A few months ago, I started advising a student group at Maryville University called Partners for Animal Welfare (PAW). The mission of PAW is to increase students’ awareness of the issues surrounding animal welfare in modern society, unite students who have a desire to help animals, and focus on community-service with efforts on fundraising, lobbying, and volunteering to benefit animals.
The first big project PAW participated in was a project with Tenth Life Cat Rescue. At the visit, we toured their storefront facility and they talked to us about their mission. Tenth Life Cat Rescue saves stray cats and kittens in the St. Louis area, prioritizing those with special needs. We were able to interact with three of their rescue kitties, and spent some time cuddling and playing with them.
Tenth Life invited us to their store to help them spread awareness about their new Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. TNR is a humane and effective approach for controlling the population of stray and feral cats. It improves the lives of feral cats, improves their relationships with the people who live near them, and decreases the size of colonies over time. Cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinarian to be neutered and vaccinated. After recovery, the cats are returned to their home—their colony—outdoors.
Tenth Life asked us to help spread the word about this program to their community neighbors by canvassing their neighborhood handing out flyers. We went door-to-door down Cherokee Street in St. Louis, handing out pamphlets on their behalf. It was an exciting morning, and we got a lot accomplished. I’m proud of the group for helping Tenth Life further their mission!