For Animals was founded in 2001 by Theresa Bachu when a pregnant stray cat gave birth in her backyard. Unable to find a shelter to take in this cat and her kittens, caring for the litter proved to be a life-changing experience for Theresa resulting in her commitment to bettering the lives of homeless animals in New York City.

Upon learning about Trap-Neuter-Return as a humane and effective method for reducing animal overpopulation, Theresa began trapping and altering cats in 2002.

As the volume of cats Theresa was helping increased she began discerning feral cats from friendly, stray cats and eventually the For Animals shelter and adoption program was established to provide temporary care for cats in transition. An early TNR partnership with Dr. Arnold Plotnick of Manhattan Cat Specialists grew into a veterinary support system for many of the cats newly adopted from For Animals.

Since its inception in 2001, the For Animals TNR program has altered thousands of cats across hundreds of colonies, and educated dozens of caretakers about proper care for feral cats. During this time the For Animals adoption program has also placed hundreds of homeless cats and kittens in loving, permanent homes while raising awareness about companion animal homelessness and the importance of spay/neuter.