About the Scholarship
Honeoye, New York, November 17, 2025 -- This Old Cat announces the launch of its This Old Cat Foster Memorial Scholarship for 2026. The new scholarship is aimed at students with a passion for caring for the animals that share our lives.
The scholarship is open to graduating seniors in the Class of 2026 at Honeoye Central School in Honeoye, New York. This Old Cat will award $1,500.00 to the scholarship winner.
One student will be selected as the scholarship winner based on their academic performance, a strong application and an engaging essay. Qualified applicants should demonstrate intent to move on to higher education or training in the field of animal care. This may be animal health studies, veterinary school, veterinary technician school or business school with a goal of starting their own pet care business or working with a non-profit animal welfare organization.
Advocating for the animals has been a core value of This Old Cat. From the onset they have exhibited this fundamental principle locally, nationally and internationally. In 2001 This Old Cat offered up a reward for an at the time unsolved animal cruelty case in Honeoye, which helped Ontario County law enforcement to make arrests and obtain felony convictions. This Old Cat has supported two dozen animal welfare organizations from four counties in the Greater Rochester, New York area and another twenty two animal welfare organizations in fifteen states. International aid includes donations for the animals affected by the devastating wildfires of 2020 in Australia and facilitating the raising of funds for the animals and their caregivers in war-torn Ukraine. Over the past quarter century This Old Cat has donated over $170,000.00 in money, merchandise and services to help homeless and forgotten animals.
About Foster (1997-2017)
This scholarship builds on This Old Cat's values, expressing their continued commitment to the animals and the people caring for them. The scholarship is named in memory of a cat named "Foster" who was rescued from a household in the city of Rochester many years ago. After starting with just one intact female cat and one intact male cat things quickly grew out of control for the kind hearted home owner, who ended up with over a dozen kittens. This Old Cat's Paul Dewey, with a local rescue organization, stepped up to help and after the original pair was spayed/neutered, one by one their offspring were removed from the house, vetted and placed up for adoption. Foster, born Valentine's Day 1997, was the last of these kittens remaining at the cat shelter. No one wanted to adopt him because he had a reputation of being aloof and often, quite temperamental. He came to trust only one human: Dewey. So it was inevitable that Foster was welcomed into the Dewey's Honeoye home in 2000.
Foster was a legend among legends as cats go, living to be 20 years old. This Old Cat is honoring Foster with this scholarship to remind our community that every animal deserves love and respect -- even the special ones such as Foster.
Applying for Scholarship
Students interested in submitting an application for the This Old Cat Foster Memorial Scholarship should contact Mrs. VanLare, Honeoye Central School Counselor Grades 9-12. Completed applications are due January 16, 2026. The scholarship winner will be notified March 16, 2026.
About This Old Cat
Founded in 1998, This Old Cat has placed the Finger Lakes region firmly on the world map. Business owner Paul Dewey has said, "Our biggest accomplishment has been opening The Sunshine Home @ This Old Cat, a unique long-term care facility for cats in Honeoye, New York." Since then, hundreds of cats have come through their doors; some cats temporary boarders, other cats for permanent, lifetime care.
Their feline guests have hailed from thirty eight U.S. states and twenty nine different countries from all four corners of the earth.
This Old Cat is known for its first-class worldwide recognition with personalized hometown care.