Stray kittens at Ko Olina

[Eli Mairs]

Please don't flame me for this post. I know that it's not a pleasant topic.
I have three cats at home and I'm an animal lover.
At several of our Marriott exchanges over the years, I have encountered stray or feral cats.
It always has a negative impact on my vacation, as it becomes somewhat of a focus - worrying about them, and feeling obligated to feed them.
I'm at Ko Olina right now.
There are two beautiful grey kittens, maybe 10 weeks old, two older kittens, around 5-6 months old and an older cat. They may all be related. Three of them, the babies and one older kitten are always together, and hang out at the Moana building barbecue. They are a bit shy, but certainly not feral. They are always hungry and scrounging for food.
The babies are not old enough to fend for themselves.
Many people at the barbecue are oblivious to them, and some tell me not to feed them, which is disturbing to me.
Please look out for them if you are going to be at Ko Olina, or any other resort where you see homeless cats.
I wish that Marriott would partner with local shelters to find homes for those beautiful cats, or at least arrange to have them spayed and neutered. These ones would be adopted in a heartbeat, and I would take them home if I could.

 

[disneymom1]

I know how you feel. We saw a family of feral cats at Surfwatch (Hilton Head). As animal lovers, we felt sorry for them and did leave them some food. We asked the staff about the cats and were informed on the backside of the property, the Marriott staff takes care of them by putting out bowls of cat food for them. Interesting, Disney has feral cats which helps Disney keep down the rodent population. Guests rarely see them, but they are there.
Hawaii apparently has a significant feral cat population. Lanai has a cat sanctuary which is home to nearly 500 felines, aka "Hawaiian lions." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaii-lanai-cat-sanctuary_us_57a27f62e4b0e1aac914bb70.

 

[bazzap]

Please don't flame me for this post. I know that it's not a pleasant topic.
I have three cats at home and I'm an animal lover.
At several of our Marriott exchanges over the years, I have encountered stray or feral cats.
It always has a negative impact on my vacation, as it becomes somewhat of a focus - worrying about them, and feeling obligated to feed them.
I'm at Ko Olina right now.
There are two beautiful grey kittens, maybe 10 weeks old, two older kittens, around 5-6 months old and an older cat. They may all be related. Three of them, the babies and one older kitten are always together, and hang out at the Moana building barbecue. They are a bit shy, but certainly not feral. They are always hungry and scrounging for food.
The babies are not old enough to fend for themselves.
Many people at the barbecue are oblivious to them, and some tell me not to feed them, which is disturbing to me.
Please look out for them if you are going to be at Ko Olina, or any other resort where you see homeless cats.
I wish that Marriott would partner with local shelters to find homes for those beautiful cats, or at least arrange to have them spayed and neutered. These ones would be adopted in a heartbeat, and I would take them home if I could.

Some MVC resorts do partner with local shelters, for example Club Son Antem, and that works well.
Feeding the cats yourselves in bbq or other guest areas is a problematic issue though, as they will then inevitably gather there with an expectation of being fed and this will impact on other guests experience or even health if they have allergies.

 

[Eli Mairs]

Some MVC resorts do partner with local shelters, for example Club Son Antem, and that works well.
Feeding the cats yourselves in bbq or other guest areas is a problematic issue though, as they will then inevitably gather there with an expectation of being fed and this will impact on other guests experience or even health if they have allergies.

Well, they were gathering there before we arrived, probably due to the smell of the food.
Of course, it will impact other guests' experience, but only if they are sensitive to to the fact that these kittens are hungry, which, from my observation, is minimal.
The kittens are shy enough that they will not come close to people who do not want to interact with them, so those with allergies need not worry.

 

[bazzap]

Well, they were gathering there before we arrived, probably due to the smell of the food.
Of course, it will impact other guests' experience, but only if they are sensitive to to the fact that these kittens are hungry, which, from my observation, is minimal.
The kittens are shy enough that they will not come close to people who do not want to interact with them, so those with allergies need not worry.

I am certainly not convinced, I suspect we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Eli Mairs]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaii-lanai-cat-sanctuary_us_57a27f62e4b0e1aac914bb70.

Thanks for this link. What an awesome place!
We support a sanctuary close to our home in Ontario, Canada. The many cats there, even those who are never adopted, live out their lives in comfort, with warm shelter and food.

 

[VegasBella]

Here is a link with some useful info for the animal-lovers here:
http://www.hawaiihappycats.com/Get-Involved.html

 

[TXTortoise]

Lanai Cat Sanctuary ....

If you're on Maui, the Lanai ferry is an easy 45 minute trip to check out the Sanctuary and eat lunch in town...at a minimum.

https://www.ralphmawyerphotography.com/Travel/Hawaii/Cats-of-Lānaʻi-Hawaii-2019/

 

[hajjah]

Is there any updated information about the cats at Ko’Olina? We'll be there next month and have severe allergic reactions and phobias around cats. Are they mostly in a particular area so that I can request to be in a unit where they aren’t known to frequent? I certainly would not want to have any issues while I’m on vacation and after traveling so far to get there from the south. When we stayed at the Marriott near Disneyland Paris two years ago, I notified the resort ahead of time after reading about the cats on TUG. The resort placed us in a unit that was at the entrance and I never saw a cat during our 9 days.

 

[davidvel]

Is there any updated information about the cats at Ko’Olina? We'll be there next month and have severe allergic reactions and phobias around cats. Are they mostly in a particular area so that I can request to be in a unit where they aren’t known to frequent? I certainly would not want to have any issues while I’m on vacation and after traveling so far to get there from the south. When we stayed at the Marriott near Disneyland Paris two years ago, I notified the resort ahead of time after reading about the cats on TUG. The resort placed us in a unit that was at the entrance and I never saw a cat during our 9 days.

You should probably make the same request, but do not expect to be free of cat dander or hair. Most warm climate beach areas have some type of feral cat population. If you have severe allergic reactions to cats, you should seek qualified medical advice as to whether you should visit a resort where cats are known to congregate.

Understanding you have allergies, but I can't imagine having a fear of cats otherwise, as our family are cat lovers and rescuers.

 

[hajjah]

Thanks so much for your advice. I've been time sharing since 1998, and have only had a problem once while vacationing in St Thomas because the resort manager was a cat rescuer. Cats were all over that resort, even on top of and under the guests cars in the parking lot. There is no way for me to ever know if a resort is known to have a lot of stray cats unless someone mentions it here on TUG or other websites. I appreciate knowing this so I can make the right choices if I know there might be a problem for me health wise.

 

[bazzap]

Thanks so much for your advice. I've been time sharing since 1998, and have only had a problem once while vacationing in St Thomas because the resort manager was a cat rescuer. Cats were all over that resort, even on top of and under the guests cars in the parking lot. There is no way for me to ever know if a resort is known to have a lot of stray cats unless someone mentions it here on TUG or other websites. I appreciate knowing this so I can make the right choices if I know there might be a problem for me health wise.

You really should not have to limit your MVC stay options though for concerns about stray cats at the resorts and the impact these may have on your holiday because of your allergies...
Resort managers can’t prevent them totally from being on site and at some rural resorts they are viewed as necessary to prevent vermin problems.
However, even then, they should be managing them in a controlled way and not encouraging them with any feeding near the accommodation units.

 

[clifffaith]

Worldmark on the Big Island has cats. We had a nice friendly one join us on the lanai every night for dinner, then he'd hang out on the patio furniture. When we'd come in at the end of the day, he'd be watching for us. The staff had a feeding station somewhere on property, but our guy had learned to scrounge from cat lovers for extra treats. We also love finding a shop cat on vacation. Always ask the cat's name, and if we are in the area again go back to visit the cat. Helps tide us over until we get back home to our fur children.

 

[bazzap]

Worldmark on the Big Island has cats. We had a nice friendly one join us on the lanai every night for dinner, then he'd hang out on the patio furniture. When we'd come in at the end of the day, he'd be watching for us. The staff had a feeding station somewhere on property, but our guy had learned to scrounge from cat lovers for extra treats. We also love finding a shop cat on vacation. Always ask the cat's name, and if we are in the area again go back to visit the cat. Helps tide us over until we get back home to our fur children.

That really is part of the problem when some owners and guests give stray cats treats at their MVC accommodation and allow them on the furniture.
Perhaps consider the impact on others who have allergies to cats?

 

[Pompey Family]

Worldmark on the Big Island has cats. We had a nice friendly one join us on the lanai every night for dinner, then he'd hang out on the patio furniture. When we'd come in at the end of the day, he'd be watching for us. The staff had a feeding station somewhere on property, but our guy had learned to scrounge from cat lovers for extra treats. We also love finding a shop cat on vacation. Always ask the cat's name, and if we are in the area again go back to visit the cat. Helps tide us over until we get back home to our fur children.

Our youngest son has recently been diagnosed with quite a severe allergy to cats. We now understand why he consistently suffered bad croup and other allergic responses when visiting Son Antem, turns out previous occupants allowed the stray cats to enter the property. There are signs in the property and within the resort that inform guests not to feed the cats or allow them into the villas but some people arrongantly think the rules don't apply to them.

The resort and accommodation is not yours and therefore you should not be allowing stray animals into the accommodation as if they were pets. As Barry has suggested, please be aware of people who are allergic to cats.

 

[hajjah]

I am so relieved that some of you truly understand my dilemma. If Eli Mairs had not posted the update about Ko’Olina, I would have been unaware of the cats. Now, I can let the resort know in advance of my health issues so that they can advise me to stay clear of certain areas. I try not to let issues prevent me from having a good time while on vacation, but I certainly do not want to be sick either.

 

[brianfox]

We see the same orange and white popoki every time we visit Ko Olina. When we stayed at the Kona Coast TS, we saw that the resort had built a little cat house on grounds and put the lettering "Popoki Palace" on the front. From our balcony we would watch the cats chasing mongooses each morning.