Our Story

PAD PAWS was founded in 2006 in the Powerhouse Arts District, located on the waterfront area of Jersey City, NJ.  However, our journey of rescuing began years prior in NYC after volunteering and doing TNR work for Ollie’s Place, ASPCA and Mighty Mutts.  Some of the most difficult cases of rescuing and rehabilitation took place after disastrous events such as 911, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy when animals of all types were injured, abandoned, sick and left helpless.  We were their voice, and their only hope of being saved.  These rewarding, yet difficult experiences, prepared us for concentrating on two areas during the gentrification process, Battery Park/NYC and the PAD area of Jersey City. We made it our mission to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome four legged friends into a loving and caring home.  PAD PAWS is a registered 501c3 specializing in abandonment and any cat who is injured or in danger.

Our People

Natalie Stiefvater has lived in NYC for almost 20 years. She started her rescue work at the age of 3 after attempting to bring home a baby rabbit from her Grandfather’s ranch.  Her mom finally gave up and opened the door to “almost” anything with fur and four legs.  Needless to say, Natalie grew up with many pets.  As an adult, Natalie continued to rescue, but also volunteered at many shelters and rescue organizations across the country specializing in cats, dogs and horses.  She finds it incredibly rewarding to rescue animals who are homeless, injured or in danger. Natalie is a Holistic Nutritionist and Account Manager for a leading herbal supplement company, and also teaches yoga in her spare time.

Laura Zaccardi moved from the suburbs of Maryland to Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District more than 20 years ago and has been a passionate advocate for local cats ever since. As a co-founder of PAD Paws, she has fostered many of the organization’s rescues, from kittens to seniors, and finds particular joy in watching cats once considered feral learn to trust, thrive, and land on their feet in forever homes. She has even “catified” her apartment to provide enrichment for her own permanent collection of rescues. By day, Laura consults with organizations navigating transformational change. She hopes that the work of PAD Paws creates meaningful change as well—improving the lives of cats while strengthening the community we call home.

 Denise Labowski is a crazy cat lady, foster failure, fundraiser, cat broker, you name it. Denise lives in downtown Jersey City on the waterfront where she has focused her rescue activities.  Although an environmental engineer by day, her real passion is these cats and hopes that one day she can open Jersey City’s first cat café.  In the meantime you can find her simultaneously having a cocktail and telling anyone who will listen, “I have just the right cat for you!”

Tom Van Arsdall has lived in the Jersey City Powerhouse Arts District for more than 15 years and has a passion for helping animals and protecting the natural environment. In 2017, Tom became aware of PAD PAWS and found their commitment to rescuing animals an amazing, selfless act of kindness. He knew he wanted to be part of their mission, adopted a wonderful tabby cat named Linus (his first cat and the best little buddy anyone could ask for) and began volunteering to help with their fundraising events. With so many animals in need, Tom wants to increase awareness of PAD PAWS and ensure the organization is resourced to help every animal that comes in its path. Tom is a Consultant in the Finance Industry during the week and gets his hands dirty with his Hamptons landscaping company on the weekends.

Mary O. is a nonprofit attorney in NYC with strong political views and, as a vegan, has an undying love for all animals. She’s got a crew of boi cats who have now coined their shared residence as the Dummy Castle. All of the felines at the Dummy Castle share one brain cell, which makes for a lot of laughter, tears, and confusion. Mary wears many hats with Pad Paws: she attempts to keep things organized, bothers everyone about using the google drive (a fool’s errand), and posts some pretty cringe stuff on the Pad Paws social media. She is also notorious for (accidentally?) bringing in some of the hardest-to-adopt cats to the rescue. One day, when she wins the lottery, she will open a farm sanctuary and you can send all the misfit animals her way.