A difficult divorce, a house that needed repairs, losing a job, not knowing where to go or what to do, Lisa Bender was thinking of going to New York, while getting someone to work on her house. That was a year ago. But that was just the beginning of Bender’s spiritual journey that led her to open Rainbow Kittihood Kitten & Cat Bed n’ Breakfast, something she never thought she would be doing.
“I am a spiritual person. I feel like I am in a more magical phase in my life where I decided I was going to try and make magic,” she said.
Bender did not go to New York after realizing she needed someone in the house, and someone take care of her two cats. So, Bender said she decided she would talk to all her “magical people” in search of answers.
Bender said Ginseng Yoga in South Park and Kula Yoga in Chula Vista are important spaces for her, and that they were full of the type of people she wanted to talk to about her future.
She said it was a good friend, and yoga teacher that came through.
“She got into her magical self and remembered one of her very close friends lives in a house where he was doing repairs for someone,” said Bender.
This led to her meeting Charles. They met Bender at her house and while talking, he was looking around the house, and noticed that she had cats. Charles was good friends with Kirk and Kathleen Lorraine, owners of San Diego Cat BNB. Charles thought Bender should open a cat bed and breakfast.
“I am thinking yuck!” she said. “I do not want a cat hotel. I do not need more cats. I have two old cats and when they are gone, I will think about what will happen next, but lots of cats is not it.”
Bender said though she did not even like the idea, she is at a point in her life where she is willing to listen. She said Charles asked her to meet Kat, that her business was great, she needed help, had lots of overflow, so Bender agreed to meet with her.
Bender said when she went, they lived in a stunning Balboa Park house, and when she went in the house, there were no cats. Then she saw cats go through the kitchen, across a balcony. Then Kathleen gave her a tour.
“She takes me through this beautiful house, she opens a door, and it is a small room, and there is a cat sitting in the middle of the room.”
Bender said the tour continued like this with many rooms for cats and she was astounded because the cats are in separate rooms and there was no trace of the hotel in the main part of her house.
Bender realized that she had three unused bedrooms upstairs in her own house, and a dining room that she never used. She called it the cat room. She said when she realized this, the wheels in her head just started spinning. She agreed to convert her cat room, to see if this idea would work.
“It was not a lot of work, there was nothing in the room, so I just had to make it beautiful for cats. Then boom! She had cats that needed boarding,” said Bender.
Bender then fixed one bedroom upstairs, and instantly, she had cats. All the time. But she discovered more about herself as she grew this small business of boarding cats.
“I was indeed a cat whisperer,” she said. “What was happening was extra evolutionary experiences for the guest, and for me. I was learning about the animals. I was helping their human parents. They each have their own kitty karma, kitty trauma, the each need their own kitty healing, they each go through pet lag, because it takes them time to adjust to a new space. It is an amazing process. I bring a continuation of love.”
Bender said the cats understand that they are in a safe place and that she is there to provide loving care.
“They take their time and warm up to me,” she said. “And then, we play, we snuggle, we do all the crazy things that they do, but know they are doing it away from their home and from someone who is not their parent. It is absolutely amazing.”
Now, “Mama Lisa,” and her Rainbow Kittihood B n’ B has the Rainbow Room, Kittigund Room, Lenny’s Den, the Fortune Sky Room, and the Greater Chitzceniza for the rare free roaming guests. And Bender still has another bedroom upstairs to convert. She plans on developing kitty day care, Catty Cat Teatime, and Cat Yoga. Bender plans on beginning to foster kittens as well.
“People bring their cats to a cat bed and breakfast the same way they would board their cats in a cat boarding facility for various reasons,” she said. “People can come in and feed your cats, but they will not take the time to play with them. If you take them to a boarder, they are stuck in a little cage. This is cage free, stress free cat boarding. We have regulars, that travel often and bring their cats for the weekend. We have people that leave for a long time and they want consistency with their babies. Some want their cats to have some socialization. Bringing your cats to a place where they do not have a trauma experience, the cats grow.”
For more information about “Mama Lisa’s” Rainbow Kittihood Kitten & Cat Bed n’ Breakfast, visit www.rainbowkittihood.com.
