Rescue Founder and 100+ Cats Killed in Devastating Fire at Animal Sanctuary

Monday morning, a fire broke out at Happy Cat Sanctuary, a non-profit cat rescue operated on the Long Island property of founder Chris Arsenault’s own home. By the time firefighters arrived, Arsenault had tragically passed away, along with at least 100 cats. Over 200 cats survived the blaze and are now seeking medical treatment and shelter.

According to the Happy Cat Sanctuary website, Arsenault began the rescue in 2006 shortly after his 24-year-old son tragically died in a motorcycle accident, when he stumbled upon a cat colony of 30 sick kittens. He decided to take them into his care — and after nursing them back to health, he realized that saving cats was his calling.

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Happy Cat Sanctuary offered a space for hard-to-place cats in need, including cats who were victims of hoarding situations, cats who had been used as bait in dog-fighting rings, disabled cats, and cats saved from abusive homes. At the rescue, they lived in indoor and outdoor shelters designed with spaces for them to scratch, climb, and lounge. Arsenault was in the process of building a larger sanctuary upstate New York, where his beloved animals would have even more room to roam.

In a video for Social Life Magazine, Arsenault gave journalist Christine Montanti a tour of the massive sanctuary, which included ventilated winter structures full of cat beds and tunnels, a sprawling yard with cat platforms built high into the trees, and separate play areas for cats with the highly contagious feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feral cats. “This man lived in an 8x10-foot bedroom with a mini fridge and a microwave, every dime he made, everything he collected went toward the animals,” Lisa Jaeger, a friend of Arsenault, told ABC 7.

In a Facebook post, Jenny Ubinas, a friend of Arsenault, shared that when the fire broke out at Happy Cat Sanctuary, Arsenault escaped before returning to save more cats. “The last minutes of his life were spent trying to rescue cats from the fire,” she wrote. “He went into the sanctuary one last time, and didn’t come out.”

An investigation is ongoing into the cause of the fire that took the life of Arsenault and at least 100 cats. In the meantime, over 200 surviving cats remain in need of help. Local rescues, including the Suffolk County SPCA, are stepping up to take in many of the pets, and a fund has been created to support their care. You can donate at the GoFundMe below to help the surviving cats receive medical care and find homes.