This past weekend, visitors of the S.P.J.S.T. Lodge practiced their purr-fect yoga poses.
On July 29, the Texas Critter Crusaders, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping meet the needs of animals at the Taylor Animal Shelter, hosted a free kitten yoga class for Essentially, the around participants performed yoga moves.
Cassandra Harrison Acuff, a member of the TXCC’s board of directors, said the event was a success because introduced the kittens to potential adopters.
“It’s great for them to be socialized around other people,” Acuff said. “There’s that aspect of it, but also it was a lot of fun seeing all the kittens go crazy.” Jackie Aguilar, the event’s yoga instructor, came up with the idea for the kitten yoga event. Since she is an animal lover who is in her third year of teaching yoga, hosting this event to promote adoption made sense.
Aguilar said she focuses on accommodating all levels of practice and making the class fun for everyone.
“However, with kitten yoga, the fun was already there,” Aguilar said. “All I had to do was play off of their energy, so adding fun songs and poses brought it all together.”
While TXCC is heavily involved with the city’s animal shelter, it is a separate entity. The nonprofit does not work for the shelter, but volunteers there.
TXCC tries to fulfill unmet needs the shelter has, Acuff said. Since the shelter only has a limited amount of resources, the organization’s work can enhance the shelter’s capability of helping animals in the Taylor community.
They provide financial support to shelter animals for various care and services including emergency surgeries, urgent medical care, heart-worm treatment, spay and neuter, training and more, with the goal to provide a healthy, humane quality of life for shelter animals while they are awaiting adoption.
Events like the kitten yoga class are specifically important because shelter renovations have not allowed the cats to have a lot of space in the building to move around, Acuff said.
Unlike dogs in the shelter, which can be walked by volunteers, shelter cats do not have a lot of opportunities to move freely and decompress.
“It was a good opportunity for people to hug the cats, play with them and love on them,” Acuff said.
“People can see what they are like when they’re not in a kennel.”
Since TXCC is a volunteer- run group, it is in need of volunteers to help foster shelter pets, comfort pets and help run its events.
The nonprofit will host its third annual SPAYghetti dinner and dance Saturday, Sept. 23.
