{"id":5,"date":"2025-07-16T15:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T19:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/about\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T15:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T19:39:40","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About Cat Depot<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Our Story<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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On September 8, 2003, 262 cats were seized from a local rescue overwhelmed by its mission. With no established shelters able to help, a group of determined friends stepped forward. They transformed a humble downtown Sarasota storefront into a makeshift rescue center\u2014and without experience or a formal plan, but with boundless heart\u2014they saved every cat they could.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

That pivotal moment changed everything.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

What began as a crisis response soon evolved into a calling. The founders realized Sarasota lacked a true safe haven for cats\u2014no place built just for them. So they created one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\"It's about opening your heart.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinda and Ken Slavin, Co Founders<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Milestones of Impact<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • 2003<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Rescued 262 cats in our founding mission<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • 2009<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Opened our adoption center on 17th Street<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • 2014<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Launched the Cat Care Clinic for affordable veterinary services<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • 2015<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Acquired land for future expansion<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • 2018<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Opened our Community Center for education and outreach<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • 2023<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Celebrated 20 years of lifesaving impact<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    A Mission Takes Shape<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    In 2009, Cat Depot opened the doors to a <\/span>state-of-the-art, free-roaming adoption center<\/span><\/b>\u2014a space designed not just to shelter cats, but to honor their well-being and individuality. No cages. No cold kennels. Just love, freedom, and care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    Since then, Cat Depot has become a <\/span>nationally recognized leader<\/span><\/b> in feline rescue, adoption, and education. We\u2019ve saved more than <\/span>21,000 lives<\/span><\/b>\u2014each one a testament to the power of compassion turned into action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    What Sets Us Apart<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    At Cat Depot, we\u2019re more than a shelter\u2014we\u2019re a <\/span>lifeline<\/span><\/b>. Our 11,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility is a free-roaming, managed admissions cat adoption and resource center in Sarasota, Florida. We rescue and rehome more than <\/span>1,200 cats and kittens each year<\/span><\/b>, many from urgent and dire circumstances. Our approach blends compassion with innovation:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    • Adoption and Rescue<\/strong><\/strong>

      We work daily to rescue abandoned, abused, injured, relinquished, and free roaming cats and kittens. Our goal is to find a good match and loving home for every cat who enters Cat Depot.<\/p><\/li>

    • Fear-Free Environment<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
      Spacious, cage-free pods designed to support each cat\u2019s emotional and physical well-being.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Cat Care Clinic<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
      Affordable, high-quality veterinary care for both rescue and community cats.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Community Cat Programs<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
      We can assist with providing education, food, resources for medical care, and low to no-cost spay\/neuter surgeries for outdoor cats.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Safety Net Services<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
      Pet food bank and emergency assistance for local families in need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Education & Outreach<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
      Creating a more compassionate future through community programs and youth engagement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      About Cat Depot Our Story On September 8, 2003, 262 cats were seized from a local rescue overwhelmed by its mission. With no established shelters able to help, a group of determined friends stepped forward. They transformed a humble downtown Sarasota storefront into a makeshift rescue center\u2014and without experience or a formal plan, but with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"unboxed","site-sidebar-style":"unboxed","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"enabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4015,"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/4015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catdepot.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}