Meet Ash—and the caretaker who never gave up on him
Nancy, a long-time cat colony caretaker in Chicago, first spotted Ash, a shy gray cat with a crooked mouth and crossed eye, at her outdoor feeding station several winters ago. It was clear he had survived trauma, and Nancy worried he might not be able to eat.
So, she trapped him and brought him to be neutered and medically assessed through PAWS Chicago’s Community Cats Program. When the harsh winter days arrived, Nancy kept Ash indoors—but he wanted nothing to do with human contact.
“He was so spicy and hated my guts,” Nancy says. “The moment I released him in the spring, he RAN.”
But Ash remembered Nancy’s kindness. Slowly, over many months, he began to return. First for food. Then for gentle pets. Then for the sound of his name, called out at mealtimes. He even learned to knock on the door when he arrived.
Eventually, when Nancy gave him the choice to come inside—Ash was ready. He walked right in.
Ash’s long journey is an example of what spay/neuter and TNR make possible. Some outdoor cats like Ash don’t just survive—they learn to trust, to connect, and to thrive.
Be the fix for a broken system
This year, PAWS will perform 19,000 free and low-cost spay/neuter procedures at our Lurie Clinic in Little Village. As the region’s only high-volume, free and low-cost spay/neuter program, we work in underserved neighborhoods to reduce pet overpopulation and the euthanasia that can come when the city pound is overcrowded.
Your support provides critical spay/neuter efforts in communities that need it most. Every surgery prevents future suffering. And every cat like Ash reminds us that compassion can transform lives.
