Cats for Life, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving and saving the lives of stray and abandoned cats in the Greater Houston, Harris County area. We rescue these cats and take them to veterinarians to spay/neuter them, combo test them for feline leukemia and FIV,  shots and deworming. They live in our homes until such time as they are adopted to responsible, loving homes. They are treated with as much love and respect as our own personal cats. We know their personalities well, and we are able to  match cats with our adopters' needs and wants. We want our adopters to be happy, our adopted cats to be happy and, if applicable, the adopters' own personal cat/cats to be happy with the choice of our cats as companions for the adopters' cat/cats. We are only able to do this work with tax-deductible donations from the public.

It is also very important for Cats for Life, Inc. to educate and disseminate information on the extreme importance of responsible pet ownership and the importance of spay/neuter. This is the answer to solving the problem of pet overpopulation nationwide and especially in the Houston, Harris County area where we currently euthanize approximately 100,000 animals per year. Don't blame the shelters. They only have so much room, and there is no other place to house these wonderful animals. A lot of these animals are strays, but a large percentage of them are also owner turn-ins.

I (Mary Kay) have always loved and been passionate about all animals but especially cats. My mom was way ahead of her time when it came to compassion toward animals and realizing the importance of spay and neuter. My brothers and I grew up in the 1950's and 1960's in a small town, Kilgore, Texas. During that time any animals that were brought into our household were immediately spayed or neutered, male or female, and became members of our family. My mother taught me love, respect and compassion for all animals, and for that I am extremely grateful.

I do a whole lot towards saving kitties, but my love, passion and compassion for them started at a very early age and can be exemplified by a story from my childhood. The love, passion and compassion for cats has remained and grown evermore in my adult life.

When I was about eight years old, I took my beloved kitten with me while walking through my neighborhood. About a block-and-a-half from my house, a neighbor's dog had gotten out of his back yard and immediately came rushing towards me because he was not cat friendly and wanted to get my kitten! (Note: Don't blame the dog. In most breeds, if a dog is not cat friendly, it is because the owners have not socialized or trained their dogs. I have found that most dogs can be best friends with a cat) The dog immediately started jumping at me, biting at me constantly as I held my kitten high above my head for several minutes waiting for someone to come help. I have never been so terrified in my life. No, I was not terrified for me, but terrified for my kitten that I loved so much. I can honestly say that I was prepared to just about give my life for my kitty at the time and would not let go of my kitten. I remember that very vividly. Help came, and kitty and dog were okay, and I just had to go to the ER and get a tetanus shot and everything else healed okay.

I wish such a happy ending and love for all the animals everywhere.