Hawaii is most famous for being a tropical paradise, and it totally deserves that reputation. After having lived on the Big Island for two years, I don’t think I’ll ever love another place the same way.

But even perfection has problems, and AdvoCATS is working to tackle one of them.

Kevin and I hooked up with AdvoCATS while we were living on the island. We’d noticed the local feral cat population and sort of accidentally rescued a feral kitten. The local dog rescue pointed us to AdvoCATS when we admitted to having no idea what we were doing.

AdvoCATS cares for a small portion of the millions of feral cats on the Big Island. Not only do they feed and provide care for thousands of cat colonies, they also TNR (Trap–spay/Neuter–vaccinate–Return) ferals on a monthly basis, with over TWENTY THOUSAND cats having come through their TNR clinic in the last two decades. AdvoCATS also fosters kittens and cats that are capable of becoming pets. And if that isn’t enough, they work with the local lawmakers to build policy to protect the island’s cats.

Like OTW last week, AdvoCATS is entirely staffed by volunteers. Unlike OTW, the AdvoCATS team pays for almost everything themselves, out of pocket. They do get the occasional grant, but by and large this is a group of women doing it on their own.

Here’s their donation page, if you want to help out the tropical cats and the people who love them.