Giving Sweet Special-Needs Cats a Second Chance

Upset to learn that senior, disabled and terminally ill cats are often euthanized at shelters, Michele Hoffman founded the nonprofit called Milo’s Sanctuary — and has since rescued thousands of cats with special needs!

Back some 20 years ago, Michele Hoffman was studying to become a veterinary technician in Los Angeles and was sent to pick up a cat from an animal shelter. While there, she met the most beautiful black cat she’d ever seen. But the cat was blind, and Michele was horrified to learn the sweet baby was going to be euthanized that night.

This is what happens to cats who are seniors or have injuries, been abused or born with a birth defect — any special-needs cat! Michele realized with a jolt. That isn’t right. All cats deserve a second chance at life!

Haven of hope

Michele adopted the blind cat on the spot. It was Valentine’s Day, so she named the kitty Valentine. But she couldn’t stop thinking about all the other special-needs cats in need of love.

I want to help as many as I can, she resolved, and she founded the nonprofit Milo’s Sanctuary and Special Needs Cat Rescue (MilosSanctuary.org), named in honor of a friend’s cat.

Thankfully, Michele’s husband, Randy, was supportive of her dream — which soon involved fostering 20 cats in their three-bedroom apartment. Michele realized she needed a bigger place, but that required money. When she heard about a contest sponsored by Chase bank for nonprofits, she entered…and won $50,000!

Michele and Randy moved into a house and rented a larger sanctuary space for the cats. To spread the word about Milo’s Sanctuary, she made T-shirts and gave them away, asking for help raising awareness on social media.

Soon, Michele, who continued to juggle a full-time job in the movie industry, was getting emails, sharing photos of at-risk shelter cats. She was deliberate about which cats she chose to take because she always wanted to make sure Milo’s Sanctuary could afford to give them the care they needed and deserved. With each passing year, Milo’s Sanctuary grew, saving and, when possible, rehoming cats with special needs. And the transformations were remarkable.

Love works miracles

There’s Squeaker, a cat who was having massive seizures but, with veterinary treatment, now spends his days running and playing at the sanctuary. A black and white cat named Barnaby with neurological issues couldn’t walk until the love and care he received at Milo’s Sanctuary got him back up on his paws and moving again. Blind cats learn to climb trees. Gurney, a 17-year-old cat surrendered to a shelter for being “too old,” is thriving—many seniors given short life expectancies wind up living many more years at Milo’s.

Michele isn’t surprised. “Love responds to love!” she fervently believes. Now Milo’s Sanctuary has grown to a 21?2-acre sanctuary in Southern California and houses around 80 cats at a time. (They also shelter pigs, ducks, chickens and a few peacocks in need.) Since 2004, the nonprofit has saved thousands of special-needs cats and inspires over 1 million followers on social media.

Michele shines as a beacon of kindness, compassion and strength. In her, I have not only found a mentor in cat rescue but also a teacher in life, enthused a woman who started her own rescue organization.

Adopters are invariably grateful too. He amazes me with his antics. He is a great climber! And instead of jumping down, he shimmies down. Lol! Love him so much. He is one in a million! shared a woman who adopted a blind cat.

Along with offering sanctuary to special-needs cats, Michele, 60, shares tips for caring for cats with disabilities on the nonprofit’s website. Milo’s Sanctuary sometimes even helps seniors and families with low incomes pay for medications and veterinary care to help their cats stay in their homes. She also loves the chance to mentor young people about caring for animals with special needs.

“I keep doing this because it’s my heart and soul,” Michele says. “The way I give back to people and to animals is through my sanctuary. I’ve been very blessed," says Michele.