Ten Lives Club needs community help to adopt cats

July 23, 2024

BLASDELL, NY (WKBW) — The Ten Lives Club’s doors are closed for now, and it’s asking the community to help adopt as many cats and kittens as possible because it’s overwhelmed with taking in new intakes.

The shelter has been very busy lately as there are so many cats waiting to be adopted, so we are asking for your help in adopting or even fostering some of the cats.

Founder Marie Edwards told 7 News reporter Yoselin Person that over 1,500 cats were adopted earlier this year.

“We currently have over 700 cats in our program, in foster homes and at the shelter,” she says. “That’s a lot of cats.”

Marie says they hope to reopen on August 6, but need more empty cages.

“We’ve had so many in the last week, it’s been crazy,” says Marie. “The other day, 26 people came in with cats, we took them all and didn’t want to say no.”

But why are so many cats given away?

“This year we’ve had a lot of evictions. A lot of people have left their cats at home or in the apartment complex,” she adds. “The property managers call and say someone left them behind. This year was the worst year ever in terms of evictions.”

Elyse Kochmanski has recently become a foster cat mother.

She looks after nine children from the Ten Lives Club.

“I’m just really glad I started fostering now because they really need help. At home I have these boys who are about 13 weeks old and I have some three-week-old little babies that were brought to me.”

“Donations of all kinds, like Purina kitten food or Purina cat food, are exactly the things the cats really need right now,” says Makenna Lederhouse, PR marketing coordinator for the Ten Lives Club.

Every single dollar comes from donations, surrender fees or adoptions.

“And speaking of surrender fees, someone brought us six cats today and we got $70 for six cats. But how far does $70 go for six cats?” says Marie.

If you are interested in adopting, the shelter has reduced its prices:

Kittens cost $195.

Adult cats cost $90.”

“We’re just trying to get cats adopted, get their cases processed and hopefully make room for more intakes so we can help the strays out there,” Makenna says.

The Ten Lives Club is hosting an adoption event at the Walden Galleria in two weeks.

Click here to stay updated on the adoption event.