Who We Are
History and Mission of Ark Cat Sanctuary
We rely on donations
and our volunteers.
Ark Cat Sanctuary is a nonprofit, northern Arizona-based organization involved in the rescue, care, and placement of at-risk cats and kittens. Serving the area since 2006, Ark has adhered to a no-kill policy and works tirelessly with area agencies to save, treat, and place cats from all over the state.
The Ark employs paid contractors who provide routine daily care for the Sanctuary cats and staff our adoption center at the Flagstaff PetSmart store. We rely on volunteers for transporting cats to and from the Sanctuary, for foster care of kittens, for posting on social media, and for other projects at the facility.
The Ark works with shelters and members of the public in underserved areas near Flagstaff, including the Navajo Nation, where there are vast numbers of homeless cats and limited opportunities to get them adopted. Our main rescue partners are Coconino Humane Society, Tuba City Humane Society, Holbrook Animal Control, Navajo Nation Animal Control, and Winslow Animal Control.
Susan Marue, CEO & Founder
Donation operated
Donations and adoption fees are our only source of income. Every penny is reinvested in the Sanctuary.
100% of your tax-deductable donation helps cover the costs for the cats we rescue and the continuing care of over 200 permanent resident cats at our 10-acre facility in Parks, AZ.
Improving the lives of cats
We rescue at-risk cats and kittens from municipal shelters and the public in northern Arizona, arrange any care they need to become healthy, provide socialization to make them adoptable, then adopt them into permanent homes.
Advocacy on behalf of animals
Ark works with shelters and members of the public in underserved areas near Flagstaff, including the Navajo Nation, where there are vast numbers of homeless cats and limited opportunities to get them adopted. Our main rescue partners are Coconino Humane Society, Tuba City Humane Society, Holbrook Animal Control, Navajo Nation Animal Control, and Winslow Animal Control.
Who we are
The Ark Cat Sanctuary is a 24/7/365 no-kill and largely cage-free operation dedicated to the rescue, care, and placement of cats and kittens that are in “at-risk” situations. We answer calls for help from shelters, rescue groups, and the public. We are located on 10 acres in the midst of the Kaibab National Forest, 35 miles northwest of Flagstaff, AZ.
What we do
Most of our cats come from high-risk situations in northern Arizona, and we partner with shelters and rescues on reservation lands around Flagstaff. We are getting more and more requests for help from people in other parts of Arizona who have been turned away by municipal shelters that are now operating in a managed-admission model. Our most critical operation is the medical rehabilitation of sick or injured cats that we receive. We bring these cats to the Ark and nurse them back to health so they can be adopted into loving forever homes.
Our facility
At the Ark, the cats live in habitat environments with access to both indoor and outdoor spaces. The outdoor spaces are safely fenced and landscaped to support the cats’ natural activities. We use cages only for medical purposes and for the safety of mom cats with small nursing kittens. The cats are grouped by age, temperament, food requirements, and health conditions.
Outreach
The Ark is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. People from all walks of life volunteer and contribute both financially and physically to running the shelter. We welcome the opportunity to speak to school children, church groups, or other social organizations to teach them about cats and about humanely dealing with the problem of cat overpopulation. We try to get other people directly involved in dealing with this problem through proper care of their own cats, and through spay/neuter education.
