Did you know that Ten Lives Cat Rescue is 100% volunteer powered? Since the rescue was founded in 2018, we have grown to include over 100 volunteers who dedicate their time and energy towards helping the cats and kittens in our community! Our volunteer team consists of fosters, adoption coordinators, transportation assistance (known as “cat cabs” to us!), fundraising and events, supply coordinators, and much more. Our team is passionate about saving cats, and we are so thankful they have chosen our rescue to help.
MEET SOME OF OUR VOLUNTEERS
Nancy is one of our Adoption Coordinators, who are responsible for reviewing adoption applications and working with fosters to match cats and their potential adopters. Nancy chose to volunteer with us because she loves cats, and she hopes that every homeless cat can find their forever loving home!
Linda has been volunteering for our rescue since June 2019. She is a foster, one of our Medical Records Coordinators, and a Supply Coordinator, and she helps at events and fundraising. She joined Ten Lives when she was looking for a new rescue to foster with. She chose Ten Lives because of the care and support we give to the cats/kittens and volunteers. Linda has fostered a newborn kitten who had to be bottle fed, a pregnant cat who had five kittens, a kitten with medical issues, several kittens, and many adult cats. She has had a lot of great experiences volunteering with us!
Ali is fortunate to have been a part of the Ten Lives team since 2018, when she began fostering her first cat, a one-eyed domestic long hair, Lily. Ali had her first “foster fail” after less than two weeks when she realize she could never say goodbye to Lily! Ali is so grateful to Ten Lives for helping bring Lily into her life. Inspired by our mission, she began volunteering as our Post-Adoption Coordinator. “Since starting with Ten Lives, it has been mind-blowing to see all the rescue has accomplished, and it’s amazing to be part of such an incredible team of people.” Ali still fosters cats, and she especially loves working with seniors and under-socialized cats. Last summer, she foster failed one more time and adopted Fernando, a kitten she cared for while he had ringworm.
Jillian became an Adoption Coordinator in September of 2020 after she and her boyfriend adopted their cat, Mochi! “He was rescued from a really unfortunate living situation that left him reactive and terrified. Mochi spent just under a year in the most incredible foster home.” His foster mom is a huge inspiration to Jillian because she stepped up to the plate for an animal that most people would have shied away from. In that time, she worked tirelessly to help him learn to trust humans and enjoy life again.
Jillian felt so much gratitude to Ten Lives Cat Rescue for giving Mochi a second chance that she filled out an application and has been volunteering with us ever since! It makes her so happy to help other cats find their forever homes. Jillian adopted her second cat, Moose, through our rescue and again had an amazing experience. This organization will always hold a place in her heart, and she’s honored to be a part of it.
Amy has been fostering with us for three years now, and it has been such a great experience for her whole family! Amy lost a very special cat named Lucky who could never be replaced, and at first, she was hesitant to even adopt again. However, she knew the best way to honor him would be to help save as many cats as possible. In her search for a new cat for her family, she came across Ten Lives and was impressed with their whole process. “It was so thorough, and they really give every single cat a fighting chance.” Amy didn’t really realize what foster-based rescues did, and she quickly learned that it only takes a spare room and a little love to help in such a big way. Amy is so proud to be a part of and grow with Ten Lives. She could not ask for a better experience for her young kids, either! “They have learned so much about patience and how to respect and care for animals through fostering.”
Aznif is more of a perinatal foster. She loves providing pregnant mommas a safe, warm, and worry-free environment to deliver their babies without any worries of searching and finding food for their newborns. Aznif loves watching momma cats care for their little ones through nursing, grooming, and cuddling with them. She also loves watching the kittens grow and reach all of their milestones as they transfer into friendly, loving kittens. Because of the nature of her job, fostering this group of felines suits Aznif best. Currently she is fostering two momma cats and 14 kittens! Aznif says she cannot wait to come home to them every day from work, and that it is such a rewarding and fulfilling experience. “I have worked with many rescues/shelters the past five years, but Ten Lives suits me the best because everyone involved does a wonderful job. Everyone gives the best of their best, and their leadership is always listening to the volunteers, their concerns (if any), and are always there to help to make everybody’s role easier. They listen and they care what we think, what we have to say, and they collaborate, communicate, and take action right away.”
Lauren volunteers with Ten Lives in numerous capacities: she is an Adoption Coordinator, a foster, she assists with fundraising and events and PetSmart cat care, and she is a cat cab driver. Lauren discovered our rescue through our cats at PetSmart, and since then, she has tried to help in any way she can. “You don’t have to look farther than my foster cat Jo to see why I volunteer with Ten Lives Cat Rescue.” Six-year-old Jo was trapped February of 2021, and has been in vet care ever since preparing for adoption. When Jo was trapped, he had lacerations to his leg, severe dental disease, chronic kidney damage, FIV, and infections. After the removal of his teeth due to his dental disease, his mouth still can’t heal completely, and he will be on medication for life. None of this had to happen, but we are thankful Jo is safe with Lauren.
Lauren is passionate about the management of feral cat colonies, and about finding the best forever homes for these cats that have been through so much unnecessary pain. She is proud to be part of a rescue that really gives these cats a tenth life. “I’ve watched a lady cry, begging us to take her cat with a degenerative neurological disease; she had tried everywhere but couldn’t find a no-kill shelter or rescue willing to take on this cat until finally she found us. Besides the amazing things the rescue does for cats, you won’t find a better group of people anywhere!”
Alissa joined Ten Lives after adopting her cats, Charlie and Ghost, in late 2018. She was impressed with how responsive our rescue was to her questions and messages, and became inspired to volunteer after going through the adoption process. She couldn’t imagine her life without Charlie and Ghost and will always be thankful to our rescue for saving her boys from an uncertain fate. Alissa is our Adoption Contracts Coordinator, assists and leads our fundraising and events team, and recently joined our Board of Directors.
Matt and Becky volunteer and foster for the underdog, the abandoned or neglected, and those who wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise. Little ones like Piccolina and Squiggy, who wouldn’t have had a fighting chance without someone stepping in. It’s also why they founded Rhode Island Kitten Kits, so that they could help on a larger scale, and support organizations like Ten Lives and all of the other amazing volunteers who give so selflessly of their time and resources. “Every little life matters… every little life counts… and they all deserve to know love. This is why we help.”
Hannah has been volunteering with Ten Lives Cat Rescue since March 2021. Hannah helps at PetSmart every Tuesday morning to check on the cats, and she volunteers at our adoption events on the weekends. As a volunteer at PetSmart, Hannah changes all the litter trays, makes sure the cats have clean water and fresh food, and when needed, ensures the cats have their special food or medicine. Most importantly, she spends time socializing and playing with each and every cat at the cat room to make sure they feel important and loved. When we have visitors to the cat room at Petsmart, Hannah has been able to educate them on the purpose of the rescue and what Ten Lives does to save the cats and kittens. Hannah also informs visitors of the process of fostering and the adoption process, which she says has been rewarding! “It makes me so happy to see cats that are often overlooked or neglected getting a second chance at life and a loving forever home. Being a volunteer, especially coming off two years of the pandemic, has given me back my self-confidence both in dealing with the cats and the people I have met at PetSmart. I also have made many friends in the rescue along the way!”
Hannah volunteers with Ten Lives because it gives her purpose and allows her to utilize different skills. She loves animals, especially cats, and she feels that spending time helping them find homes is so rewarding. “Being a volunteer has brightened up my life and I am so thankful every day for all the awesome people in the rescue!”
Kelsey volunteers with Ten Lives as an Adoption Coordinator as well as a PetSmart volunteer. Volunteering with Ten Lives was one of the best decisions she made after adopting her two Ten Lives cats (Zuzu and Winnie) and wanting to help other people with the same adoption process. Kelsey has so much fun helping the amazing cats find homes, and it’s always the best part of her week when she gets to go to PetSmart to visit some of the rescue cats who are up for adoption. One of Kelsey’s favorite things about volunteering is receiving emails and pictures from adopters who are thrilled to share updates about how their new fur family member is thriving at their forever home! Each of the Ten Lives volunteers gives so much time, energy, and love to these cats to help them find loving homes and she’s grateful to be a part of this awesome rescue!
If you are passionate about saving cats and the well-being of the cats in our community, join us! Apply to be a foster, fill out a volunteer application, learn about meow ways to help, and attend one of our events. We look forward to welcoming you!