THE MEOW SQUAD
Meet the cadre of elite caregivers and companions for your cat!
Susan Cesarini
CFMG/OWNER
Susan is the owner of The Cat Chalet, a beautiful luxury boarding and grooming resort for the refined feline in Reno, NV. She is a pioneer in the national cat boarding movement, having created a culture for top notch care at her former boarding facility, which was one of the first cat exclusive boarding resorts in the nation.
All grooming services are performed by Susan, Certified Feline Master Groomer. Look no further for a cat groomer who is more skilled in handling and passionate about cats! Susan is a first generation American and the Founder/Director of Feline Rescue of Northern Nevada, a non-profit that has provided valuable services to cats in need in our community.
Over the years, she has formed amazing relationships with her feline guests as well as their human companions, offering them peace of mind while they are away from home. Some of her most rewarding experiences are to see cats she has rescued and rehomed over the years come back to her care as boarding and grooming guests!
Her former Feline Sanctuary & Adoption Center was home to an average of 30 residents and her community outreach programs offered assistance to cats such as low cost spay/neuter, a cat food bank program and transitional boarding to families who suddenly became homeless or those fleeing domestic violence situations. Currently, Susan assists those who need help with their cats during community disasters, such as flooding or fire, by offering free boarding services to feline evacuees, giving their families one less thing to worry about as they are forced to evacuate their homes.
Susan also served on the City of Reno Animal Services Task Force for improving conditions for homeless cats. She was also presented with a nomination for the Red Cross “Real Animal Hero” award and received commendations for her commitment and dedication to helping cats in her community from Senator Harry Reid, Congressman Mark Amodei and Senator Dean Heller.
During Susan’s free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking and stand-up paddling. She also enjoys sneaking off to Maui at any given opportunity. From the little cats to the big cats, Susan hopes to return to Africa to further lion research projects designed to protect the lives of African lions and other endangered and threatened species throughout the African continent.
Stefanie Holder
RESORT MANAGER
Stefanie is a life long cat lover and has yet to live a day of her life without being owned by a cat! Her professional adventures in cat care started as a teenager, working alongside her mom to trap, neuter and return feral cats and kittens in her neighborhood.
Stefanie spent countless hours cuddling feral kittens to socialize them so they could be adopted and become loving, social family members in their new homes. If you have ever tried to tame a feral kitten, you know what a challenge this can be! All of her effort and hard work helped create a local nonprofit, Feline Rescue of Northern Nevada.
Stefanie then joined the cat exclusive boarding resort that was owned by her mom at the time. She quickly became the resort manager, using her finely tuned cat rescue skills to provide only the best of care to the boarding guests entrusted to her by our clients. Stefanie easily juggled multiple hats by swiftly shifting gears from resort manager to sanctuary manager, going back and forth from each neighboring facility all day long.
Currently, Stefanie manages all aspects of the feline operations at The Cat Chalet as well as handles concierge services for our clients.
During Stefanie’s free time, she enjoys reading, diamond art and other crafty projects.
Martha Shinn
FELINE CARETAKER
Martha is an immigrant from Aschach, Germany. Being a child who grew up in Nazi Germany, hard work and survival are no stranger to her. She is the hardest working woman we know and the creator of our family’s passion of all things cat related!
Many of you will remember Martha from her years of service with Feline Rescue of Northern Nevada, where she was the driving force behind our cat care package community outreach program. Martha was in charge of making sure there were enough cat care packages for struggling families, reducing the need for families to surrender their cats to shelters due to financial hardships.
Martha’s cat care duties at The Cat Chalet include socializing first time boarding guests to help them transition to our resort environment. When you see Martha at The Cat Chalet, we speak mostly German so don’t be surprised if your cat returns home learning a few words in German!
Martha enjoys working in her flower and vegetable garden. She also enjoys her craft projects using recycled and upcycled materials for the home and garden. Over the years, she has made the most beautiful Christmas ornaments that are displayed on Christmas trees all around the world!
Gary Bell
OFFICE ASSISTANT / DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Gary provides office help on days that we are busy and he is our go-to technology guru whenever we have a computer issue. Due to being allergic to cats (HA!), his duties are primarily in the front-of-the-house but he’s always willing to jump in to clean a few litter boxes when needed. Keeping us well stocked with cat litter and other supplies is his specialty! Gary also assists with managing our family properties, orchestrating needed repairs and making sure our facilities are well maintained and running smoothly.
During Gary’s free time, he enjoys camping, cooking, wine tasting and spending time with his wife, Kelli.
Mason
CAT COMFORTER / CHALET ASSISTANT
Mason is part of the younger generation of our family business and has proven to be quite productive in his cat-care chores as he enters his teen years. Mason occasionally spends time at The Cat Chalet on weekends and during school breaks. His chores include tracking litter box usage and making sure every guest has a clean litter box from the moment it is used. He provides excellent special care to our guests who need extra attention, like kittens or geriatric guests who just need a bit more cuddle time. Additionally, Mason is learning some office procedures to perform general office duties like updating our daily schedule and getting guests checked in on the computer.
During Mason’s free time, he enjoys riding his bike, playing computer games, flying drones and finding treasures at thrift stores with his grandma (Susan).
Ciera
FUNDRAISING PRINCESS
Ciera is our youngest family member and has a promising future in the feline world. Her occasional chores at our family business include doing dishes and laundry. She also provides brushing services and lap time naps to some of our senior cats. Ciera’s primary duties include generating donations for local non-profit cat rescue groups and making cat themed gift baskets for animal non-profit silent auctions and raffles. Since inception in 2022, her annual holiday cat food/litter drive has successfully provided thousands of pounds of food and litter to cats in need. You can look for announcements of her fundraising programs during the holiday season on our website and Facebook page.
During Ciera’s free time, she enjoys participating in gymnastics, whipping up new recipes in the kitchen and hiking adventures with her grandma (Susan). She also enjoys cleaning her bedroom and organizing her toys (strange, we know!).