Meraki Animal Sanctuary

Meraki Animal Sanctuary Located in Northeast Philly. We rescue cats and kittens and also help with TNR. We help bunnies too! So rescuing animals is something I do in my free time.

My name is Kim Criniti my dream is to open Meraki Animal Sanctuary to rescue homeless, abused, and unwanted cats, dogs, and rabbits. I would also rescue animals from kill shelters that are on the list to be euthanized so that they have more time to be adopted. I am currently a kindergarten teacher at a school in Philadelphia. My plan for the sanctuary is to buy a few acres of land. I would live on

the land as well so that I am always available for the animals. The sanctuary will first house cats, then as we grow, dogs and rabbits. Each species will have their own living quarters. There will be no cages in the sanctuary. All the animals will live together (with their species) in a home environment so that they are happy and at ease. As we grow, there will be an office and separate living quarters for sick animals. Currently, I am thinking of using shipping containers as the foundation for the buildings. The sanctuary will be set up as a non-profit and will rely on donations to survive. Currently, I rescue mainly cats and kittens off of the streets of Philadelphia. I take them in, have them vetted, and find good homes for them. I also trap community cats and have them fixed to stop overproducing. In almost two years, I have rescued over 300 cats and kittens. I can only continue with your help!

DINKY MADE HIS FIRST BISCUITS šŸ„šŸžšŸ„–The bakery is officially open for business. Place your orders now šŸ“ Also, he murdered h...
08/22/2026

DINKY MADE HIS FIRST BISCUITS šŸ„šŸžšŸ„–

The bakery is officially open for business. Place your orders now šŸ“

Also, he murdered his first bug the other night and he was only a little bit scared of it. Our boy is growing up ā™„ļø

Let's discuss, shall we?Now, I know I don't have to explain myself to any of you, but let's talk about it for funsies. W...
08/20/2026

Let's discuss, shall we?

Now, I know I don't have to explain myself to any of you, but let's talk about it for funsies.

When I pulled Stanley, followers of Kolony Kats, our followers, and people who pledge for ACCT all donated because everyone wanted this sweet boy safe. Without taking away the percentage that Venmo and PayPal takes out, people donated $2315.

$1059 of that was spent on X-rays of his lungs, bloodwork, and medicine when his cough first started. $1212 of that was spent on X-rays of this thorax, and his euthanasia.

The money that was donated TO Stanley, was spent ON Stanley. That was HIS money.

Now, are there times where money is donated for one cat and it's spent on another? Of course- that's rescue. But it's not spent on another cat when the original cat needs it.

I posted the video of Stanley barely breathing because I post about what is happening with the cats. I update you so you know what's going on. And so you know where and how your money is being spent. I knew I had money to spend on Stanley. But I also know that overnight stays ( because that's what we thought was going to be needed) can get expensive fast and if that's all he needed to get better, let's spend the money, right?

I do my best to update everyone on what happens with the cats and how I spend donations. I try my best to save donations for vet care because it can come up at any time. For the longest time, I used my own personal money on supplies (litter, food, cleaning supplies, etc). But at times, I need to use the rescue money for supplies. It's still for the cats. I try to only ask for money and supplies when absolutely needed. It's always nice to have some money in the account ready to go for emergencies.

Everyone knows that Stanley's death was hard on me. The first cat that made me really cry because I had to make an impossible decision. I spent over $2000 on Stanley and he still died. I did what I could and he still died. And that causes immense pain.

To say I that I love watching sick cats die...
To say that I did nothing...
To say that I only care about money...

Let me show you how I have $60 in my personal bank account because I teach as my full time job and take absolutely no money from the rescue to "pay" myself. I actually lose more money that I make on these cats because I put everything I have into them. The house, the clothes, the shoes, the electronics, the junk that I could buy if I didn't spend my money on the cats? I wonder what that would be like...

Anywayyyyyy- her name is Yolanda Mirez and her email is [email protected]
If anyone is feeling particularly feisty, please feel free to email her a response to her email. I personally won't fight with the stupid.

Also, the run on sentence that goes for how many lines because she doesn't know how to use a period? The amount of incoherent "sentences"? It's laughable. At least be smart when you are insulting me. BRB, gonna go check on my Master's degree šŸ™‚

Thanks friends!! Love you and your support!

I don't cry when our cats die. Some people may think that's cruel and heartless, but for me, I'm just used to it. We pul...
08/15/2026

I don't cry when our cats die. Some people may think that's cruel and heartless, but for me, I'm just used to it. We pull hospice because we are good with it- we rather help these cats pass peacefully than alone or stressed.

But Stanley wasn't hospice. He was beaten up. He had a cold. He was FIV so he had a low immune system. But he wasn't hospice. He wasn't supposed to die. He had a chance at life inside. With safety, love, warmth, and food everyday. He deserved that chance. He was such a good boy who deserved time inside.

Stanley had been on doxy when he was at ACCT for an URI. When I pulled him, he was healthy. Good appetite, no signs of a URI and good energy. Then 2 weeks after I pulled him, while waiting for his checkup at the vet, he started coughing this horrible, long drawn out cough. All night. I took him to the vet the very next day. Asthma or pneumonia. More so pneumonia or infection because he was FIV. Steroids and antibiotics.

Three days later- labored breathing. He was struggling. Took him back to the vet. They said to take him to the hospital. Over an hour drive from vet to PASE in traffic. They rush him back. They suspect the same, asthma or pneumonia. But they also think possible cancer. They take X-rays of his chest and throat. Send off the X-rays for the specialists to review. I'm there for over 3 hours waiting for answers. We find that he inhaled some foreign object causing an obstruction of the bronchi. Vet said this could have happened when he was outside- like if he swallowed a chicken bone from the trash. He had mucus plugging from severe airway inflammation. He had narrowing of the trachea and severe aerophagia (swallowing too much air) causing gas in the stomach because he was literally gasping for air.

The next steps? CT and bronchoscopy. $12- 15 thousand dollars. Vet said it's so rare to do a bronchoscopy that her and the other vets there have never seen one done. And then the surgery to remove it? Another $10 thousand or more. It's complicated and a hard recovery. Even harder for older, FIV cats. It's not recommended to even do this - it's challenging because the surgeon has to reach a small airway deep within the lung. If the object is deeply lodged, embedded in inflamed tissue, or impossible to retrieve safely, surgery can become considerably more complicated.

I asked all the questions. I wanted another answer. I wanted to hear that something could be done for him. But the fact was, he was suffering. He couldn't breathe. Even staying overnight at the hospital wasn't going to really help him. He wasn't going to get better with something lodged inside his airway. And even if I spect $20 grand on him, the outcome wasn't positive. It wasn't even the money at this point- because I hate making decisions when it comes to saving a cat's life based on money. It was the fact that this would be a hard surgery on him, the surgery may not even be successful, and then the recovery would be hard as well.

Every vet in the hospital said the right thing to do would be to humanely euthanize him. They said they would choose that choice for their cat over the surgery. I was devastated. I didn't want this to be the answer. I wanted a way to fix him. He deserved to be fixed. He deserved more than 2 weeks inside. He deserved more love.

This was an incredibly difficult decision. A decision I didn't want to make. One I had to make with tears in my eyes. I held his body and I hugged and kissed him the entire time. I apologized for failing him- for not being able to fix him- for not giving him more time knowing love. There is still a part of me that's mad that I gave in. Should I have spent the money? Should I have gone to a third vet for help. Would the answers be different? Would he still be suffering while all this happened?

Owning a rescue means making decisions you don't want to make. Wishing you could make different ones. Knowing people might attack you for not doing more. Knowing you might attack yourself for not doing more.

I failed this sweet boy and it kills me. Intake is closed. We are taking a break.

08/14/2026

Friends,

Stanley is unfortunately getting worse. This morning I woke up to him having labored breathing. I had to go to school for a little bit, but when I came back, he was still struggling. I brought him to Pets Furst where I took him on Tuesday, but they think he needs overnight hospitalization. We are taking him to PASE as soon as we check out here.

Stanley spent over $1000 on Tuesday so Iā€™m going to need help with his overnight stay. I will keep everyone updated.

Please keep him in your healing thoughts.

GUESS WHO DRANK WATER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME šŸ’§šŸ’¦šŸ’§šŸ’¦I am so proud and happy
08/14/2026

GUESS WHO DRANK WATER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME šŸ’§šŸ’¦šŸ’§šŸ’¦I am so proud and happy

Stanley unfortunately couldnā€™t wait for his August 17th appt at Bridge. When Kolony Kats dropped Stanley off at ACCT, he...
08/12/2026

Stanley unfortunately couldnā€™t wait for his August 17th appt at Bridge. When Kolony Kats dropped Stanley off at ACCT, he had an URI and coughing. They gave him doxy and by the time I pulled him, he was completely fine. I assumed waiting for an appt to check him was okay while he was okay. But I knew if he got sick during that time, we would take him in sooner.

On Monday, he spent the whole entire night coughing these really long, deep horrible coughs. So Tuesday we took him to Pets Furst and started right away with an Xray. Vet thought pneumonia or asthma. So then we did some senior bloodwork. It turns out that Stanley is FIV+. Thatā€™s something we usually check for before pulling from ACCT, but this time it slipped under the radar. You know how much I love my FIV boys, but I just like to make sure I donā€™t bring in FeLV. Bloodwork showed that and some infection so we are going more with pneumonia or bad cold. And since he is FIV, he has a lower immune system which means he needs a longer time on meds to overcome this.

They started Stanley on a shot of convenia, steroids for just 3 days, and baytril for the antibiotics which he will stay on for 30 days this time. Luckily Stanley still has a great appetite and is in good spirits. Heā€™s been cuddling me at night for as long as he likes. He is such a sweet boy and we are so happy we pulled him šŸ§”

I havenā€™t updated on Marque because Iā€™ve been letting him really settle in. But I am just so proud of this boy šŸ–¤He has h...
08/10/2026

I havenā€™t updated on Marque because Iā€™ve been letting him really settle in. But I am just so proud of this boy šŸ–¤

He has his safe spot- this grey 2 tiered bed. It sits right next to my bed so when heā€™s feeling brave, he will slowly get in bed with me. He doesnā€™t like the other cats, but he tolerates them as best he can. Heā€™s one of those cats that wants to decide when you pet him and wants to control the situation. He will let you know when he has had enough. I had another cat like this and once they were on their own, their demeanor completely changed. I think Marque will be the same way- he just needs the right setting to be able to fully show his personality.

When we pulled Marque from ACCT, basically his whole back was covered in mats. And not the kind we could brush out. I wanted him to trust me before I could start shaving him, and we finally got to the point yesterday. I was able to shave a decent amount of his back and once he told me he was done, he got a churu. I will do a little each day until we get all the mats off and he can start regrowing his beautiful black hair again.

Marque is up for adoption - I donā€™t think he needs to be an only cat, but one with less cats than us would be good šŸ˜‚ I also wouldnā€™t do small kids, just until we know his full personality. Heā€™s definitely more apprehensive than aggressive.

Some of the pictures you see are of him having an absolutely amazing time with his cat nip. He looooves it and was rolling all around enjoying himself.

D***s had another ā€œepisodeā€ last night. Different from the last one. He went completely limp and couldnā€™t sit up for mor...
08/08/2026

D***s had another ā€œepisodeā€ last night. Different from the last one. He went completely limp and couldnā€™t sit up for more than a second without falling over. His eyes would not dilate, even when lights were off and on. And then as quickly as he went into it, he started coming out of it. He started reaching for and swatting my fingers. And then continued to get better as the night went on- completely normal by morning.

I emailed PASE and since he was better at the moment, they said to just monitor him and make an appointment for another neurology evaluation. Iā€™m still thinking he is having seizures, but we have to figure out why.

Please keep my sweet boy in your thoughts so we can figure this out.

Priscilla Charles CPht and I have been watching all the kittens coming through ACCT for the past week or so. After losin...
08/07/2026

Priscilla Charles CPht and I have been watching all the kittens coming through ACCT for the past week or so. After losing Fireball, her kids were understandably upset. Although Priscilla and I love the old ones, they arenā€™t always the best for kids because of the eventual outcome.

We wanted to get the girls a kitten to finish out the summer to cheer them up. One night I saw a Code Green. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever seen a Code Green before. I texted Priscilla right away and then emailed ACCT. After this summer with health issues, it was nice to pull an ā€œeasy one.ā€ Hopefully I didnā€™t just jinx ourselves šŸ¤¦šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļøšŸ˜‚

The girls absolutely love her and sheā€™s the perfect energy level for Priscillaā€™s 4 year old ā™„ļø

This amazing little boy has been with us for 2 months todayšŸ§” He has been through so much, but is such a tough little fig...
08/05/2026

This amazing little boy has been with us for 2 months todayšŸ§”

He has been through so much, but is such a tough little fighter.

When I got him on June 5th, he could barely eat a teaspoon of food, slept all day and night, and acting nothing like a normal kitten. In these 2 months we:
(1) figured out his main issue, hypothyroidism instead of dwarfism
(2) got him on the right meds so that his body could start working for him instead of against him
(3) after lots of meds and enemas and procedures, basically healed his mega colon and got him pooping regularly
(4) got him eating 2 kitten sized cans of food a day and then finally cleaning himself after
(5) and completely transformed his personally into a typical, mischievous, excited, and silly normal kitten who loves to steal food, play, and cuddle

More than one vet said that he should have been dead by now. That the odds were stacked against him. But he proved them wrong. Thatā€™s how special he is.

We are still trying to figure out whatā€™s going on with his lungs (pneumonia vs asthma).

I am happy to say that he is completely back to normal from his neuro scare yesterday. That was utterly terrifying for me to go through. He didnā€™t know who I was. But luckily by the end of the night, he was back to his normal self. I am in communication with PASE to keep a close eye on him- hopefully this was just a one time occurrence and he wonā€™t have to go through that again.

I want to personally thank everyone who has donated to Dinkyā€™s care. He has spent a lot of month in these last two months, but I think we can agree that he was worth it. Thank you to everyone that has supported us in helping to truly save Dinkyā€™s life. I canā€™t begin to tell you how much I love him šŸ§”

Oh, I forgot one- he has started meowing ā™„ļø

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Philadelphia, PA
19111

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