Ingrid's Haven - Home of Happy Endings

Just north of Melbourne, a little way up the Hume Freeway, thirty minutes past the ring road, is Ingrid's Haven, one of the most unusual cat shelters I've encountered.

Ingrid's Haven, founded in 1998 by Ingrid Arving, is special in several ways.

First of all, it is genuinely no kill. A cat who isn't adopted can live out a long and happy life at the Haven, and many do. Cats who have ended their days still at the Haven are

memorialised on the website, their unique stories told. No one is 'just a number'.

Second, cats are not accepted from individuals. All of the cats at the Haven have been rescued from Death Row, after failing to be claimed from the pound. Every adoption from the Haven saves a life.

Third - it's personal. All cats are named. All are loved. Every cat advertised for adoption comes with his own story. Those stories are known, and they are honoured. Every cat at Ingrid's is a personality in his own right. Many of them recover from traumatic experiences, and the environment is rich and warm enough to facilitate such recovery. A cat adopted from Ingrid's is a cat who's known the best care possible, without an actual family of his own.

Ingrid's Haven receives no government funding, and relies on donations to care for the cats. As well as money, donations of cat food, blankets and warm clothing such as jumpers, are gratefully accepted. You can also sponsor the cats at Ingrid's Haven as a General Sponsor; this makes a nice memorial action in memory of a departed loved one of your own.

Ingrid's Haven is open to prospective adopters every Saturday from 1100 to 1600, and at other times by appointment.

Donations can be mailed to :

Ingrid's Haven, PO Box PO Box 323, Broadford 3658 Victoria.
Email: ingridarving@hotmail.com
Tel:     0417 360 700

or bring donations of food, blankets etc to the shelter at Sunday Creek during opening hours on Saturdays. 

For the Ingrid's Haven website, click on the link below.