BATON ROUGE - Cat Haven raised over $18,000 in just one day during its first-ever 225 Gives fundraising competition.

In an effort to raise funds for those in need in the Baton Rouge area, 225 Gives teamed up with over 200 nonprofits on Dec. 1, globally known as "Giving Tuesday."

Following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, the movement focuses on giving back after a long weekend of splurging.

Cat Haven participated in the 24-hour competition with an original goal of $5,000. In just one day, $18,085 in donations came pouring in.

Money donated to the non-profit will go toward food and litter for the felines, spaying and neutering surgeries, medical expenses, and organizational costs, Cat Haven said in a statement Thursday.

Cat Haven's Operations Director Emma Meeker was overwhelmed by the amount of love and support they received throughout the event.

"I am astonished by the generosity of our community for our community cats! We are so grateful for the outpouring of support that we received! Thank you for donating to our organization," Meeker said.