One of Beth Kelley’s favorite (albeit heart wrenching) cat tales is the story of a bloodied and battered stray she trapped and affectionately called Shaggy. Shaggy was in bad shape. He was an older cat who was obviously abandoned years prior. His eyelids had even been ripped off, most likely in a fight with a more aggressive feral cat. Beth soon discovered that Shaggy was friendly, and she decided to shower him with love and good nutrition for as long as he survived. She set up cat hospice in her home for this ailing old guy. He was pampered and loved for 6 weeks, eating 4 cans of soft cat food a day and lapping up the attention and care. And then he passed.
Beth says, “This is why we do what we do, so that other cats don’t end up like Shaggy.”
Beth is one of our most dedicated and versatile volunteers. She likes fostering the “hissy pissy kittens who think they don’t like humans, but who turn into snuggle bugs after a month of socialization.” She transports, traps, feeds a group of backyard community cats, sews beautiful, functional crafts for FAN sales, volunteers at our adoption center, and keeps us laughing with her hilarious, quick wit! She has chaired FAN’s fundraising committee, creating and implementing many lucrative fundraising events. With a heart as big as her beautiful blue eyes, Beth is one of FAN’s most cherished volunteers.
Beth lives with her son, Connor, four cats and two dogs of her own, and her husband, Stephen, who is also a FAN volunteer. “I think he loves cats more than I do!” She says. Connor helps out too, scooping cat litter and loving on the kittens in their care. Beth’s cats Tank, Earl, Todd and Hope are punctual alarm cats who wake her every morning. “I don’t know what I’d do if they weren’t there,” she says lovingly.
With a full time job plus a home and family to care for, Beth MAKES time to volunteer for FAN. Asked why she does it, Beth replies without a beat, “We do it for the cats. They need us, and we need them.”
