Sheltering Sasha

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An animal lover who grew up on a farm, Foster shares her home near Dixboro with nine cats. Kaufeld cares for her feline family, and talking with the vet cinched her decision to open Leuk's Landing.

She considered it a bit of kismet when a real estate agent found a nearly three-acre rural property within walking distance of her home that included a small white 1950s house and a large, detached garage/workshop with windows overlooking fields and woodlands. Septic field issues contributed to the property's bargain price.

Foster bought it and immediately began a $10,000 renovation, adding heat and insulation, paneling the garage door, and painting the exterior a deep forest green. She had brightly painted catwalks built to scale the walls to prime window perching spots, and two cat doors installed to give access to an outside enclosure--with a special wobbly fence that cats won't climb.

She furnished the sanctuary with thrift shop finds and donations. Overstuffed chairs, couches with blankets, quilts, big stuffed animals, and pillows create a living room arrangement in the center of the room. Some cats nap and play there, while others dash around the room, or peer through the windows at the outside world. Along the room's borders are open cages with bedding, shelves holding litter and food, litter boxes, cat trees, and a used refrigerator to store medication.