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Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue owner RIta Bowman with "the mayor" kitty of the rescue on her shoulders. Photo courtesy of Rita Bowman.
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Photos by Kamp Fender.
Co-founder Rita Bowman shows Sunbeam, one of 55 cats currently housed by the facility. Bowman has been in the rescue business for more than 40 years and has written two children’s books focusing on compassion and caring.
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The cats of Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue in Hoover, Alabama on Mar. 10, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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The cats of Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue in Hoover, Alabama on Mar. 10, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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The cats of Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue in Hoover, Alabama on Mar. 10, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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The cats of Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue in Hoover, Alabama on Mar. 10, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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The cats of Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue in Hoover, Alabama on Mar. 10, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
Rita Bowman’s practice of rescuing cats has been a lifetime labor of love, but a physical test made her realize it was her purpose.
“I always wanted to open up a hospice for cats,” Bowman said. “When I developed cancer, I decided to quit the corporate world.”
Bowman started working with local rescues and opened Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue 9 years ago. Then, ‘on a wing and a prayer,’ Rita says, the haven moved to its current Hoover location in 2019. While 60 cats reside there at one time, the shelter helps over 300 cats and kittens find foster or adoptive parents.
“People come to me after adopting and say, ‘Rita, I needed this cat.’ So it’s like I am saving people too,” Bowman said.
Her haven has won awards for its efforts and humanitarian treatment of the rescues. Bowman proudly upholds the “no-kill, cage-free” label.
“For me, it’s about waking up every morning and knowing that I have a mission,” Bowman said. “I was a survivor, and so are these cats.”
To support Bowman’s mission, adopt/donate online or sign up for the 5K Meow-A-Thon and a 1-mile Whisker Walk fundraiser, held May 10 at Veterans Park.
