Rachel Elaina Kersey, managing editor of the Ozarks Studies Institute, published an article yesterday in the Springfield News-Leader. The story, which you can read here, covers the 10-year anniversary (and plans for the future) of Eden Animal Haven, a cat shelter in Brighton, MO.

It all started when Rachel went to donate some kitten food to the shelter in December. She had adopted a kitten in July 2023 and soon found out that she was allergic, but only after purchasing an enormous amount of kitten food. In order to keep the cat, she started buying Purina LiveClear, an anti-allergen cat food that targets a protein in the cat’s saliva that many people are allergic to. The food worked like a charm, but Rachel was left with a giant bag of regular kitten food. So in December, she finally got around to bringing it to the shelter. 

While at the shelter, Rachel asked Leslie Sawyer, the director, a bajillion questions about the cats still in her care. After about an hour of conversation, Leslie mentioned that their 10-Year Anniversary was coming up and she thought Rachel seemed like a natural journalist with the chops to write the story. Well, it just so happened that Rachel actually was a journalist and was happy to write the story. So in early January, she went back to the shelter and spent several hours talking with Leslie, her husband, Bill Stoll, and the couple who had donated the land, Dr. I. Neal Cohen and his wife, Jackie. 

If you’re a cat person, consider adopting from Eden Animal Haven! And even if you’re not a cat person, you should

consider it! Rachel never thought she would like cats, and would never have imagined herself adopting one of her own. But as Dean of the Library Tom Peters says of his daughter’s cat, who is now staying with him, when the nocturnal* creature climbs into your bed and wants to spend time with you at 3 in the morning, “It’s endearing.”

 

*Cats are technically “crepuscular.”