Hotel in Colorado Cares for Cats of All Kinds
By William Mueller
When I first heard of the Evergreen Cat Lodge, it was 2022 and I was looking for a place to take care of my cat, Ash, during a family vacation. The lodge itself is nestled in the Rocky Mountains atop an inconspicuous winding dirt road in Evergreen, Colorado overlooking a 9-acre plot of land.
When you arrive, you are greeted by a rustic wooden house. The entrance is adorned in various cat statues and signs, letting you know that you are in the right place. From a small window beside the front door, you may get a glimpse of one of its residents.
Rooms at the Evergreen Cat lodge are rented out by clients, while the rest of the lodge is free to roam for any of the cats available for adoption. While the lodge is a business, they use their resources to help far more cats than just their customers. The Evergreen Animal Protective League is an organization that helps find homes for abandoned animals, they partner with the lodge to foster cats until they can find permanent homes.
Harry the cat sleeping atop the front desk of the Evergreen Cat Lodge on April 2, 2025. Harry lives at the lodge as a foster animal. Photo by William Mueller.
On my first visit to the lodge a tiny black kitten hopped its way up a chair and onto the front desk to greet me, and loudly meowed for attention. As I toured the lodge the kitten followed us around. The second floor of the lodge is accessible by climbing some steep stone stairs, and as we did, so too did the kitten. Bouncing up each individual step that was taller than he was, then doing the same thing back down a few minutes later.
The kitten had a snaggle-tooth that stuck out from his bottom jaw, enormous whiskers and a single tiny patch of white fur on his chest. He walked a little strangely and followed us everywhere we went, watching us with his big yellow eyes. His name was Chocolate and he had been brought to the lodge with two other kittens, one named Vanilla and the other, Strawberry.
At the end of the tour we asked what the kitten’s story was. We learned that he had suffered a traumatic head injury several weeks prior and had only just completed his recovery. The manager explained to us that he had been recovering in a kennel since the injury and was only recently allowed to explore the lodge. I was committed to not adopting more than one cat, but my willpower was broken by this little kitten. When I adopted him, we were warned that his injury could cause complications for him later in life.
Chocolate the cat exploring his new home in Littleton, Colorado on Nov. 11, 2022. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate and Ash meeting each other for the first time at their home in Littleton, Colorado on Nov. 11, 2022. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate and Ash napping next to each other at their home in Littleton, Colorado on Nov. 16, 2022. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate celebrating his first Christmas at his home in Littleton, Colorado on Dec. 25, 2022. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate at the Evergreen Cat Lodge in Evergreen, Colorado on Sep. 3, 2023. He returned to the lodge for two weeks while his family traveled. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate resting in the kitchen of his home in Littleton, Colorado on Oct. 25, 2023. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate asleep at his home in Littleton, Colorado on Jan. 9, 2024. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate asleep at his home in Littleton Colorado on July 2, 2024. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate yawning at his home in Littleton, Colorado July 30, 2024. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate and Ash hanging out by the window at their home in Littleton, Colorado on March 9, 2025. Photo by William Mueller.
Chocolate resting by the kitchen window of his home in Littleton, Colorado on May 4, 2025. Photo by William Mueller.
When I returned to the lodge in 2025 it was the same as I remembered it. I was greeted by the co-managers Jennifer Kesler and Krystyna Erwin and welcomed inside. Asleep atop the front desk was Harry the Cat. Before I could ask them any questions, they asked all about Chocolate wanting to hear as much as they could about him.
While the owners Susan and Mike Nocket live on the premises, co-managers Jennifer and Krystyna really run the day-to-day show. Susan joked before the interview “Point the camera at them, they’re the new faces of this place.”
Hoping to learn more about the lodge I sat down with both co-managers to learn more. Talking to Jennifer and Krystyna, their passion for cats was infectious as they gushed about the cats they care for at the lodge, and their own personal pets.
Jennifer Kesler posing for a photo in front of the Evergreen Cat Lodge in Evergreen, Colorado on April 2, 2025. Jennifer is one of the co-managers of the lodge. Photo by William Mueller.
Krystyna Erwin posing for a photo outside the Evergreen Cat Lodge in Evergreen, Colorado on April 2, 2025. Krystyna is one of the co-managers of the lodge. Photo by William Mueller.
When I asked how they got involved in such a unique place Jennifer Kesler said “I saw an Indeed posting for the job, and I couldn’t believe that this was an actual job that existed, to work for a cat hotel.”
Asking about what makes the lodge unique, Krystyna Erwin said “We are a cat hotel basically. We have 32 individual rooms, they’re all a different style, they're all unique.”
I wanted to learn a little bit more about the lodge’s partnership with the EAPL. “We also have what's called a cat room, which is at Chow Down, which is a pet store also in Evergreen,” said Krystyna, “Older cats go there for adoption, but sometimes they need to come here prior, so we’ll watch them until they’re ready to go to the cat room for adoption.”
After the interview, I was given a tour of the facility and introduced to some of its current residents. The rooms resemble a bedroom similar to one for a human, including a bed, a space heater, a window, or more depending on the room. The key difference is the size, each room is spacious for a cat but small for a person, meaning that the lodge has the space to house many cats at once, all in their own space.
A guest staying in one of the Evergreen Cat Lodge’s rooms in Evergreen, Colorado on April 2, 2025. Photo by William Mueller.
After touring the first floor rooms I was taken to the kitten room, which was exactly what you might expect. Ignoring the potent litter smell, inside was a mama cat and a basket of her kittens. The basket of babies hissed at me as I photographed them, although some of them couldn’t muster the energy to wake up.
Upstairs I saw two more cats asleep in their respective nooks. They both had been taken in by the lodge after being displaced and requiring medical attention. Despite their troubles, they seemed content enough to nap the afternoon away and pay me no mind. I briefly met with a pair of cats whose owners travel frequently, making them regular visitors at the lodge. As I went to leave the lodge for the day, Harry laid down and blocked my path, but after a minute or two of head scratches he finally let me on my way.
According to the Colorado Department of Agriculture by the end of 2023 there were 6,062 cats and kittens in shelters and foster care. There are many cats like Chocolate available for adoption from places like the Evergreen Animal Protective League. Older animals or disabled ones are often less likely to be adopted but are just as deserving. As of today Chocolate is happy, healthy and well-cared-for. Despite his challenges as a kitten, he is thriving and wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of people like the EAPL and the Evergreen Cat Lodge.