The Goathouse Refuge Mission

There aren’t many places in today’s world that offer ongoing, unconditional care to animals in need, but that’s exactly what we provide at the Goathouse Refuge. We are a cat sanctuary, a place where cats that have been abandoned or lost can be safe and warm and happy, where cats who have had to live at the margins of the modern world can find a place where they are welcome.

The Refuge is a place where cats are not refused due to old age, illness or disposition. Even cats that are “unadoptable” can live in comfort, with the care, attention and love they deserve. The sanctuary also accepts FIV+ cats and is devoted to their care like any of the other residents and no cat will be euthanized unless it is suffering and there is no hope of recovery.

Our ultimate goal has been to connect every cat with a loving family who wants to share their life with a wonderful feline companion. Since our founding in 2007, we’ve placed over 3000 cats into loving, permanent homes. Unfortunately, not every cat is destined to be a typical pet. Some have medical issues that require daily care; some grew up as feral cats and don’t have the disposition for domestic life; and sometimes, there just aren’t enough homes to go around. But Siglinda Scarpa, who founded Goathouse Refuge years ago, believes every cat has the right to a life free from both danger and indifference.

The Refuge is designed so that cats can spend long periods of time here comfortably, awaiting adoption. In fact, it is designed so that a cat could spend years, or even its entire lifetime, at the sanctuary, which many have done just that. This means that cages are only used in intake when a new cat arrives and needs to adjust and feel safe, or in the infirmary to be able to medicate and care for ill kitties, or for feeding cats with special diets (but only for feeding and then the cats will be free to roam and play around with the other cats in the refuge indoor and outdoor safely). Kittens are only spayed and neutered once they weigh 5 pounds, to insure that their organs and their bones are well grown and well-formed and they have strong teeth. They are adopted after they have been spayed/neutered, fully vaccinated and microchipped. Old cats get their dental surgeries… injured or sick kitties will go to our veterinarians and/or specialty hospitals including the Vet School… and Homeopathic/Alternative Veterinarians. And, of course, all of the cats are given human attention, love and interaction, along with high-quality food and prescription food if needed.

In 2022 we began to transition the Goathouse Refuge focus to mainly be on older, or semi-feral cats, or cats with special needs. Some of these cats may well be able to be adopted by very adept and resourceful adopters who are willing to attend to their special needs. But some of these cats will never be adopted. There will always be more of these cats. Consider the cats who have been faithful beloved companions for many years, only to be put out in the street or taken to a kill shelter when their humans can no longer care for them. Our goal is to bring public awareness and sympathy to this group of cats, so that these animals receive the dignity and respect they have always deserved and so often have not received. We hope that this focus as a place of last resort will change the discourse about and treatment of our elderly feline companions.

This is the philosophy we operate by at Goathouse Refuge, a no-kill sanctuary that serves two important roles: a stopover for cats on their way to permanent homes, and a permanent shelter for cats that just need a place they can call their own.

That’s what we do at Goathouse Refuge. We think it’s worthwhile work. We hope you think so, too.

Please come by and visit! We are open Fridays by appointment, and Saturday & Sunday from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

We are their rescue; You are their future…Include Goathouse Refuge.org in your estate planning.

This beautiful video courtesy of YouTube for “Kitten Lullaby” with Leonard Cohen’s “Lullaby” expresses just how we feel about these precious creatures.

The Goathouse Refuge Board of Directors

Jacquie Marx
Monty Millard
Rochelle Millard
Judith Saunders
Siglinda Scarpa (Founder)
Larry Vellani
Julie Williams

Meet our Founder

My name is Siglinda Scarpa, founder and primary benefactor of The Goathouse Refuge, a cat sanctuary. I thought you might like to know how the Refuge came to be and what the future holds for it.

When I was a little girl my father, who sometimes worked late at night, came home with a little gray tabby cat wet and cold and put him under the blankets in my bed. I warmed him up and kept him on my heart until he started purring and for the rest of the night. There was where he slept for the rest of his life. I called him Muci.

He’d become sick when he was just about one year old and all my bicycle trips to the veterinarian didn’t save his life. He probably had distemper. The pain of his death was so devastating that I started to bring home and care for as many cats as my mother would allow me to bring into the apartment. I loved animals, especially cats, and many shared my life. Many are not here anymore, but I remember them all.

So I formulated a dream … a dream of a sanctuary for cats. This would be another chance; a safe haven for cats that were dispossessed or scheduled for euthanasia by public shelters. In my dream, no cat would be euthanized unless it was suffering with no hope of recovery. The Refuge would be a place where even cats that were unadoptable could live in comfort, with the care, attention and love they deserve. No cat would be refused due to age, illness or disposition. The ultimate goal for each cat would be adoption into a loving home. But the Refuge would be designed so that they could spend ample periods of time living comfortably, awaiting adoption. In fact, it would be designed so that a cat could spend years, or its entire lifetime, at the Refuge. This meant that the cats would be cage-free. Groups of cats would live in large rooms, where they could roam and play without restraint. And, of course, all of the cats would be given human attention and interaction, along with high-quality food and on-site medical care.

Day by day my dream is still unfolding. The Goathouse Refuge has placed many cats and kittens in forever homes and more then forty are permanent residents here. One building has been dedicated for their home and more construction and improvements are planned. The Refuge was founded with my personal resources and with income from my pottery, I find a way to feed and care for all the creatures in transit and in residence. Along the way some immensely valuable friends and volunteers have joined the Refuge.

But the long-term success of The Goathouse Refuge, as with any charity, is dependent on the generous donations of you, the public. Additionally, fund-raising events help to support the activities of the Refuge and its affiliate animal rescue organizations, which likewise share in the proceeds.

Please take a careful look around this site and see what we are and will be doing. If you believe in the dream and think what we are doing is valuable, please take some time to make a donation … any amount will help ensure the long-term success of The Goathouse Refuge. And please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions.

Molte grazie, Siglinda Scarpa

Details on our Charity

The Goathouse Refuge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FEID 26-0893521. Our federal 990 tax forms are available below in PDF format.

Tax Year 2022 Form 990
Tax Year 2021 Form 990
Tax Year 2020 Form 990
Tax Year 2019 Form 990
Tax Year 2018 Form 990
Tax Year 2017 Form 990
Tax Year 2016 Form 990
Tax Year 2014 Form 990
Tax Year 2013 Form 990
Tax Year 2012 Form 990
Tax Year 2011 Form 990
Tax Year 2010 Form 990-EZ
Tax Year 2009 Form 990-EZ
Tax Year 2008 Form 990-EZ