A charred frame sits in the afternoon sun at 12 Dourland Road in Medford.
Hours earlier, Christopher Arsenault, founder of the cattery Happy Cat Sanctuary, had been in the then-in-tact home alongside the estimated 300 cats he lived with and cared for. But when a fire broke out at 7 a.m. on March 31, Arsenault, who had spent the past 19 years rescuing cats — who were oftentimes sick or abused — didn’t flee.
Instead, he ran back into the flames, loaded his arms full of as many cats as he could carry, and ran back into the flames again. He ran back and forth, carrying as many cats as he could out of the burning home, until he could no longer run back out.
Arsenault died at age 65. Over 150 cats died in the fire and an estimated 200 survived, according to Robert Misseri, co-founder of Paws of War and close friend of Arsenault’s.
“Knowing that these cats lived amongst each other, happy — to see it all gone in a matter of 30 minutes,” Misseri said. “His life is gone. He will never be able to help another cat again. It is hard knowing that some of these cats had a very horrible, painful ending.”
Many considered Arsenault a hero before — and certainly after — his death. But Misseri said that not everyone liked the idea of Arsenault operating a cattery in a residential area, though the Town of Brookhaven has no limitations on how many cats a homeowner can have.
“It wasn’t the most ideal location for a cat sanctuary,” he said. “He wasn’t blinded by that.”
Before Arsenault’s death, the owner had plans to relocate his sanctuary to a 30-acre farm in upstate New York. It is unclear whether the sanctuary will still move forward with that relocation.
Drew Scott, the director of communications for the Town of Brookhaven, said in an email that the town’s fire marshal found that the cause of the fire was undetermined, but was most likely not the result of suspicious or criminal activity. Scott added that it was “probably caused” by the presence of an external propane heater or heaters that malfunctioned.
“The property has been condemned, and rescue groups continue to care for the dozens of feral cats that still roam the house and the property,” Scott said.
A legal battle brews for the nonprofit’s assets between the Board of Happy Cat, Inc. and the founder’s daughter, Kristin Arsenault, has left the current status of the sanctuary in disarray. It remains undetermined what will happen to 12 Dourland Road property or the almost $850,000 gained through the sanctuary’s GoFundMe.
Happy Cat Sanctuary ‘Wasn’t Your Typical House’
Arsenault’s Happy Cat Sanctuary suffered a tragic ending — but it had a similarly heartwrenching beginning, too.
Nineteen years before Arsenault’s house fire, on May 18, 2006, the cattery owner lost his 24-year-old son, Eric, to a motorcycle crash.
“He was clearly going through some difficult times,” Misseri said. “He was looking to escape.”
Misseri said Arsenault needed something to keep his mind occupied. He was no longer able to manage a regular routine — he lost interest in activities he used to enjoy, like going to the gym, or socializing with friends.
His calling came in an unusual form. Less than a year after his son’s sudden death, Arsenault accidentally came across a cat colony of pregnant mothers who had given birth to 30 sick kittens. He decided to rescue the mothers and their newborns and bring them back to his Medford home.
Before founding Happy Cat Sanctuary, Arsenault already had a deep love for animals, Misseri said. According to Arsenault’s obituary, the cat lover had rescued a feral cat before his son’s death. He also had dogs, ferrets, iguanas, fish and a menagerie of other animals.
“He was always there for animals, he always had animals,” Misseri said. “I just think that this was elevated.”
“There was a side of him that wanted to shut down on a daily basis,” he added. “I believe that what kept him going was doing something that was giving back and helping something struggling like himself. The animals were going through what he was going through.”
Arsenault’s house slowly transitioned from a regular residence to Happy Cat Sanctuary. He moved himself into his bedroom — alongside a small refrigerator and microwave — giving up the rest of his home to house more cats. Wall-mounted cat shelves and condos lined many of Arsenault’s walls. Once it got out that he was taking cats, Misseri said the news “spread like wildfire,” adding that some people would simply drop unwanted cats at his door.
Arsenault started housing cats in his backyard, and Misseri said he and other friends helped the Happy Cat Sanctuary owner build an outdoor enclosure.
Arsenault’s dedication to the cats began to have financial consequences. He struggled in the beginning — Misseri remembers bringing his friend cat food and other pet supplies to help him support the growing number of cats he took in. Arsenault also often picked up shifts for friends who owned chain restaurants and worked other odd jobs. But any money Arsenault made went toward the cats.
“There were times I went to his house and there was nothing there for him to eat,” Misseri said. “But he had a kitchen table stacked with food for the cats.”
As Happy Cat Sanctuary grew, not all of Arsenault’s neighbors were happy about the cattery operating in their residential neighborhood. Misseri spoke to many disgruntled neighbors on his friend’s behalf over the years.
“I think some people didn’t realize this was a sanctuary and that he wasn’t a hoarder,” Misseri said. “It wasn’t your typical house. And not everyone likes cats.”
Though some of Arsenault’s cats couldn’t be rehomed — as they were either feral or infected with diseases such as feline immunodeficiency virus — Misseri said he frequently encouraged Arsenault to start a rehoming program for the friendly domesticated cats.
While Arsenault never disagreed with Misseri’s suggestions, he lacked the resources to implement them.
“He just kept praying that he would build a foundation and raise enough money to move the property,” Misseri said.
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Roy Gross, founding chief of the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that his team has received calls about Happy Cat Sanctuary over the years, usually pertaining to allegations of suspected neglect and abuse. Gross added that while his team always went out to investigate these calls, they never found any evidence of abuse or neglect at Arsenault’s Happy Cat Sanctuary.
“No charges were ever found against him,” Gross said. “Every time (my team) has been there, the cats appeared to be healthy.”
Before his death, Arsenault did begin achieving his ultimate vision for his sanctuary. In 2012, Happy Cat, Inc. officially became a nonprofit, and he started recruiting limited volunteers. He also had plans to move the sanctuary upstate.
“We are here to continue building what Chris left us,” said Lisa Jaeger, a Happy Cat Sanctuary board member in a since-taken-down video posted to Facebook this month. She is also founder and CEO of Jaeger’s Run Animal Rescue.
“Chris was my best friend and rescue buddy,” Jaeger said. “My rescue vetted, vaccinated, tested, and microchipped every cat before it went into the sanctuary. We did it together.”
“These are domestic animals, not wildlife,” Jaeger added. “Ferals are living in disgusting conditions, starving just to survive. Chris gave them a home, a warm bed, and a full belly. He couldn’t bear the thought of those left behind.”
She said catteries like Happy Cat Sanctuary wouldn’t need to exist if local municipalities did more with their shelters.
“Local governments treat feral cats like wildlife,” Jaeger added. “They don’t help. Every shelter should have a clinic open seven days a week. Trappers should be paid — they’re the ones making a difference. All of this would dramatically reduce the feral cat population, but the infrastructure has to exist.”
Moving Forward: The Future of Happy Cat Sanctuary
Back at Dourland Road, Misseri’s Paws of War mobile veterinary unit has remained onsite, “seeing cats directly impacted by the fire,” for weeks after the fire. In collaboration with Strong Island Animal Rescue, the organizations had since caught and treated many of the surviving animals.
“Some were hiding and could not even meow due to smoke inhalation and exhaustion,” Paws of War said in a statement. “Many of the remaining cats to be found are feral and injured making them difficult to locate and secure.”
Misseri said that several of Arsenault’s cats are still missing, adding that his team has been going door to door looking for lost cats and putting up signs on nearby poles.
Read also: Paws of War reunites 80-year-old LA wildfire victim with missing cat
Other animal relief organizations — such as the Suffolk SPCA, Jaeger’s Run Animal Rescue, and local veterinarians and animal shelters — have also stepped in to help the surviving animals.
SPCA Chief Gross said that he reached out to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for assistance in housing the impacted cats, but the organization refused to help. Alyssa Fleck, a communications representative for the ASPCA, said that the national nonprofit had no record of the request.
“Any requests for help should be directed to the ASPCA’s national field response team,” Fleck added.
Kristin Stephens, a veterinary technician at the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island in West Islip, began a GoFundMe to help raise funds for the care of one of the sanctuary’s injured cats, Crystal.
Stephens, who knew Arsenault personally as a frequent client, said that on the same day of the fire, she received a call from Strong Island asking if the medical center could take in a cat who needed oxygen. VMCLI is a 24-hour emergency and specialty center that has oxygen chambers necessary for respiratory difficulties.
“Once she arrived, it was determined that she needed significantly more than oxygen,” Stephens said, adding that she told VMCLI to put Crystal’s care and financial responsibility under her name.
“Money will come and go, but her life won’t,” Stephens said. “Her life is more important than a dollar.”
Crystal needed an estimate of $17,000 worth of treatment, Stephens said. That’s when she started the GoFundMe, which has since raised $8,650. On April 7, Crystal unfortunately died, but Stephens said that every dollar raised is going toward Crystal’s medical costs.
“She fought so hard. She wanted to live so badly,” Stephens wrote on an update to the GoFundMe page. “But the damage was too severe. Crystal and Chris have been reunited.”
The sanctuary’s official GoFundMe, started by Jaeger, has since raised nearly $850,000 for Happy Cat Sanctuary. But Stephens said she has received angry messages for her fundraiser, since several fraudulent GoFundMe campaigns claiming to be in support of Happy Cat Sanctuary have been popping up on the platform over the past couple of weeks.
Kristin, Arsenault’s daughter, in a since-taken-down statement posted to Facebook on April 14, said that she has requested that GoFundMe place a hold on all fund withdrawals for fundraisers associated with Happy Cat Sanctuary until the rightful authority is established.
“Every dollar raised through my father’s memorial campaigns remains intact. None of these funds have been released to unauthorized parties,” Kristin said in the statement. “They are being preserved for their intended purpose: the rehabilitation of burned and displaced cats, and the reestablishment of Happy Cat, Inc. with integrity.”
Legal Battle Sparked Over Happy Cat Sanctuary
Following Kristin’s statement, Suffolk County court documents show that Happy Cat, Inc. has sued the founder’s daughter for control of the nonprofit’s assets. The lawsuit, filed on April 23, claims that Kristin has “not acted in compliance” with the terms of the Christopher Arsenault Irrevocable Trust, which Arsenault established on May 17, 2023.
The board, which consists of several volunteers who aided Arsenault in his Happy Cat Sanctuary operations, claims that they are the “rightful owner(s)” of the trust, which states if Happy Cat, Inc. is still in existence at the time of Arsenault’s death, the board is to “be the recipient of all assets of the trust.”
The trust outlined that Kristin should only be the inheritor of the trust if Happy Cat, Inc. was no longer operational at the time of her father’s death.
Happy Cat, Inc. is requesting that Kristin turn over the Medford property to the board as well as any trust assets, including the funds raised through GoFundMe. The board also requests that Kristin turn over any cats owned by Happy Cat Sanctuary, according to the court document.
In her April 14 statement, Kristin said that while several people have come forward claiming to have authority over her father’s finances in the weeks following his death, she is the sole trustee of her father’s trust. Any coming forward has done so without legal validation, she wrote, adding that she filed a complaint with the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
Steven Stutman, the lawyer representing Happy Cat, Inc., released a statement on April 15 claiming that he denies Kristin’s allegations and said that the board is acting in accordance with state law.
“(The board’s) goal is to safeguard [Happy Cat Sanctuary’s] assets and to continue to fulfill Christopher Arsenault’s lifelong vision,” the statement reads. “The fundraising proceeds are safe and remain intact. While we admire Ms. Arsenault’s desire to further her father’s dream, her actions are detrimental to the mission of Happy Cat, Inc. and disruptive to the ongoing process.”
‘They Need It Now’
Hundreds of well wishes flood Happy Cat Sanctuary’s Facebook and Instagram comments. The sanctuary’s GoFundMe has received donations from supporters from across the country.
Misseri said that the current support Happy Cat Sanctuary has attracted since Arsenault’s death doesn’t surprise him. But he wishes the cattery owner would have received that same support sooner.
“The amount of support he got worldwide, he deserved it, there’s no question,” Misseri said. “I wish he would have gotten that same support six years ago. That’s what bugs me.”
Susan Whittred, the executive director of the Patricia Ladew Foundation, a cat sanctuary in Oyster Bay, said that sanctuaries like hers are always looking for volunteers and monetary donations.
Whittred also encouraged the community to get more involved with trap-and-release to help limit the overpopulation of feral cats. Patricia Ladew offers free spay and neuter vouchers for those willing to bring in community cats, she added.
She was also one of the local veterinarians who has helped provide care to the cats that survived the Happy Cat Sanctuary fire, adding, “It’s such a devastating situation.”
A new sanctuary, Cozy Cats, plans to open outside of Hornell in honor of Arsenault’s death, according to a GoFundMe campaign created on April 14 by Elizabeth Oliver. Plans for a new sanctuary are not affiliated with Happy Cat Sanctuary.
“Our dream is to make some kind of a positive development from the tragedy that has honestly devastated many. Hearts are broken and this feels like the next right step,” writes the GoFundMe’s mission.
Misseri encouraged the public to continue to support local cat sanctuaries.
“I hope this sends a message to all the people who have been supporting him now, and sending him well wishes in Heaven, to step up for that local organization you might see struggling,” Misseri said. “They need it now. Not when they die.”
