About Tenth Life

Tenth Life Cat Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal welfare organization that provides another chance at life to injured and abused stray cats. Tenth Life´s focus is on felines with extreme medical needs or ongoing health conditions that make it difficult for typical shelters and rescues to afford their care.

Stage one of our mission: save as many cats as possible from the dangers of street life and place them in foster homes until adoption. We network with other local rescues and veterinarians to locate and treat special-needs cats and other strays who would otherwise be euthanized.

Stage two of our mission: open a physical shelter building to house both healthy and special-needs cats in a cage-free, house-like setting - with sunny windows and all the comforts of home - until they can be thoughtfully placed in their forever homes. We never euthanize cats for the sake of creating more space, and do all we can to save every feline in our care.

History

Tenth Life Cat Rescue was founded in January of 2009 by Elizabeth Frick. Elizabeth felt that St. Louis needed more rescues and shelters that catered specifically to cats. But her vision was clear: to help stray cats only (not house cats or owner surrenders), with a specific focus on those with special needs, injuries, and medical concerns. The inspiration for this focus came from Elizabeth´s own cats as well as her background working for Tree House Animal Foundation in Chicago.

The founder has worked as a volunteer manager, assistant development director, adoption counselor, feline behavior consultant, and rescue administrator. All of these jobs have equipped Elizabeth well to handle the many facets of running Tenth Life. In addition, Elizabeth had the unique opportunity to work with Alley Cat Allies in New Orleans to do emergency rescue work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While on location, Elizabeth acted as shelter manager, overseeing hundreds of displaced cats and kittens.

In its short existence, Tenth Life has grown from a single foster home with one stray cat and a budget of zero dollars to a network of more than 20 fosters and a faithful donor base for whom we are very grateful. Without support from dedicated fellow animal lovers like you, our organization would not be where it is today.