Saving One Life volunteer Kelly Stinson hugs one of her foster cats, Hank, on Feb. 28, 2024, in Chandler. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – According to the annual Shelters Animal Count report, 41% of cats that ended up in Arizona shelters in the first quarter of this year were strays. There are many animal rights organizations that contribute to the well-being and care of these cats. Cronkite News followed volunteers from one organization to see what it takes to take a cat from the cold streets to a warm, safe home.
Saving One Life is a non-profit organization that cares for at-risk dogs and cats through foster and adoption programs. Anna Zhundrikova is a volunteer who helps coordinate the organization’s Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. According to Saving One life, he uses TNR to humanely capture feral cats and spay or neuter them in order to help decrease the population. Once the cats are cured, they will be returned to the colony in the area where they were trapped.
Zhundrikova spends many nights a week driving to different locations to feed homeless cats in Phoenix. Colony feeding, as it is known, usually occurs late at night when cats are most active. Zhundrikova said she continues to volunteer because she has compassion for animals and doesn’t want to see them suffer.
Zoe Zaine and Clover Kay are waiting to be adopted on February 14, 2024, at the Saving One Life location at PetSmart in Phoenix. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
“I’ve always been passionate about the community, no matter what that looks like, whether it’s animal-related or human-related, and this is just another one of those things that impacts us in a way that I think about a lot. people don’t realize,” Zhundrikova said.
Saving One Life distributes approximately 1,000 pounds of cat food per week to identified colonies, according to the website.
Many of the cats volunteers encounter will be trapped to determine if they are suitable for adoption or if they need to be spayed or neutered. If cats can no longer be domesticated because they have been in the wild for too long, Saving One Life will treat them for health problems, spay or neuter them, and then release them. Saving One Life supplies about 800 cats in the Phoenix area every day, according to its website.
Saving One Life volunteer Kelly Stinson weighs a cat as part of her needs as a foster parent on Feb. 28, 2024, in Chandler. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Promotion is another part of the group’s mission. Once a cat is trapped and deemed suitable for adoption, it is placed with a volunteer. Once a cat is in a foster home, it receives daily love, attention, and medical treatment, including flea baths and deworming medications, daily weight checks, and vaccinations for common illnesses.
Hank, one of Kelly Stinson’s foster cats, receives his worm medicine on February 28, 2024, in Chandler. Stinson fostered a total of 75 cats, and they all found homes. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Saving One Life volunteer Kelly Stinson said she never planned on adopting cats, but when her son started volunteering at PetSmart, she discovered her love for adoption.
“It’s great to be able to give back to the community in this way. It breaks my heart whenever I think about any animal that has been abandoned or abused, and being able to give a cat a chance to enter a loving home makes me feel like I am contributing,” said Stinson.
Jojo Wangler, 7, a Saving One Life volunteer, pets a cat on Feb. 14, 2024, at PetSmart in Phoenix. She volunteers with her mother, Rylie Wangler, and her sister to help cats and bond with her family. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Cats that need extra medical care are seen by veterinarians, and all cats are spayed or neutered before being adopted. Cats ready for adoption often come to PetSmart locations throughout Arizona or the Kitty Pause Kitty Café in Mesa. Rylie Wangler, a PetSmart volunteer, plays and cares for the kittens with her two daughters. She said volunteering is a way to bond with her children and that she enjoys seeing cats find loving homes. “I would say the next step for me is finding his forever home. It’s the whole process. It’s so exciting,” Wangler said.
From left, Hannah Galaxy, 10, and Cathy Christensen, volunteer at Saving One Life inside PetSmart in Phoenix on March 20, 2024. Christensen has been a volunteer for three years. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Saving One Life volunteer Kelly Stinson feeds cats at Kitty Pause Kitty Café in Mesa on February 28, 2024. Kitty Pause Kitty Café partners with Saving One Life on cat adoptions. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Cats sniff each other at Kitty Pause Kitty Café on February 28, 2024, in Mesa. (Photo by Mariah Temprendola/Cronkite News)
Saving one Life is a no-kill shelter, meaning it will provide all of the animals’ veterinary needs and will only consider euthanasia when all medical options have been exhausted, according to its website.
Stinson says it’s painful for her to see a defenseless animal abandoned. “I think some people are not prepared to believe that animals are on the same level as humans. This makes me very sad because people who put kittens in trash bags and throw them in the trash fail to see the animals as equals. I can’t relate to that,” Stinson said.
