Our People
Our Founder
Lynea Lattanzio
Over 17 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.
Pat Miranda
Office Manager
Behind every successful visionary like Lynea is someone equally passionate about making sure the organizational clockwork is well oiled and ticking along nicely. For us that's Pat Miranda, our Office Manager. From keeping the books to responding to special requests to hunting for cats about whom their surrenderer's want some reassurance of their well-being, Pat tackles it all with humor and efficiency. Pat quickly hopped on board with all the tools our new web site provides and frequently comes up with new ways the computer can help her get things done more efficiently.
When Pat can pry herself away from the business of The Cat House, she can be found taking care of her family, grandchildren, and all the animals living with her that she has rescued, including horses, pigs, dogs and, of course, cats!
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!
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 that would otherwise swamp Pat. 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!
Tammy Barker
Off-site Adoption Coordinator/Volunteer
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 and has helped clean up feral colonies with Trap/Neuter/Return. Tammy is ready, willing and able to help wherever needed.
Wanda Grove
Board Member/Volunteer
Wanda first became involved with The Cat House in June of 2000 when she was seeking help with a feral colony of cats at the Fresno County yard where she worked. Since then, she has trapped, neutered and relocated more than 20 feral cats to The Cat House, and continues to volunteer several hours every week to care for the cats.
Wanda has been responsible for helping dozens of her co-workers get their cats and dogs spayed and neutered, and has found homes for abandoned cats and kittens at other County offices. She and her husband, Kurt, also collect recyclables and donate the proceeds to buy food for our kitties. Last but not least, Wanda has agreed to be on The Cat House on the Kings Board of Directors. Wanda is a diligent and extremely compassionate person. Her tremendous gifts of time, money and expertise have made a significant difference in the lives of many homeless cats.
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.
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
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!
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.