My Nonprofit Reviews

One day a week this year, I spent volunteering at the physical shelter. While I've sung the praises of the shelter itself every year - this year, I also fostered 8 orphan neo-natal kittens for the nonprofit. It was a very busy year for rescuing kittens...kittens found by volunteers, kittens found by others and even a box of kittens left on our doorstep. I could not have done what I did without the support of the group. They covered the food, the formula, the veterinary care and made it possible for each kitten to safely find its way to their forever family.

I have now been a volunteer at Save The Cats Arizona for nearly four years. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to work with such a dedicated team of people and know that we make a difference in the lives of so many cats. STCAZ provides shelter in a free-roaming setting, sustenance, grooming and veterinary care for, currently, 68 cats. I cannot call them homeless - we are their home and their family. While it is our goal to see them ultimately in a more traditional home, we understand that for some this will not happen. No matter what - we reap the rewards of what we do every day. When a cat that was fearful of humans suddenly leaps into your lap, when a cat that is ill is returned to health or when a cat has been given up on by other humans and ends up proving them wrong by thriving in our care. It's always nice to know when you make a difference.

I started doing volunteer care at Save the Cats Arizona almost two years ago. It was my solution to combat the holiday blues from living so far away from family and okay...yes, to snuggle some kitties on the sly. I could not have predicted how that decision would change my life. When I first saw the shelter, I was a bit taken aback since my only experience with shelters, until that moment, involved cages and cinderblock walls. This shelter was a crazily built structure that was cobbled together by a mutual love for felines. Inside the chicken-wire walls, cats roamed freely, napped on cozy homemade cat shelves...the cement floor, a colorful clutter of perches and cubbies and jingly balls and scratching posts. It looked like my house (I have eleven cats). There was a barn in the yard that was cooled by air conditioning in the summer and kept warm in the winter. Yep! I knew instantly that I was going to make a lot of new friends...these are truly crazy cat people, like me. I don't know the exact number of cats the shelter holds at any given time, but I'd estimate maybe 50-60. I have a pretty good memory and know most of their names - except for the black cats - why is it so hard to tell one of them from the other? Every day, twice a day - the help (that's the volunteers, but the cats told me "the help" sounded better so I took their "advice") visit to take care of all the essentials like: food, water, sanitation, snuggles, treats...picture taking...you know...the basics. We're a family...every human, every cat...we celebrate our successes, mourn our losses and just...well, take care of each other.