About
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WHO WE ARE
House of Dreams provides shelter and care for abandoned and homeless cats, with the goal of finding them permanent homes or providing them a lifetime home in our facility. We are a free-roam shelter, where resident cats can explore, mingle, or curl up in their own private space. And we are a no-kill shelter, which every healthy or treatable cat can call home for the rest of its life—or until it’s adopted into a loving home!
We began in 1999 as an all-volunteer organization, and remain so today—so every dollar donated and raised goes to the cats! House of Dreams is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. And we’re one of the only area shelters with facilities for geriatric and feline leukemia positive (FeLV+) cats.
WHAT WE DO
As we do not discriminate based on age or medical history, many of our cats are considered to be "difficult to adopt" in a traditional shelter. We bring these special cats to House of Dreams, where they find friends (human and feline), enjoy regular meals, and obtain quality medical care. Think of it as "assisted living" for cats.
Some of these older, medically-challenged cats will spend the rest of their lives with us—and we are happy to have them! Others will find their forever homes with qualified, caring adopters; meet the cats currently available for adoption here.
All of our cats have been spayed or neutered, tested for FIV/FeLV, and are current on vaccinations. We also provide any additional dental and medical care the cats may need during their stay with us.
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HOW WE STARTED
House of Dreams was founded in April, 1999 when five volunteers took over a private Parkrose area shelter after the owner decided to retire. These five volunteers tirelessly worked seven days a week, cleaning, painting and restructuring the shelter, while feeding and caring for 97 cats! They recruited more volunteers, established a board of directors to govern the organization's activities and obtained 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit status.
In 2009, we learned that the owner of the shelter building was planning to redevelop it, so the search began for a new facility. We were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a building of our own, and after months of permitting, construction, cleaning, and preparing, we moved into our new shelter in Northeast Portland in January 2010.
The facility includes an area for our Feline Leukemia Positive residents—we’re one of the few organizations in the U.S. to provide care and shelter for FeLV+ cats! There’s also a new medical unit for cats who need separate living quarters while undergoing treatment.
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OUR DEDICATION TO THE CATS
House of Dreams is run entirely by volunteers dedicated to our mission of serving special-needs cats. Volunteers work every day, 365 days each year, to clean and maintain the shelter, feed and look after our resident cat community, and handle administrative and financial tasks.
We’d love to have you volunteer with us! You can find out more and fill out a volunteer application here.
We’re entirely dependent upon donations, grants, and events to fund the shelter. House of Dreams is a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax-deductable. We’re a Best Friends Animal Society Network Partner, and a GuideStar Gold Level participant.
To support House of Dreams and the cats, go to our Support page.
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SPECIAL THANKS AND RECOGNITION TO
DR. ELSEY'S
The resident cats of House of Dreams thank Dr. Elsey's Products for generously supplying them with the litter they need to lead a happy, healthy life!
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