4/11/25 – O‘AHU CAT SANCTUARY ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR

DAWN CHANG CHAIRPERSON

O‘AHU CAT SANCTUARY ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY

HONOLULU –A Honolulu nonprofit today received approval from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) to begin conducting due diligence to use  20 acres of land on O‘ahu’s North Shore for the island’s first sanctuary for feral and homeless cats.

The nonprofit Popoki Place O‘ahu Cat Sanctuary  was granted a three-month right of entry (ROE) adjacent to the former Crawford Convalescent Home to determine whether the property is suitable for use as a cat sanctuary.

The ROE is only for due diligence activities such as research, data collection, surveys and mapping and does not allow for any construction or ground-disturbing activities.  The land is zoned for agriculture.

According to the submittal from the DLNR Land Division, “Popoki Place indicates its long-term plan is to locate land suitable for a large-scale sanctuary with multiple fenced enclosures for feral and homeless cats on the island of O‘ahu. The sanctuary will prioritize the intake of cats removed from areas where the state has concerns about negative interactions between cats and protected wildlife. In addition to housing cats, Popoki Place will be an educational program to teach children and adults about Hawai‘i’s fragile ecosystem.”

In addition to fenced enclosures, plans for other improvements at the proposed sanctuary include a visitor center, offices, caretaker housing, a spay-neuter medical clinic, parking, utilities and an approved wastewater system.

If the property is deemed  viable for a sanctuary, Popoki Place will then comply with environmental laws (chapter 343) and any other regulatory requirements before returning to the BLNR with a request for a direct lease from the state.

While feral cat numbers are imprecise, Hawai‘i Island-based Nēnē.org provided an estimate of between 196,227 and 265,179 non-housed cats on O‘ahu.

Chair Dawn Chang expressed a willingness to consider use of state public lands for a cat sanctuary that could be available to house cat colonies found near sensitive coastal and forest reserves where feral cats that threaten endangered species. Cats impact protected wildlife by direct predation and by spreading a deadly disease, Toxoplasmosis. The sanctuary would provide a win-win for the welfare of feral cats and native wildlife.

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RESOURCES

(All images/video Courtesy: DLNR)

HD video – Proposed cat sanctuary location (April 10, 2025): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7ihujtg0fou0bs3l2111o/Proposed-cat-sanctuary-property-April-10-2025.mov?rlkey=lgr1ckg9jxfuotx0cm2s0wrqh&st=32qsii32&dl=0

 

Photographs – Proposed cat sanctuary location (April 10, 2025): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/98w8ito0ieypz3idgauub/AFN11WVICqRTbfl-aImQMKY?rlkey=rrhta7o3sm7e5hn2ihrw6hilf&st=4avv2mlq&dl=0

 

Media Contact:

Dan Dennison

Communications Director

Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

[email protected]