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

Off-site Adoption Coordinator/Foster mom/Board of Directors

One of our most valuable and multi-tasking volunteers is Tammy Barker.  She does off-site adoptions, fosters a multitude of kittens, transports to other rescues out of town, helps with yard sales, has helped clean up feral colonies with Trap/Neuter/Return and is now on our Board of Directors.  Tammy is ready, willing and able to help wherever needed.

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.

Carmen Gutierrez

Office Assistant

As the number of cats living with us continues to grow, so does all of the administrative work required to keep track of everything. Carmen takes on a lot of the time-consuming tasks. Carmen's lively sense of humor keeps everyone in the office loose and it is rare when there is no peal of giggles from the office at some point during the day.

Our Volunteers

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

Judy Alcorn

Volunteer

 Judy has been a faithful and hardworking volunteer for The Cat House for over 10 years.  She started out by painting the inside of the shelter with her sidekick Pauline, then graduated to scooping and washing litter pans.  Besides mopping many a floor, Judy has also been involved in many of our fundraising events, including taking over the yard sales when Mary Lou & Bob couldn’t do them any more.  
     This is a picture of Judy overlooking just a small slice of the spread she and other volunteers laid out for the May Open House.  Plus she makes the best oatmeal cookies ever!
     When she first started coming here, Lynea tried to get her to bottle-feed kittens.  Judy said “I don’t do kittens.  I do old cats.”  Letting Lynea know she has a soft spot in her heart for senior cats was a big mistake, Judy admits.  She now has an unspecified amount of seniors in her care, including a one eyed Bengal, a three-legged Siamese and several with stomatitis and other problems.  
     Judy would like everyone to know that there is a need for people to adopt the older cats.  They are easier to care for than kittens and are less destructive.  In these troubled times, people have abandoned their cats because of foreclosure or eviction and a lot of senior cats will spend their golden years in a shelter.  What a sad ending for cats who have given unqualified love all their lives!

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.

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.