Meagan Larrea, Joy 4 Cats

Meagan Larrea is a cat mom and cat lover who works as a civil engineer by day. The rest of the time, she runs Joy 4 Cats, a growing project that puts together toy and treat baskets for shelters to give away to new adopters. The program began in the fall of 2018 when Meagan heard about a local shelter with an overflow of adult cats looking for homes. As a creative way to help, Meagan created adopter baskets to bring joy to cats and to give people an incentive to adopt—and it worked! Since then, Meagan has become a major advocate for ways to keep cats healthy and happy, and Joy 4 Cats has begun helping a number of shelters around the U.S. While not yet a 501©3, Meagan plans to become one in the future. She requests donations from cat care companies, and her baskets generally contain $50-$75 worth of goodies for new adopters. Partner shelters have found the baskets very helpful in promoting adoptions, and Megan is always happy to help more shelters in need, no matter the group's size or location—so feel free to reach out! To learn more, you can email Meagan or check out Joy 4 Cats on Facebook and Instagram.