In March, Ten Lives hit an incredible milestone: in less than four years’ time, we completed our 1,000th adoption! Over the last four years, our rescue has grown to include over 90 volunteers – including fosters, adoption coordinators, community cat heroes, and more! Through it all, we remain committed to our mission of changing the lives of cats in our community while inspiring change.
Our 1,000th adopted cat, Scotchy, joined Ten Lives in October 2021 at approximately two months old. Scotchy was extremely frightened when he came to our rescue and required a lot of socialization. His foster family, Donna and Pete, are familiar with cats like Scotchy, and took on the task of acclimating him to humans and the comforts of indoor life. While he was hissy and mainly hid, he never once swatted or tried to bite his foster family – he was just scared. Donna and Pete began to see his transformation through the use of positive reinforcement, like tasty treats and toys, and with a little help from their resident cats. Soon, they found that Scotchy LOVES to play with anything he can get his paws on! Scotchy also became best friends with Donna and Pete’s resident dog, Ziva. Scotchy would rather play with Ziva than the other resident cats, although Donna says he also has their “geriatric, cranky” female cats running around playing, as well!
While Scotchy warmed up to Donna fairly quickly, he was much slower to warm up to Pete. However, Pete played with him constantly and worked hard to gain his trust. In early March, everything suddenly clicked for Scotchy and he realized that he was safe and loved in his foster home. He began to follow both Donna and Pete around, and now constantly demands to be pet. His hissing has turned into purring, and he wraps himself around their legs if they stand in one place for too long. Scotchy has transformed into a funny, active, curious kitten, and Donna and Pete fell in love with him. Soon, they made the decision that they couldn’t say goodbye! Scotchy is part of their family now, and they are so glad to give him a loving, safe home.
Cats like Scotchy are the reason why Ten Lives was founded. If you’ve been a part of our journey over the last four years, you know that we are extremely dedicated to giving a second chance to those who have been forgotten. Seniors, physically and emotionally scarred, behaviorally challenged, and those in need of critical medical care—all cats are welcome, loved, and cared for in our rescue. Our Forgotten Feline program was created to specifically help scared and under socialized cats and give them the support they need to blossom. We truly believe these cats are worth saving, and through socialization sessions, positive reinforcement, time, patience, and persistence, our fosters and volunteers witness remarkable breakthroughs – big and small.
Congratulations to all 1,000 of our adopted cats! We cannot wait to help the next 1,000, and we hope you will consider joining us! To join our dedicated team of volunteers, please take a look at our volunteer roles, apply to become a foster, and/or view the Meow Ways to Help section of our website. We look forward to welcoming you!