People

Our People

Our Founder

Lynea Lattanzio

Over 18 years ago, Lynea Lattanzio dedicated her home, her property,
her finances and her entire life to create The Cat House on the Kings,
a no-kill, nonprofit sanctuary, rescue and adoption center for cats.
Lynea has rescued thousands of animals from shelters, abusive homes, and abandonment.

Our Staff

It takes lots of (wo)manpower and time to take care of The Cat House.

Tammy Barker

Assistant Shelter Director/Petco Adoption Mgr/Board of Directors

One of our most valuable and multi-tasking staff members is Tammy Barker, who currently serves as the Assistant Shelter Director, the Petco Adoption Facility Manager (and she's also President of the Board of Directors!). She does off-site adoptions at our Fresno Petco adoption center, facilitates hundreds of spays/neuters for the community, coordinates TNR efforts, fosters a multitude of kittens, transports to other rescues out of town, co-chairs the Fundraising Committee, and leaps tall buildings in a single bound! (Not really, but she IS the force behind our twice-a-year Open House fundraisers!)

Venessa Porras

Shelter Technician

Always a calm and gentle influence on humans and animals, Venessa is a definite positive addition to The Cat House for all of us, man and beast alike. Her resume includes veterinary technician experience at a local vet hospital, and that makes her one of our most relied upon employees.

The Cat House would not be "The Cat House" without her dedication, heart and educated care. This is her in her favorite area of the shelter, the I.C.U., where her skills shine!

Armando Solis

Maintenance Supervisor

Supervises the maintenance crew.

Crystal Barocio

Office Assistant

Crystal was a "sparkling" addition to The Cat House on the Kings staff! Crystal first came to The Cat House on the Kings as a dedicated volunteer, she was hired on as a shelter worker, and worked her way up to the office where she's now our "office program / tech whiz!" She does a great job of helping out wherever she can, and (of course) she can usually be found with a kitty or two following her around. In her free time, she's active in her local community (Dinuba) where she does TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) of feral cats ~ to help with animal overpopulation.

Lisa Boyajian

Accountant, Office Manager & spoiler of cats

Lisa Boyajian is The Cat House on the Kings Office Manager, Accountant, and Official Spoiler of our office cats as well as Benny the Dog. She's been known to bring in a buffet of treats and cat food from home (yes, even tuna) to "make friends" with the multiple office cats who (of course) think she's the best Office Manager ever! Lisa is also a devoted and diligent Cat House foster mom and is quite active in the community with various TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release) projects around her neighborhood.

Eileen Romero

Office Assistant-Open House coordinator

Eileen heard of the Cat House about 12 years ago and was told to come out and just 'pet the kitties'. "That's probably one of the best things I ever did!!!" Eileen says. She brought out her 2 boys and their various friends through the years. Those children have all grown up to love and take care of animals. The kids went on to college; and Eileen still wanted to come help out. Tammy hired Eileen because of her ability to work with others easily, professional attitude, and willingness to help anyone. The fact that Eileen thinks she has the best job in the whole world is just icing on the cake.

Heather Garvey

Petco Adoption Coordinator

I have been involved in animal rescue all of my life.

I saved snails from my Grandfather when he was putting out bait to kill them. Unfortunately they were later washed in my coat pocket.

I have spent the last decade rescuing cats and dogs as a animal care technician and adoption agent.

I believe all living things are connected and we are the care takers.

I hope to leave my mark on the world in a pawsitive way through rescue and education.

Our Volunteers

Volunteers are critical to our survival. We cherish our group, and would love to have you join us!

Christine Bagetakos

Petco adoption center volunteer and foster mom

Christine has been volunteering with animal rescue groups for the past nine years. She has six cats of her own and currently helps out at Cat House adoption events because she thinks every companion animal should have a safe and happy home.

Kathy Scheer

Adoption coordinator, foster mom, all-round volunteer

Kathy Scheer first became involved with The Cat House 8 years ago. Four years ago, when she retired from nursing, she began to dedicate a great deal of her spare time to the Cat House. Tireless and deeply caring, Kathy has donated her time, energy, and financial resources to the plight of abandoned cats and kittens.

Kathy's work for The Cat House is far-reaching. She spends her time rescuing cats and kittens from the Fresno SPCA, hosting off-site adoptions at local Petco stores, helping at fundraisers, fostering kittens at her home, and coordinating transportation from the Valley to other rescue organizations throughout California. Kathy’s level of commitment is incredible, and The Cat House is very fortunate to have her as a volunteer.

Harvie Schreiber

Fostering, Fundraising, Facebook

Harvie Schreiber, a lifelong cat lover, has been involved in animal rescue for more than a decade. She became part of The Cat House on the Kings volunteer team a few years ago when she signed up to foster kittens, and fostered seven litters for The Cat House on the Kings that first year! She and her husband have fostered more than 40 dogs for various animal rescues and stopped counting cat and kitten fosters when they reached 150! In addition to fostering, they also do animal rescue transport around the central California area.

In addition to fostering, Harvie also co-chairs The Cat House on the Kings Fundraising Committee (helping to coordinate donations for the spring and fall Open House silent auctions and raffles), she helps staff Petco adoption events on weekends, and she serves as The Cat House on the Kings full-time Facebook Page Administrator. Since June, 2011 (when she started working on our Facebook page), she has grown it from 2,000 fans to more than 58,000 active fans! She also assists with our Foster Program by helping to write cute descriptions for adoptable cats and kittens! (She is shown here with McIntosh, one of her "foster failures!")

Frank Stafford

Volunteer Coordinator

Our Volunteer Coordinator comes to us with eleven years experience in the corporate world of Commercial Finance and Credit Management followed by 30 years of small business management. He has strong organizational and team-building talents and is applying them to the development of an enthusiastic volunteer team to share in, and contribute to, the success of the Cat House.

He and his wife have been raising bottle-feeds for years and have been fostering for the Cat House for about 3 years. They have three tolerant adult kitties of their own. His other interests include photography, involvement with the Corvettes Of Fresno car club, and volunteering with Central Valley Professionals where he is co-chair of the marketing committee.

Leni Mortensen

Volunteer

Leni's passion for cats shows in her ongoing volunteer service for The Cat House on the Kings. During her 15 years as a Cat House volunteer, she has been involved in many ways.

Leni has been a constant source of motivation, leadership and management at the yard sales, open houses, Super Adoptions, Christmas Boutique and any where else she is needed. Her organizational skills have played a significant role in the success of many a fundraiser.

We are grateful for Leni's commitment and enthusiasm, and her love for cats is never-ending. Thank you, Leni, for all your hard work and dedication. Itâs great to have you on board.

Volunteer Spotlight

Terry Noell

Volunteer

Terry Noell has been volunteering for The Cat House for a little over 5 years. It all started when his wife Tammy got involved with The Cat House and she was always asking for his help.

Terry is never in the spotlight (until now), but always in the background supporting and helping Tammy and The Cat House however he can. He has made several trips to the Bay area to transport kitties to other rescues and made a trip to Redding to deliver two fosters to their forever home. Terry also helps with off site adoptions at Petco.

He built a special room in their home just so Tammy could foster kittens, enabling them to foster and adopt out several hundred felines in the past five years. He is always loading and unloading food, paperwork and kitties. It was through The Cat House that he learned of the overpopulation problem in Fresno, so he proceeded to trap, neuter and return over 18 cats at his worksite so they would not continue the cycle of unwanted kittens.

Terry continues to help Tammy with TNR by transporting cats to The Cat House for spays and neuters, stops at the SPCA to pick up a cat that is on its last day and has learned how to help Tammy with blood testing and medicating their foster kittens. He always supports her in her efforts to foster, house and love as many kitties as their house and hearts can hold.

Thank you Terry, for the time and energy you have devoted to our cause. The Cat House on the Kings would not exist without loyal supporters like you!

We Need YOU!

Join Us!

It's easy! We need folks with all sorts of talents. A good deal of our work isn't glamorous; in fact, our greatest need is for people to help us scrub the facility and keep it in tip-top shape!

We also need people to foster kittens and cats, and help us medicate and tend to those cats and kittens that need extra TLC. To get started, just fill out a volunteer application, shoot us an email, or give us a call.

Lynea Through the Looking Glass

Beth Wilson of Bristol, UK, a self-confessed "Crazy Cat Lady" and artist, created this lovely drawing of Lynea, which she has kindly allowed us to show you here. You can click on the picture for a larger version.