped them and found them loving forever homes.

Once Chicken Nugget and Shadow had been adopted out, we again began to search for rescues who could help us TNR Mama Cat, Cow, and Blackie, but months and months passed without anyone being willing to help us TNR in Highland. We messaged dozens of rescues and never received responses. When we did receive responses, we were often told that there were just not enough resources to TNR and/or there were no rescues in Highland who could help provide TNR services. At the time, our experience navigating the world of animal rescue was limited and we didn’t know who to call or where to find support.

Then disaster struck.

Mama Cat, Cow, and Blackie all became pregnant. Unable to find a rescue to help TNR the cats and unable to find anyone at all willing to take them in, we decided that our only option was to find a way to become a rescue ourselves - if no one else was willing or able to find a permanent solution for these poor abandoned creatures, we would become the solution.

We continued to care for the colony as Mama Cat, Cow, and Blackie all gave birth. We lost count of the number of kittens being cared for by the three adult cats. Cow and Blackie, being much more feral than Mama Cat, became tired of us peeking into their little den and eventually moved all of the kittens so that we temporarily lost contact with the colony. The adult cats would find us so they could be fed twice a day but we weren’t sure where they were keeping the kittens.

. . . and then a neighbor, who later told us she had also been feeding the cats, called San Bernardino County Animal Control.

Mama Cat and Blackie were trapped and taken. An unknown number of kittens were also trapped and taken. Cow and a handful of other kittens were left behind. Having become attached to the colony, especially to Mama Cat, we searched each local shelter and posted on various rescue websites until we finally found Mama Cat and Blackie. We contacted the shelter and they refused to release Mama Cat and Blackie to us after we explained the situation, telling us that both adult cats were aggressive and unable to be handled. They told us they would only release the cats to a rescue or to the cats’ owners. They also informed us they could only hold Mama Cat and Blackie for 48-72 hours before euthanizing them due to over-crowding in the shelter. We again contacted numerous rescues but no one was able or willing to claim the cats for us . . .

. . . and so St. Francis’ Safe Haven was born.

We called the shelter again and told them we would claim Mama Cat and Blackie as their owners. We chose to take responsibility for them, Cow, and the kittens left behind. We began the work of establishing a non-profit, building an outdoor enclosure for the adult cats, and converting a bedroom into a kitten room. We filed the paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) organization, ordered business cards, and built this website.

The story doesn’t end there.

We have had many adventures (and misadventures!) with this family of cats. Mama Cat and Blackie once broke out of the second-story kitten room in the middle of the night. Prior to the incident with animal control, a neighbor setting out bird food attracted the entire colony, which created pandemonium as well as a near-drowning incident for one of the kittens. We had to evacuate all of the cats in the middle of the night when the Line Fire threatened our neighborhood.

Through it all, we have maintained our commitment to providing home-based care to both the kittens who could be socialized and the adult cats who are just too feral for anyone but us to want them.

We believe the work we do benefits our community by reducing the number of unwanted animals living on the streets or being euthanized in shelters. We believe the work we do benefits the animals we save, as we are able to provide them with stable housing and good care. We believe the work we do benefits us, as we are called each day to be the best versions of ourselves as we care for the creatures that have been entrusted to us.

We believe in the work we do. We invite you to join us on our journey.