What It's Like to Visit Lanai Cat Sanctuary -

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What is the Lanai Cat Sanctuary?

The beginnings of the Lanai Cat Sanctuary date back to 2004 when founders Kathy and Mike Carroll led efforts to sterilize and later shelter Lanai’s street cats in a horse corral in Koele. The sanctuary relocated to its current site in 2009 with its primary goal being to protect Lanai’s cats as well as its endangered birds (from said cats).

Since then the non-profit sanctuary has grown, not only in size, but in scope. Each cat in the sanctuary—these days numbering around 600—has an individual medical care plan and is sterilized on-site. Since 2014, the sanctuary has rescued over 1800 cats, and over 1000 of them have been adopted.

Visiting the Lanai Cat Sanctuary is a cat lover’s dream, at least it was this cat lover’s dream for many years and I recently made that dream a reality! I’ve got to tell you, all my expectations were exceeded! The day I visited, it was raining and had been raining for several days so the red dirt made for a muddy experience, but it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm!

Upon arriving I checked in and made my voluntary donation (admission is free, donations are greatly appreciated) and was given a bag of cat treats and instructions. The sanctuary is divided into several large fenced enclosures in which the cats have free rein. There are kitten and senior enclosures as well as one for kitties that need extra special attention.

I spent several hours going from cat to cat and enclosure to enclosure giving treats, petting, brushing, and laughing at the antics of cats being cats. I wanted to take them all home with me! And that’s not out of the realm of possibility as many of the cats are available for adoption, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me… at that time.

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All too quickly it was time for me to head back to the airport to catch my return flight to Oahu, but after years of wanting to go there, the Lanai Cat Sanctuary captured my heart and a return visit is something I want to do in the future, maybe with an extended stay on the island.

Practicalities

The sanctuary is open daily from 10-3 and no reservation is needed to visit. There is no admission fee, but your tax-deductible donation is gratefully accepted and goes to keeping the resident cats in kibble (among other things).

There are restrooms (glorified portapotties) on-site, but no food or drink is available for purchase, so bring water and snacks for yourself because you’ll want to stay a while! Cell service is pretty non-existent at the sanctuary and while there is WiFi, you’ll have to roam the property and contort yourself into odd positions to get a decent-ish signal. The entire sanctuary is outside, so wear sunscreen and shoes you don’t mind getting dirty (especially if it’s been raining).

Lanai Tip: Bring cash! Many places on the island only accept cash (this means no Apple Pay, Venmo, or anything like that! There is an ATM in Lanai City, but it’s not exactly close to the sanctuary.

How to Get to the Lanai Cat Sanctuary?

Mokulele Airlines (also known as Southern Airways Express) offers multiple daily flights from Oahu to Lanai. Prices start around $110/one-way.

Take the ferry from Maui (around $60/RT with two departures from each island daily) to Manele Harbor, which is about a 25-minute drive to the sanctuary.

Once you’re on-island, go beep beep in the Jeep with a rental to get to the sanctuary and explore the rest of Lanai (if you can tear yourself away from the kitties!) Prices and availability vary.

A more affordable option to get from the airport or the harbor is the Lanai City Shuttle (808-559-0230) but they’re notoriously hard to get a hold of! Lanai Taxi Service (808-649–0808, [email protected]) is another option worth exploring.

See my 1-Day Lanai Itinerary for more things to do while you visit this beautiful island!