Our History

Sister playing with her cats
Sister Seraphim, a Russian orthodox nun, founded The Hermitage Cat Shelter in 1965, as a sanctuary. She later moved it to its current location in 1969. She had about 50 cats and other types of animals, all of which were lifetime residents.

Sister Seraphim went into a nursing home in 1989 and passed away shortly thereafter. At that time, a Board of Directors took over the management of The Hermitage and for the first time, began adopting out our cats.

We have grown from just a few cats adopted each year to over 3000 adoptions since 1997. Currently the shelter adopts out 200-300 cats annually..

The shelter is a unique adoption center AND sanctuary for cats. We provide sanctuary for "Special Needs" cats, which include cats who are FIV+, FeLV+ and cats with other chronic health and behavioral problems such as partial paralysis, neurologic problems (e.g., head injuries, cerebellar hypoplasia), blindness, deafness, missing limbs and diabetes.

Sister Seraphim's devotion to animals represents the foundation of our committment to the Hermitage's mission. To read a short story about Sister Seraphim (prior to her Hermitage days) by local author Jane Eppinga, click here.