Where No Cat Is Hopeless: Inside Tabby’s Place, the Sanctuary Saving Forgotten Felines

If you ever doubt that compassion can change lives, you’ll love to learn about Tabby’s Place. This New Jersey cat sanctuary opens its doors to felines no one else would take, the least, the last, and the lost. But within their walls, those same cats become symbols of hope, healing, and the kind of love that refuses to give up. We’re honored to share their story and celebrate Tabby’s Place as one of Catster’s Heroes of the Pet World.

Tabby’s Place is a sanctuary for cats from hopeless situations, located in Ringoes, New Jersey. We live for the least, the last, and the lost, embracing cats whose needs and sorrows have closed all doors of hope.

Yet Tabby’s Place is a haven of joy, and when you step into our Lobby, you’ll find you can’t stop smiling. A band of blissful cats will welcome you to the family, starting with zesty Olive. As she scoots around your ankles, you’ll quickly forget that she is paraplegic. Like all of our cats, Olive has no sense that she is “different” or disabled.

Best buddies Berry and Peabody will frolic at your feet, inviting you to their next adventure. Berry was born with spina bifida, and Peabody scarcely survived being struck by a car. But at Tabby’s Place, the boys are inseparable and unstoppable, with a future as bright as the sunbeams that tickle their faces.

Take a seat, and you’ll soon have a lapful of Hips, the tailless comedian. It may be hard to believe that this cuddly marshmallow was wounded in a war zone, but Hips has long since forgotten those fearful days.

The Tabby’s Place story is retold across the sanctuary, in the tales of our 150 residents. We welcome cats regardless of age, temperament, or medical issues, making us a haven for those with rare, advanced, and delicate needs. Each cat came from an “impossible” situation, only to find a new beginning of boundless love.

Our building is 12,000 square feet of cage-free compassion, designed from the ground up to meet cats’ needs and delight their hearts. Our residents romp and roam through bright, open suites, furnished with skylights, cozy cubbies, ramps, and sunrooms with safe access to fresh air and birdsong.

The cats who faced the darkest days now live in the brightest light. Our world-class Quinn’s Corner wing was created for cats infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV), the condition often deemed the most hopeless. Our beloved “FeLVies” thrive, debunking myths about their condition and teaching visitors that everyone deserves a chance.

No cat is a better ambassador for hope than Trifecta, who lives with FeLV, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and diabetes. Unruffled by his conditions, Trifecta overflows with so much love, he travels to local nursing homes, libraries, and cancer support groups to comfort others.

Since our residents deserve uncompromising care, medical excellence is a hallmark of Tabby’s Place. Whether they face cancer, diabetes, or rare conditions like acromegaly and nasopharyngeal stenosis, cats count on our veterinary team’s unique skill and expertise. We whisper the “Tabby’s Place promise” to each new resident:” little one, you will have everything you need to thrive, no matter what.”

Most of our cats have no medical issues, and nearly all will find forever homes. Those who are not adopted have a loving home for life at Tabby’s Place. Our longest-time residents include Steven, who came to us as a fading kitten in 2009 and recently celebrated his sixteenth birthday, complete with salmon cake and video visits from fans around the world.

The word “unadoptable” can’t be found in the Tabby’s Place dictionary. With compassion and creativity, wild dreams come true. A volunteer fell in love with incontinent Carrot, but doubted her ability to care for him. Our staff designed a hands-on training program, teaching the volunteer to express Carrot’s bladder until she was confident in her skills. After a decade at Tabby’s Place, Carrot’s forever home was worth the wait.

Although we are a cat sanctuary, Tabby’s Place is a community of love for at least two species. Our family includes over 400 active volunteers and devoted donors on six continents. (We’re waiting on Antarctica.) We treat each person with the same tenderness, dignity, and gentleness we apply to the cats, and often hear that Tabby’s Place feels like the safest place on Earth for those on two legs.

Our namesake was a humble, FIV+ tabby stray who chanced upon Jonathan and Sharon Rosenberg’s doorstep in 1984 – if you believe in chance, that is. His arrival would change the course of feline history.

Although Jonathan had never been a “cat person,” Tabby moved into not only Jonathan’s favorite chair, but also his heart…and Jonathan has a heart bigger than the galaxy. Tabby filled the Rosenbergs’ world with a once-in-a-lifetime love.

When Tabby was diagnosed with untreatable squamous cell carcinoma in 1999, Jonathan was devastated but determined. He resolved to devote his life to Tabby by saving cats from hopeless situations. Jonathan had already made history as the first Chief Technical Officer at CNET. Now he would write a new beginning for cats the world had written off as “hopeless.” He created Tabby’s Place from the ground up, and we opened our doors in 2003.

Jonathan is the heart of Tabby’s Place to this day, providing hands-on care for our cats while serving as our Executive Director, webmaster, and comedian-in-chief. He often remarks that he feels as though he is caring for Tabby as he nurtures each of our residents. We know that little brown stray is beaming down upon his “dad” with boundless pride.

What We’re Most Proud Of

The heart of Tabby’s Place is the individual cat. Our greatest successes have names like Berry and Carrot, and we live to heal and comfort every cat as though they were the most important cat on Earth (which, of course, they are).

But, we’re also proud and grateful of our impact “by the numbers:”

• Since opening in 2003, Tabby’s Place has rescued over 4,700 cats.
• In 2024, Tabby’s Place rescued 408 cats, adopting out 281 (including 10 FIV+ and 7 FeLV+ cats).
• While over 86% of our cats came from New Jersey, another 10.7% came from across the United States, and 2.6% came from overseas (primarily through our partnership with Animals Lebanon in Beirut).
• In 2024, 439 active volunteers worked 34,172 hours. These volunteers included 22 who fostered a total of 196 cats in their homes.
• In 2024, our veterinary team provided 6,292 hours of in-house medical care, including 164 spays and neuters, 65 ultrasounds, and 44 dentals.

Tabby’s Place cats also bring joy to our community. Certified therapy cats in our Aged to Purrfection Program visit nursing care centers, while cats in our Paws to Read Program welcome children to come read to them at Tabby’s Place and at local libraries.

Our Next Big Dream

Our next big dream for Tabby’s Place is a world-class Kitten Nursery. Newborns are the most vulnerable members of the feline family, as their delicate needs exceed the abilities and resources of most rescues. Tabby’s Place has the expertise to see these innocent babies through their fragile days, and we can save tiny lives who would otherwise have no hope. But we are currently limited by the number of foster homes available to provide ‘round-the-clock care. With an on-site Kitten Nursery, we can greatly expand the number of neonatal kittens we save each year.

Our Biggest Challenges

We are always in greatest need of donations to provide veterinary care, as we will not turn a cat away due to medical need.

Baby Berry, born with spina bifida, needed multiple surgeries to have any hope of life. Thanks to our donors, we could welcome this sweet muffin with all his needs, and today he is a robust and rambunctious teenager.

Compassionate cat lovers can ensure the next “hopeless” cat receives the care that Tabby’s Place is uniquely equipped to give.

Folks who would like to join the Tabby’s Place family can also sponsor one of our cats (such as Berry, Olive, or Peabody), making a monthly commitment to be there for them through their ups and downs.

Unique Encounters

When we say Tabby’s Place goes “to the ends of the Earth” for a single cat, that’s not just a turn of phrase. We have welcomed cats from Lebanon, Oman, Turkey, and Okinawa.In 2025, our staff traveled to Baltimore, St. Louis, and Grapevine, TX to personally scoop up cats in their hour of need.  Yet the greatest instance of “going the distance” for a cat was Julien.

The cinnamon-striped senior arrived wet with tears from his Mom, Gisele. Having comforted each other through the passing of Gisele’s husband, Julien and his maman were inseparable.

When her own health issues forced Gisele to move back to her native France, a veterinarian told her Julien was too old and frail to survive the journey. Gisele loved Julien more than her own happiness, so she made sure he had a safe haven at Tabby’s Place.

As brokenhearted Gisele settled into life in France, our vet team determined that Julien was actually a strong and healthy sixteen-year-old. Travel would pose no danger to his health.

But at this point, it was too late … right? Of course not. This is Tabby’s Place!

One of our selfless volunteers, Beth, an airline pilot, offered to chaperone Julien from New Jersey to Gisele’s door. Undaunted by flight delays and a historic three-country power outage, Beth and Julien persevered. Today, Julien is back in his maman’s loving arms. It is just another tale of the Tabby’s Place amour that never gives up.

My Personal History With Tabby’s Place

I walked into Tabby’s Place in 2006, a week after graduating from divinity school, to adopt my first cat. I could never have imagined how that day would change my life.

Not only did I meet my tabby angel, Dibbles, but I stepped into a place that embodied everything I dream of for our world. I was filled with wonder as I met the cats and people and felt the unmistakable power of unconditional love.

Tabby’s Place struck me as a living parable of how we are meant to treat every living creature. The littlest and the lost find a seat at love’s table, and no one is forgotten or discarded.

A year later, a series of serendipities led me back, this time with a job application. I ended up with both my dream job as Development Director and a second cat (Pippa, my soulmate). When I warned Jonathan that he was taking a huge chance on me, since I had no experience, he reassured me, “Well, this is my first cat sanctuary, so we’ll figure it out together.”

Eighteen years later, we continue to do just that.

It has been the joy of my life watching Tabby’s Place grow from Jonathan’s courageous dream into the world’s beloved haven for “hopeless” cats. It still boggles my mind that I get to play some small part in all of this!

My seminary friends, who went on to become pastors and professors, smile at my unconventional calling. At least I heard the “sanctuary” part right! Perhaps God has a generous sense of humor. All I know is that I am exactly where I belong. Fundraising for Tabby’s Place is all about loving cats, loving people, and bearing witness to the big story of love. I love this family – feline and human – with all my soul.

How You Can Help

If you want to learn more or help us reach our goals and care for cats, please visit us online at www.tabbysplace.org – or, even better, visit us in person. We would be honored to welcome you into the Tabby’s Place family. Olive is waiting for you as I type these words.