BLASDELL, N.Y. — Marianne McPherson has been a volunteer for the last 18 and a half years with Ten Lives Club, a cat adoption group in Blasdell.

Diver is an 8-month-old tabby up for adoption, along with his brother Rocky, at the club's adoption center inside Pet Smart in Cheektowaga.

"I really enjoyed having cats as pets. So, when the opportunity came to help animals, it made me feel there was a need that, that we need more people to help cats. And I got involved in it, and I just loved it," said McPherson.

She has completed more than 1,500 cat adoptions at Pet Smart, which gives shelters like Ten Lives a convenient outlet to house cats and foster more adoptions. 

What You Need To Know

  • New York state recently announced $5M in round four funding of the Companion Animal Capital Fund

  • Seventeen not-for-profits will benefit from the grant in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Northern New York and Western New York

  • Ten Lives Club looks to expand the facility and make major improvements

"So rewarding. A lot of people ... they don't want to travel very far to see their cats. They're here already purchasing products for the animals they have. So, they stop in and see the cats, and all of a sudden they end up going home with one," McPherson said.

Ten Lives has been partnering with Pet Smart for more than 15 years and also has centers in three of its other stores, as well as additional pet retailers in the Buffalo area.

"All our stores are very important to us because they're the means to getting our cats adopted," said Marie Edwards, president and found of Ten Lives Club, which opened in 2001.

Edwards is also the recipient of a $200,000 state grant from the Companion Animal Capital Fund, for the expansion and renovation of shelters.

Ten Lives is one of 17 shelters sharing $5 million from this year's budget. Other round-four winners include the Mohawk and Hudson Humane Society in the Capital Region, the Humane Society of Westchester in the Hudson Valley and the Jefferson County SPCA in the North Country.

"It's going to be really, really exciting for us to get that and start with everything," Edwards said.

The plan calls for the shelter to expand 12 feet out, complete with two stories, giving the cats more space. It'll also come equipped with 12 new cages, a larger adoption center, a new main entrance, a meet and greet area and its first-ever HVAC system.

"It's all about the animals — getting more adoptions — that was the bottom line. It's going to mean so much more to the cats and the community. A larger cat room for everybody to choose what kind of cat they want to bring home," said Edwards.

McPherson will likely have hand in that, as she's also the club's adoption coordinator. She says they've run out of space to properly care for the cats, find them good homes, get them off the street and stop the over-population, which will eventually mean more manageable numbers at adoption centers, like in Pet Smart.

"So it means a lot to me. There won't be empty cages. They'll be full. The adoption turnover will be a lot faster once we get this expansion so I'm happy about it — that we're going to be able to save a lot more cat's lives," said McPherson.

Perhaps even more lives next year, as the state will distribute $8 million in round five.

Shelter leaders say they hope to be in their new space by May.

For a complete list of grant recipients across the state, click here.