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Reverend Sheryl Ruthven was the group leader of the infamous religious group named Evas's Eden, who was accused of misleading people into a falsified dream of reincarnation.
As per the cult's ideals, cats were divine creatures who could redeem souls from the apocalypse. Evas's Eden started with a non-profit at a cat adoption home, which went on to transform into a rigid cult. The Curious Case Of... episode titled The Doomsday Cat Cult documents the complete story of Sheryl Ruthven.
The episode made its release on February 17, 2025, at 10:00 pm EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis of The Doomsday Cat Cult reads,
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"Sheryl Ruthven beguiles her followers into subservience and uses them to settle personal scores."
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What is the story of Sheryl Ruthven?
As per a Nashville Scene article published on September 8, 2016, Sheryl Ruthven, along with some people sharing transcendental ideologies, left the state of Washington back in 2013.
They went on to settle in the city of Columbia, Tennessee, and started a cat adoption home. Evas's Eden started in Columbia with the same work purposes as they did back in Blaine, Washington. The foster care mainly dealt with providing shelter to stray cats and getting the cats adopted.
As per Sheryl Ruthven, cats carry 144,000 souls, as mentioned in the book of Revelation. As per former followers of the cult, Ruthven provided them with a promise of a reincarnated messiah figure after the apocalypse, claiming to be Divine Magdalene.
Former followers of Evas's Eden revealed that they were made to worship Sheryl Ruthven, almost like a godlike figure. Some even went to the extent of leaving their own families to follow the commands of their cult leader.
As per the Nashville Scene article, these former followers of Evas's Eden started a Facebook page to expose the abusive side of the cult. On the surface, Ruthven and her followers disguised themselves as a cat foster home, which hosted adoption events at air-conditioned playgrounds.
However, Evas's Eden denies all the accusations made against them. They claimed that the former members were a hate group led by Sheryl Ruthven's ex-husband.
Where did Evas's Eden start?
The roots of Evas's Eden started back in the 1990s at a small Pentecostal church in Bellingham, Washington. Sheryl started preaching and soon gathered a group of dedicated followers.
During the early 2000s, Sheryl separated herself from the congregation and started her new church named Freedom Fire Ministries. Through her group of devoted followers, she eventually began imposing her rule.
Sheryl Ruthven began luring and dictating her followers and started banishing anybody who disobeyed any of her rules. As per the Nashville Scene article, Michelle Lamphier, one of the devoted followers of Sheryl, even went to the extent of disowning her teenage daughter, Shalyn, as per the cult leader's direction.
It was by 2005 that Sheryl Ruthven began imposing more rigid rules in the cult. They stopped celebrating Easter and Christmas overall and rather shared a preference for Jewish festivals.
The followers of the cult were made to bow down and worship before Sheryl Ruthven. As per the Nashville Scene article, former followers revealed that Sheryl would cut the tip of her finger and drip it into the cup. It was then filled with grape juice, which her followers drank.
How was Sheryl Ruthven exposed?
Sheryl Ruthven began the cat rescue business, which, on the surface, portrayed philanthropy. However, through Evas's Eden, she went on to expand her cult while saving themselves from law enforcement by disguising as a volunteer.
After Evas's Eden moved from Washington and shifted to Columbia, Tennessee, Sheryl declared the cult as a temple of God. As per the Nashville Scene article, Sheryl lost her cat, Eva, which prompted her to start her own cat rescue. She wrote in the website's description,
“Death had come, now I needed to embrace Life. How does one explain such a love to a world that sees animals only as animals? As I had studied and taught my people that of Egyptian Alchemy, I grew in reverence for their beliefs of honoring the Felines as vessels that arcanuide us through our passageway of life.”
The followers were required to foster cats and kittens. According to the Nashville Scene article, Rachael Gunderson, a former member, alleged that they “had to revere them more than ourselves and our families.” Ruthven would reportedly rebuke her followers if she deemed that the cats were not being properly looked after. In an email sent in January 2013, Ruthven wrote:
“Eva’s Eden is not a social gathering hour. It is the Temple of God. You are to enter with the reverence of what is sealed within its foundation and walls and wiery single Feline. You are to enter with Awe. You are to see each customer in there with discernment ... are they a Chosen?”
However, soon, the former followers of Sheryl's cult began exposing the rigid rules through which Evas's Eden dictated its followers. The Facebook page dedicated to exposing the cult began raising more questions about the authenticity of this cat foster home once Ruthven and her followers set it up in downtown Columbia.
Nashville Scene reported that while former followers and family members who were estranged due to Ruthven's diktat were feuding on Facebook, the cult gained attention on social media later that year in July. Rachael Gunderson, who was banished and her sister, Mary, cut off all ties with her due to Ruthven's orders, shared her story with the The Ex-Files, a podcast produced by a group called Life After God.
Nashville Scene reached out to shelter manager Nicole Walker, who is also Sheryl Ruthven's daughter-in-law, for an interview about the religious side of their group. Walker sent an email writing that she would have to contact the local sheriff and their lawyer and the FBI before making any comments since Eva’s Eden had been targeted in the past. She also added that they were looking into taking legal action against Ruthven's critics.
In an email dated August 11, Walker wrote,
“Thank you for your understanding, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
However, the very next day, Eva's Eden closed its website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. After this, Eva's Eden has mostly been an almost defunct group, with most of their events shutting down.
Check our other articles to learn details about more cases on Curious Case of… on Investigation Discovery.
