David Parris

David ParrisDavid ParrisDavid Parris sits in his recliner with his multiple fuzzy cats on his lap. Life could not be sweeter; nevertheless, it was not always like this.  Parris’s story began around the start of 2015. His liking for cats was never strong, and he did not want them to be around; however, a young girl gave him a call about how she found a kitten and needed a home for it. She told him it was a girl and that she wanted him to keep the name Tinsley. Even though Parris was not very fond of cats, he knew it was the kitten’s best chance. He brought it home, and it immediately took off in his house. “I knew she was eating. I knew it was using the bathroom in the right spots,” he said.  He didn’t find Tinsley until the next Sunday morning at 5:00 am pawing him to wake up. She has been performing that same routine every morning for the past three and a half years. 

After a few months, Parris decided to adopt a playmate for Tinsley. He responded, “One thing led to another. I kept seeing a cat I liked.” He found a cat at the 105 gas station down the road from his house. That same cat birthed two kittens. Parris now had a total of five cats. The cycle kept continuing when he found another kitten that had to be bottle-fed and then another stray cat that appeared on his porch. The stray gave birth to six kittens, and Parris found homes for five of them. The total rose to eight cats. Two more cats were taken in by Parris when he found two individuals who could not responsibly take care of them. His cat total has come to ten, and those happen to just be the indoor cats. He has food and small houses set out for the stray cats that visit. In total, Parris has found homes for about 19 cats.

Every year, Parris tries to do something for the cats in the community. In 2016, he created plastic bins with reflective heating so that the cats could stay warm in the winter. In 2017, he held a canned food drive for the cats in the animal shelter. For every can someone else purchased, he bought the same one to match it. In one day, he collected about 400 cans to give the shelter. Then this year he donated 57 blankets to give to the animal shelters as well. Up until April, he used to work at Pet Sense (a pet store); however, it was interfering with his regular job. All of the money he made there went to his cat fund, so he could afford to keep all his cats.

Parris wants to tell everyone how important it is to take care of their cats properly. He said, “Too many of them are set out. I can’t stress how important it is to get your cats spayed or neutered because all these cats you see outside, for every cat you do see, there is probably ten you don’t see. If you have the surgery, then you won’t have all these cats and all the problems. There’s a lot of cruelty going on. That’s why I do stuff for cats. They can’t take care of themselves like they should. It’s up to us to take care of God’s creations too.”

Parris’s kind and giving heart for cats has made a positive impact on his life. “I’m going to be honest,” he said, “If it wasn’t for my cats I’d be dead. It’s the only thing that’s kept me alive.”  He also said that if he won the lottery, he would have the biggest cat rescue sanctuary.  He hopes to help every cat he can. Parris is a hero to so many cats and will continue to be for a long time. He said he will continue to save/help cats for the rest of his life and also shared, “The only regret I have is this not happening sooner.” He is a hero to me because he cares for animals so much. I have never seen anyone go out of their way for cats like he does. His story is so inspiring to me and hopefully to other people too.