Sarah Carolyn turned the space into a sanctuary for nine special-needs rescue cats
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- Sarah Carolyn turned her basement into a sanctuary for disabled rescue cats, spending $17,000 on renovations
- Sarah and her sister, Emily, care for nine cats with severe medical needs, including blind and paralyzed cats
- Sarah plans to create a larger sanctuary employing people with disabilities, inspired by Emily’s bond with the cats
Sarah Carolyn has been in animal rescue for six years. The former nurse shares that the running joke in her area of Rochester, N.Y., is that she’s the first person people call when they come across a stray cat who needs help.
Sarah is also the legal guardian of her sister Emily, who has Down Syndrome. The two make content together full time, live together and take care of their cats.
“In 2020, that’s when I first started rescuing. It started with cats and dogs, and then the rescue that I ended up spending years with transitioned to cats only because the need here is so great for cats. We have a feral cat problem,” Sarah tells PEOPLE.
Over the years, Sarah has taken in cats with “severe medical needs,” and with her nursing training, she would “be able to give fluids, IVs, steroid injections.” She adds, “anything you can think of, I was able to do.”…