Our Story

Happy Cats Haven began with a dream in 2011. When only one in three animal shelter cats made it out alive, we dreamed of replacing fear with hope to give homeless Colorado Springs cats another chance at love.

We speak fluent cat and delight in learning what each one has to teach us. Abandoned shelter cats need feline friendly handling to become their best selves. 

Our Approach

Our comfy Haven is a safe and welcoming place in the Colorado Springs area for scared cats to land, exceeding the definitions of both a no-kill and socially conscious animal shelter. In shelter parlance, we are labeled limited-admission. However, we do our best to take in as many cats of all types as we have room for, including those with physical and behavioral needs. 

From the moment cats and kittens are rescued, we treat them with respect and positive handling to make their stay as fear free as possible. That care nurtures our visitors and volunteers too, who share in as much joyful kitty therapy as they give.

Our supporters allow us to give both rescued cats and their people the precious gift of time: time to regain trust, time to relax and show their true personalities and all the time everyone needs to make the best match possible.

Cat lives can span a human generation, 15-20 years. We support their full life cycles—as many of their nine lives as they need—with classes, online behavior advice and referrals through our Ask Ms Kitty Helpline.

When a problem is solved, a cat can be saved. If a Happy Cat ever needs to be returned, our safety net is here for them, no matter the circumstance.

We work to solve both sides of the cat overpopulation equation by fixing all our adoptable cats & kittens as well as all the outside cats we can reach with our community-supported TNRCares program. Each community cat we fix at our animal shelter prevents hundreds if not thousands of needless feline deaths in the Colorado Springs region, mostly in vulnerable kittens. This program is generously funded by our community of caring donors. 

We are a 501(c)3 organization, tax ID# 45-1633134, so your gifts are fully tax-deductible. The volunteers and cats thank you!