Meet Liv! An animal-lover from as early as she can remember, Liv and her husband share their home with what we can only classify as a full-on clowder of cats. She’s very excited to announce that Liv adopted her first CAT alumni in late-summer to celebrate her 1st CATiversary. Just kidding— it was a coincidence, but a very serendipitous one. To learn more about the cats Liv loves and how she sets boundaries to maintain her emotional wellness, see below.
CAT: What’s your role at CAT and how long have you been involved with us?
Liv: I am the admissions associate for Cat Adoption Team and I have been in that role for almost a year-and-a-half. My husband and I also foster for CAT – we tend to take on difficult medical cases, shy adults, or spicy socialization kittens. Prior to working for CAT – I worked with CAT via another rescue for several years coordinating the transporting of cats to Cat Adoption Team. All in all, I’ve been involved in some capacity with CAT for roughly 3 years!
CAT: Do you have any pets?
Liv: I have roughly a billion cats. Though to be specific, it’s a total of 8. Banjo, Marsh, Atticus, Sable, Itso, Fox, Cricket, and my newest kitty, and my first CAT Alumni – Symphony. My husband and I lovingly refer to them collectively as our Swampy Boys.
CAT: Besides a cat, what’s your favorite animal?
Liv: African Painted Dogs! I think they’re the coolest, the Portland Zoo has them and they’re my favorite to go see.
CAT: What advice would you give to somebody interested in getting involved in animal welfare?
Liv: It’s deeply rewarding, deeply impactful, deeply emotional work that can sometimes become overwhelming if you let it. Knowing, learning, and keeping your boundaries and how much of yourself to give can be a challenge but once you’ve struck the balance – you will find just how much good you personally can do for not just the animals but the people too.
CAT: What do you enjoy most about your role at Cat Adoption Team?
Liv: I love working with the new cats each day. I’m the first person most of our shelter kitties meet and I want to make sure they get a good first impression. But what I enjoy the most is when I’m able to help the people who care for the cats in our community. Whether it’s providing resources, education, donated food, or finding placement of their cat with us – the positive impacts are hands down the best part.
CAT: If you could have any super- power what would it be?
Liv: Talking to animals would be great because I could tell my own cats to stop breaking into the food cupboard for treats or to stop scratching the couch when the cat scratcher is right there. I think I’d maybe prefer a time freeze superpower, I could get so much done if I had a couple extra hours in my day (think of the extra naps!)
CAT: What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Liv: Always look on the bright side of life, as the song goes.
CAT: If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would you teach?
Liv: TNR! Trap-Neuter-Return of feral unfixed cats is the most humane way to reduce the number of stray cats and kittens in our area, and Oregon’s feral cat population has been growing in huge numbers since Covid! I’d love to help people learn how easy and how vital it is in our community. If you feed them – fix them!
CAT: Would you rather be the funniest or smartest person in the room?
Liv: The funniest – laughter brings so much joy!
CAT: What is your go-to karaoke anthem?
Liv: Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus
CAT: If you could instantly learn any language, what would it be?
Liv: I know about a toddler’s worth of American Sign Language that I learned at university, so I’d love to actually be fluent. I’ve found that it comes in handy very often!
CAT: Share a weird or wild fact you know.
Liv: One unfixed female cat can lead to over 1 million cats being born over a 10 year period. Since cats can have multiple litters in a year, and the first litter of the year can start having their own first litter by the end of the year – populations boom quickly. Spay and neuter your cats as it can get out of hand fast!
CAT: What’s your favorite (work-appropriate) joke?
Liv: I love doing fun bits and callbacks to fun bits, you can always count on me to reference something that happened earlier that day over and over again.
CAT: If you suddenly had a day off, what would you do with your time?
Liv: I’d spend it cuddling with my cats and reading a book or two in my home library. I love horror novels and there’s nothing like reading a scary book while 1 to 8 cats sit on or near you, purring away.
If you’re looking to chat all things feline, Liv’s your gal. At the shelter, she’s often introducing newly arrived cats and kittens to their kennels. Because of that, she’s a wealth of knowledge and is frequently the first on the team to get to know the shelter residents. Want to learn what it’s like to share your home with 8 cats? Ask Liv.
