Meet the cats.
Since late 2025, I’ve been rescuing, housing, and coordinating shelter placement for stray cats in Providence. A portion of proceeds from every NAXS Labs engagement goes toward local animal rescue efforts.
Most of these cats showed up in the neighborhood with nowhere safe to go. The work is straightforward — rescue them, get them fixed, house them until shelter space opens up, and find them a good home. Some stay a few weeks. Some stay months. Two I kept.
It’s not glamorous and it’s not scalable. It’s just the right thing to do with the resources available.
Each one has a story.
Yukon showed up at the house in October 2025 along with Aspen. For a while we just fed them and let them go about their business — but with freezing weather coming, we worked with someone in the community to rescue both of them. They were both fixed and housed in the basement for about two months while we waited for space to open up at a shelter.
When a spot came available at Pet Refuge, both went. About a month later, Yukon came back home — adopted. He’s settled in well, and has the cat tree to prove it.
Before
At home
Aspen arrived the same time as Yukon — two cats who had clearly been surviving together. He was rescued, fixed, and housed alongside him through the winter. After two months, he went to Pet Refuge.
About a week or two after Yukon came home with us, Aspen was adopted into a good home. We don’t know everything about where he ended up, but he went from a Providence sidewalk to someone’s arms — and that’s the whole point.
Before
Adopted
Vivian showed up about three weeks ago wearing a severely worn collar — she had an owner at some point, though no microchip. She arrived very thin and barely able to hold down food. We sheltered her and worked on getting some weight back on her before handing her off to Providence Animal Control on June 26th.
She’s one of the sweetest and most playful cats we’ve had come through — she deserves a good home. Follow their Facebook page for updates on her listing and other available animals.
June 2026
Dillian was rescued by a community member but needed somewhere to stay while a longer-term situation was worked out. We housed him until we could find the right fit.
He ultimately found a home as a barn cat — which suits him.
In care
Willow came in the same condition as Vivian — very thin, small enough that we took her for a kitten. After getting her healthy and fixed, the vet determined she’s actually about three years old. She’s been here about three months now.
The plan is to keep her. She’s beautiful and has settled in well — but she’s not great around other cats, so she may ultimately need to be in a home where she’s the only one. I’m doing everything I can to make it work. Those eyes don’t make it easy to give up on her.
Before
At home
Angel started showing up outside and clearly wasn’t in good shape. We took him in for a few weeks while we figured out what to do. Fortunately he was microchipped — animal control was able to trace him back to his owner, who lives about a block away. Turns out he’s an indoor/outdoor cat who had wandered a little too far.
He still comes by for a meal every now and then. We don’t mind. I’m convinced these cats have some kind of network — word travels fast on this block about where the food is.
Outside
In care
These aren’t all of them.
Several others have come through that we never managed to photograph — too frightened to come out while anyone was around. We’d set up the space, leave food and water, and check back. Some warmed up eventually. Some didn’t. They all got where they needed to go.
If you want to help.
You don’t need to rescue cats yourself to make a difference. Here are a few ways to support animal rescue in Rhode Island.
Pet Refuge — Providence
The shelter that took in Yukon and Aspen. A no-kill shelter doing real work in Rhode Island.
thepetrefuge.org →Rhode Island SPCA
Statewide animal welfare organization — shelter, adoption, low-cost spay and neuter programs.
rispca.com →See a stray in Providence?
Contact Providence Animal Control. They’re the right first call for stray or injured cats in the city.
Providence Animal Control →