VAN NUYS : Pets for Life Shelter Seeks a New Home

It could be curtains for 400 formerly homeless, feral and sick cats living in a house in Van Nuys.

Doris Romeo, the founder of Pets for Life--described by officials as the largest cat shelter of its kind in Los Angeles--said she has been asked to move all her feline friends from the house on Valjean Avenue within the next two weeks.

The owner of the deteriorated, quake-battered property wants to sell the property, and recently received a good offer. Romeo, a Beverly Hills businesswoman, and her live-in assistant, Charyne Anderson, a former hair model, have been frantically seeking new digs for the cats. So far, they have no leads.

“We have no place to go, and the cats would have to be euthanized, let go, or given to other shelters,” Romeo said. “The cats basically would be homeless again.”

Romeo and Anderson have rescued hundreds of cats from all parts of Los Angeles and are well-known by animal regulatory officials, veterinarians and shelter organizations.

Two years ago, Romeo rented the one-story house in an industrial section near Van Nuys Airport to house the cats. Many of the animals were born wild and were trapped by Romeo and Anderson, spayed or neutered, and given a home. Others suffer from feline leukemia or feline immune system deficiency and live in isolated rooms in the house, receiving daily medication and care.

Though Romeo’s lease doesn’t expire until November, the landlord has asked her to vacate the premises as soon as possible. The move is a financial and logistic nightmare for Romeo, who spent $50,000 building an addition to the house and enclosing yards with chain-link fencing, among other improvements.

“I have no quarrel with the landlord,” Romeo said. “She waited for the rent when we were late. She got a good offer, and she doesn’t want to miss her opportunity. She gave us the right of first refusal, and we could have bought the place, but we can’t afford it. We don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Romeo’s landlord, Susan Brown, said she is sympathetic to the plight of the cats. Brown once ran an electrical contracting business out of the house, but moved to a new location and rented the place to Romeo.

“We never intended to be landlords,” Brown said. “This offer [to buy the building] was unsolicited. And they’re putting a lot of pressure on us to do this as soon as possible,” she said, referring to the real estate company.

For information about Pets for Life, write to Romeo at P.O. Box 10124, Beverly Hills 90213.