Guadalupe Venegas says she “unintentionally” became the neighborhood cat lady in 2021. “People dump cats near my house all the time,” she said. “The cats just sort of wander onto my property, and I care about them, so I feed them. Since then, the cats seem to know where to come for help.”

Venegas knows where to go for help too. She doesn’t want the cats to have any more litters, so she traps them and takes them to SNN for their free spay/neuter surgeries, rabies vaccinations, and microchips, thanks to the generosity of the Saving Hope Foundation. In less than a year, she has trapped 12 felines that have wandered up to her door.

“I am grateful to have this kind of support in my neighborhood,” she says.