Our History

For Animals was founded in 2001 by Theresa Bachu when a pregnant stray cat gave birth in her backyard. Unable to find a shelter to take in this cat and her kittens, caring for the litter proved to be a life-changing experience for Theresa resulting in her commitment to bettering the lives of homeless animals in New York City. Upon learning about Trap-Neuter-Return as a humane and effective method for reducing animal overpopulation, Theresa began trapping and altering cats in 2002.

As the volume of cats Theresa was helping increased she began discerning feral cats from friendly, stray cats and eventually the For Animals shelter and adoption program was established to provide temporary care for cats in transition. An early TNR partnership with Dr. Arnold Plotnick of Manhattan Cat Specialists grew into a veterinary support system for many of the cats newly adopted from For Animals.

Since its inception in 2001, the For Animals TNR program has altered thousands of cats across hundreds of colonies, and educated dozens of caretakers about proper care for feral cats. During this time the For Animals adoption program has also placed hundreds of homeless cats and kittens in loving, permanent homes while raising awareness about companion animal homelessness and the importance of spay/neuter.

Note: For Animals does not take in animals from the public; we are strictly a TNR/rescue organization.

Our Partners

Manhattan Cat Specialists

Manhattan Cat Specialists strives to offer the highest quality feline health care in a warm and welcoming environment. We recognize the unique character of every cat, and we treat all cats with dignity and compassion, as if they were our own.

Heart of Chelsea Animal Hospital

At Heart of Chelsea Animal Hospital we are committed to providing comprehensive, quality care for each patient to enhance their well-being and quality of life. Our compassionate, knowledgeable and professional team utilizes state of the art technology and is continually implementing the latest in cutting edge medical practices. We truly value your opinion in the decision making process. Our ability to foster an educational experience to address your individual needs is second to none.

North Shore Animal League America

North Shore Animal League America's Cooperative Mobile Adoption Program helps save thousands of animals annually, and enables us to partner with many shelter and rescue groups to save animals from their shelters, too. Using our fleet of Mobile Adoption Units, we host adoption events at high-traffic locations to raise visibility of our shelter and rescue partners and increase adoptions. These adoption events also generate much-needed proceeds that benefit our shelter and rescue partners.

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

Founded in 2002 and powered by Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation, with support from the ASPCA, The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals is a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters that is working with Animal Care & Control of New York City (AC&C) to end the killing of healthy and treatable cats and dogs at AC&C shelters. To achieve that goal, the Alliance, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, helps its Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) work to their highest potential to increase pet adoptions and spay/neuter rates, with the goal of transforming New York City into a no-kill community by 2015.

Maddie's Fund

A family foundation which is funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl, Maddie's Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home.

To achieve this goal, Maddie’s Fund is investing its resources in building community collaborations where animal welfare organizations come together to develop successful models of lifesaving; in veterinary colleges to help shelter medicine become part of the veterinary curriculum to train veterinarians to save the lives of sick and injured dogs and cats in animal shelters; and in the implementation of a national strategy to promote accountability and transparency in animal shelter operations. Maddie’s Fund is named after the family’s beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.

All About Spay/Neuter's Feral Cat Shelters

All About Spay Neuter offers many options to purchase outdoor shelters for feral cats to keep them safe from the elements year round.

Celebrity Catwalk

Between 6-8 million dogs & cats enter shelters each year. Proceeds from Celebrity Catwalk go directly to non-profit organizations who work tirelessly to put a dent in those staggering statistics.