Yesterday was day 7 of our 4,500 mile Epic Road Trip- Our Late Start to Summer
It was a jammed packed day yesterday! I am so thankful for my friend Elizabeth. I honestly don’t know anyone who knows how to plan road trips better than her. She knows how to research and find the most amazing places to visit on our trips. Things above and beyond our visits to the National Parks. For day 7 she found Cat Haven for us to visit. It is a cool place, as they rescue cats that can’t be released into the wild (because they were never taught hunting skills by their Mothers they would never survive), so they live in this preserve permanently. Some of the cats are “ex-Hollywood” cats and have starred in films. The people who care for these animals are true cat lovers and you can see that from the moment you begin your tour of the facility. We took the 1.5 hour tour with our kids and it was well worth the stop on our way to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Below is some information I snapped up from their website http://www.cathaven.com
If you are headed to visit Kings Canyon National Park or Sequoia National Park, I highly suggest making a stop at Cat Haven. It has great reviews online and I can see why! They are preserving these animals in a highly respectful and loved manner at this facility. You also get up close and personal views of the cats. Be careful during your visit, as some of the cats “spray” their visitors to make them feel more welcome. Charlie may or may not have gotten a few drops on him before I snagged him from the back of the shirt to back away from the cat.
We saw dozens of cats, from just a few feet away, on the walking educational tour at Cat Haven. One interesting fact I learned- there is no such thing as a “black panther” species. It is really just a general term for any large cat that is black. It could be a leopard, jaguar, or any other large species of cat. We saw a few at Cat Haven- some were leopards and some were jaguars.
Here are some of the photos from our visit-
