An American lost his son, but 30 kittens saved him from depression (8 photos + 1 video)

7 February 2018

US resident Chris Arsenault told how he lives with three hundred cats, which he sheltered under the roof of his own home. It takes him days and thousands of dollars to care for them. But Chris doesn't complain, because it was cats that gave him the meaning of life after the death of his son.

A tragic event occurred in the life of New Yorker Chris Arsenault several years ago: his 24-year-old son Eric died in an accident. The man felt that his life had stopped and lost its meaning.

Eric showed great promise. He wanted to become a motorcycle repairman, but he never managed to fulfill this dream.

Here's a family photo of Chris with Eric and his daughter.

But help came from where Chris had never expected it. At that time, the man worked as a train conductor and one day he accidentally saw three dozen abandoned little kittens on the tracks. Chris realized that if he didn’t take the kids, they would die, and he sheltered them under his roof.

In 2006, Chris founded a cat shelter called the Happy Cat Sanctuary, and now, 12 years later, it already houses 300 pets. The man refurbished his home especially for them, giving his pets all the comforts, including hammocks and heated seats. Anyone can come to the shelter and choose a pet.

For himself, Chris left only a small room where he sleeps and eats. Everything else is the kingdom of cats. If I added palm trees to the photos, it would look just like the cat sanctuary in Hawaii.

Now Chris is only involved in the shelter. His day begins at seven in the morning: he gets up, gives the cats something to drink and eat, changes litter boxes, and washes the floor. Volunteers help him take care of the animals, some of them partially sponsor the shelter.

In general, Chris needs about 101 thousand dollars (5 million 800 thousand rubles) to maintain the shelter per year. Of these, 80 thousand dollars (4 million 600 thousand rubles) are spent on food and 20 thousand dollars (1 million 150 thousand rubles) on medicines and trips to the veterinarian.

Even with the help of volunteers, caring for such a huge number of cats is difficult. Especially if among them there are people like the angry cat Marilyn. Chris admits that he is often tired at the end of the day and can barely stand on his feet. But the man is not embarrassed by difficulties, because he receives a full return from his work.

“It’s not hard for me to look after all of them. I believe that if you really love something very much, then you can do anything and handle everything. And I absolutely love what I do.”