New hope for Last Hope

Everything in the back of this horse trailer has been donated to the Last Hope Cat Kingdom in Atwater.

One week ago Friday smoke from an electrical fire in this office entered these adjacent rooms killing 69 cats in their sleep.

Help is pouring in from all over the state.

"I am involved in cat rescue up in the Bay area," said Barbara Kohn, from San Mateo, who writes an online column about cats.

She read about the fire at the sanctuary. "I'm going to continue to write about this so people will know more and more about what people are doing down here in Atwater to help these animals because a lot of animals are suffering. More than ever with the economy," Kohn said.

Property manager Travis Mask said last hope is receiving more than just food, blankets and money donations.

"We've had some people coming up to adopt and we're thankful for all of those who are fostering for us. It's been a wonderful overwhelming experience following the horrible tragedy. It has just...we can not thank people enough. We're very grateful," Mask said.

The smell of smoke is still very strong in these rooms and there's lots of moisture in the air. Until those two things are dealt with the owners of the sanctuary do not want to allow cats in here on a permanent basis.

Hope is slowly but surely being restored to this licensed non-profit shelter.

The owners said it will take time to recover from this estimated $25,000 loss.