The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Woman Spends $141,598.35 A Year Taking Care 122 Abandoned Cats The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Woman Spends $141,598.35 A Year Taking Care 122 Abandoned Cats

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Woman Spends $141,598.35 A Year Taking Care 122 Abandoned Cats


Bromley, Kentucky  - A mother-of-two has revealed how she spends $141,598.35 a year looking after more than 120 rescue cats.

Silvana Valentino-Locke, 55, even employs two live-in 'cat nannies' to look after her pet posse at her home.

Even more surprising than the dozens of cats and jaw-dropping care costs, Mrs. Valentino-Locke, who has been married to Tony for 32 years, says her spouse does not mind her cat obsession.

“Every man who comes to adopt a cat always asks, do you have a husband? They can't believe anyone would tolerate all these cats,” she told The Mirror.
Luckily Tony works long hours so he doesn't see all the work of caring for them.

Mrs. Valentino-Locke began turning their home into a rescue center more than 20 years ago, adding that it 'reached full potential' in 1998 and became the Romney House Cat Rescue.

She now has 52 cats living with her and Tony in their four-bedroom home, with some 30-40 waiting to find new homes, housed in a number of garden sheds which have been converted into cat houses.

Mrs. Valentino-Locke, who has two sons with Tony Jr., age 27, and Daniel, 30. Tony has also taken in some 30 'feral' cats, who all live and roam free in a neighboring field.

Caring for the 122 cats, which constantly changes as kittens are born and cats adopted - is a full-time job and a costly one.

She spends approximately $786.66 per week on the daily feeds. With 12 litter trays to change every day, the cost of litter alone is $47.20 per day.

She employs two live-in 'cat nannies', who are paid $393.33 a week plus food and board, and can spend as much as  $7,079.92 a-month on veterinary bills.

She is devoted to the cause of caring for the cats, and gets up at 6.30 a.m. every morning to take care of them. Sometimes she doesn’t get to bed until after midnight.

The annual total of $141,598.35 is funded 50% by Tony, who runs a courier film, with the rest covered by donations, fundraising drives and her charity shop.

Despite the 52 cats sharing a home with her and Tony, she refuses to let her obsession affect her standards. With the help of her staff, the couple's Kent home is cleaned from top to bottom, twice a day. 

“It takes about an hour and a half. We mop every floor and clean furniture,” she told The Mirror.

“It's a long, exhausting job. The phone is always ringing with people who have cats that need to be rescued.” she said.

Her life with her 122 cats has now become the subject of a Channel 5 documentary, called ‘90 Cats & Counting: Cat Crazies’, set to air on Wednesday, July 1.  
  














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