Twin super typhoons test Saipan’s no-kill cat sanctuary

Super typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi have made life much harder for Wayne DeBellonia and the dozens of cats and kittens under his care.

DeBellonia is the founder of Saipan Kitten and Cat Rescue Inc., a nonprofit animal rescue and no-kill sanctuary. After the storms, he is dealing with damage, high costs, fewer adoptions, and a shelter that is now almost full.

Sinlaku caused the most damage.

“The kitchen ceiling caved in, 27 of my cats got out,” DeBellonia said. “After a few weeks, I was able to gather them all up.”

He said the cats were scared after the storm. Once his home was repaired, he was able to bring them back inside.

The storm also damaged the things he used for his adoption events.

“It took the topper off my truck. It destroyed that. My display cage I used for the kittens on Saturday, that blew out of the truck. It destroyed that,” he said.

DeBellonia has ordered a new cage. He hopes to start his Saturday adoption events again when it arrives.

But finding homes for the cats has become harder.

DeBellonia said adoptions had already started to slow as the CNMI economy got worse. The typhoons made things even harder.

“Right now, it’s very, very slow,” he said. “The economy’s bad. The typhoon has really hurt a lot of people.”

Saipan Kitten and Cat Rescue Inc. recently marked its third year.

It all started with just five or six cats.

DeBellonia said he started rescuing more kittens after visiting the Saipan Mayor’s Office’s animal shelter and becoming concerned about the conditions he saw there.

“I started rescuing the kittens and bringing them home and bringing them up for adoption,” he said.

He later began bringing kittens to the Sabalu Market at Garapan Fishing Base every Saturday. He set up a table and cage and offered the kittens for free adoption.

People also gave him donations for food, cat litterm and medicine.

The number of cats under his care then kept growing—five became 15. Then 25, 50, 60, and 70.

A few weeks ago, DeBellonia said, he was caring for about 80 cats and kittens. He took in more animals after the storms.

“There [were] a lot of abandoned kittens, a lot of stray kittens,” he said.

But DeBellonia does not want to keep all of them. His goal is to find them good homes.

He said he has found homes for more than 175 kittens and 49 adult cats.

“I want my kittens and cats to go to good homes,” he said. “I screen them very well. I want to make sure that they’re interested in making the kitten a family member. And that’s the most important thing.”

Adult cats are harder to find homes for, he said. DeBellonia asks people who plan to leave Saipan to start looking for a new home for their pets months before they leave.

DeBellonia did not always have a house full of cats.

He is from New Jersey and grew up around dogs. His father was a “dog person.” DeBellonia later ran a dive shop in Florida for 26 years before he retired.

He recalled one night when a kitten ran across the road as he was driving home from his dive shop. DeBellonia stopped his truck, picked up the kitten, and took it home.

“I wound up taking care of him, making him healthy, and turned him into a pet,” he said.

DeBellonia later moved to Saipan about 10 years ago. He brought his 16-year-old cat, Regency, with him because he did not want to put her down.

“I didn’t want to put her down, so I spent the money, and I brought her out here with me,” he said.

DeBellonia said Regency lived to be 23.

Today, DeBellonia said eight of the cats at the sanctuary are his own.

One is a cat he raised from a very small kitten. He fed it every two to three hours for about two and a half weeks.

“This one’s my little love bug, so I couldn’t get rid of my little love bug,” he said while pointing to a healthy tuxedo cat behind him. “This one adopted me.”

DeBellonia also knows how easy it is to fall in love with them.

“Kittens are addictive,” he said.

But he cannot keep every cat he rescues.

Taking care of so many cats costs a lot of money.

DeBellonia said he uses about 140 lbs of cat litter each week. He also uses about 60 cans of cat food and 50 lbs of dry food.

He must also buy medicine and cleaning supplies.

DeBellonia said his cats and kittens are spayed or neutered when they are old and big enough. This helps stop more unwanted kittens from being born.

After the storms brought more animals to his door, DeBellonia said he has almost no space left.

“Right now, I have no more room to take any more in. So I need foster help right now,” he said.

People can help by taking care of a cat or kitten for a short time. DeBellonia said he can give foster families food, medicine, litter and other supplies.

People who want to adopt, foster or help Saipan Kitten and Cat Rescue Inc. may contact DeBellonia on WhatsApp at (670) 287-5929.

He also posts about cats for adoption, lost pets and animal care on the Saipan 670 Pet Lovers Community on Facebook.

People who want to donate money may send it through Zelle to sunnydiver@hotmail.com, according to DeBellonia. The money helps pay for food, litter, medicine and cleaning supplies.

For DeBellonia, caring for the animals is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job.

And the man who grew up around dogs now has plenty of love for cats.

“Our animals are so precious here on the island,” DeBellonia said. “We really need to take care of our pets.”