In her home in south-central Wisconsin, Melissa Kamroski sits on her couch, tucked underneath a blanket, gently balancing a plate of lasagna on her knees after a busy day working her data analytics job.
She watches as Panini — a cat she started fostering after the small feline grew sick in her old home — sits in the corner of the living room. After a month of force-feeding Panini a foul-tasting medicine, Kamroski never questioned the foster cat’s hesitancy around her.
As Kamroski ate her dinner, she noticed Panini had started slowly advancing towards her and, to her surprise, hopped onto the couch. Fighting back a smile and any movement, Kamroski remained still and watched as Panini crawled on her lap, stole the entire top layer of her lasagna and ran to eat it in the corner.
Although half of her dinner was gone, Kamroski felt overjoyed watching the foster cat eat her lasagna. Panini’s bravery was another heartwarming and inspirational moment for Kamroski in her journey with fostering neglected, abused and sick cats.
Cats have always been a part of Karmroski’s life. Growing up in a household filled with foster cats, she developed a profound sense of responsibility for their care. Now, at 25 years old and the president and medical coordinator of 9 Lives Rescue, a nonprofit cat rescue based in Dane County, Kamroski is dedicated to saving the lives of hundreds of cats like Panini.
“I have photos of myself using my family cats as pillows as a baby, which evolved into my being that kid who always brought cats home,” Kamroski said. “In middle school, I found a cat in my neighbor’s yard, and I said, ‘Hey, mom, look who I found.’”
Though Kamroski’s family didn’t keep the cat she brought home, another family adopted the feline, marking her first successful effort at finding a cat a loving home. According to her mother, Michelle Ahrens, Kamroski had a unique, delicate way with cats that allowed her to help them.
“Her grandparents had cats that hated everyone... they would bite and strike at you, but that did not create any sort of fear with Melissa,” Michelle said. “At home, the cats didn’t always get along with each other but would always get along with my kids.”
Throughout high school, Kamroski continued rescuing cats and fell in love with her now-husband, Jackson Kamrowski. After meeting Kamroski’s family cats, Jackson’s mother adopted her cat, eventually leading to the couple caring for a litter of sickly kittens that needed around-the-clock care.
“That week was terrible,” Kamroski said. “We were both trying to work full-time jobs and barely slept; I slept on his floor. And we said, ’Great, let’s do that again.’”
Following the intensive week caring for that litter, the pair purchased a house and began fostering cats through various rescues in Madison. Though Kamroski loved looking after the adult cats the organization gave her, she felt a growing desire to focus on the most vulnerable and critically ill kittens, which led her to 9 Lives Rescue.
She and her husband “started off strong” with 9 Lives, Kamroski said. “We signed up to foster our very first kittens who had pneumonia, needed injections and meds every day, and it was exactly what we wanted.”
After a successful experience with kittens Bacon, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs and Oatmeal and dozens of other cats from 9 Lives Rescue, Kamroski ultimately worked her way toward her current position as president of the nonprofit, where she focuses on handling complex medical changes and helping cats feel more comfortable.
As medical coordinator, Kamroski often receives urgent calls around 9 p.m. and, alongside her close friend Jamie Barbian, is awake sometimes as late as 1 a.m., tending to sick and injured cats.
Barbian says their late-night efforts have made them an inseparable team, whether they’re caring for abused cats who need amputations or those battling life-threatening illnesses.
“When you go through these things together, you learn about how people manage stress and also what type of people they are down to their core,” Barbian said. “Melissa is going out of her way to be involved with animals in the worst moments of their lives, and she doesn’t turn away from it.”
From running adoption fairs to caring for her adopted cats, Trinket and Tiamat, Kamroski said all her work and leadership stem solely from her love of animals.
“For me, it’s not about leaving a legacy. Honestly, I didn’t intend to become president — it just ended up being the right thing,” Kamroski said. “Fostering and helping individual cats is my passion, and I want to inspire others to do so.”
For more information on 9 Lives Rescue, visit 9livesrescue.org.
