A fire that broke out at a longtime cat sanctuary in a town 50 miles east of New York City on Monday killed its founder and more than 100 previously rescued felines.

Chris Arsenault, 65, known as the “Cat Man” for his work at the Happy Cat Sanctuary on his property in the Long Island town of Medford, was found dead in a back room of the shelter.

“I’ve been told that there are in excess of 100 cats, both living and deceased,” Suffolk County Police Chief of Detectives William Doherty said. “We haven’t determined the exact number of deceased and surviving cats.”

Approximately 150 cats are believed to have survived the morning blaze, according to Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Some of the surviving felines suffered from burns and smoke inhalation and were taken to area animal hospitals for treatment, Gross said Tuesday.

The fire broke out at Arsenault’s home at about 7:15 a.m. EDT, according to Suffolk County police.

“He was trying to put the fire out and he kept going back in and out of the house to get cats out, and then he went in and he didn’t come out,”  said Lisa Jaeger, a Happy Cat Sanctuary volunteer. “He would come out, he would go in and out with his last breath because that’s who he was.”

Arsenault founded Happy Cat Sanctuary in 2006 after the death of his 24-year-old son, Eric, in a motorcycle accident. He described finding his calling when he came across 30 sick kittens and nursed them back to health.

Gross said Arsenault gave over much of the house to the cats, living in a room with a bed, microwave and a small refrigerator.

“Every dime he had he put into taking care of those cats,” Gross said. “His life was the cats.”

© 2025 Cox Media Group