It may seem like an odd request, but a B.C. kitten rescue organization is currently low on kittens and is hoping someone might have a litter that needs help.
Tiny Kittens, based in Langley, is known around the world for their work rescuing and re-homing cats and kittens, and their work rescuing and neutering feral cats.
Their cats and their work are often the stars of online livestreams watched worldwide.
One of their most famous rescues is a battle-scarred feral cat called Grandpa Mason. He has terminal kidney disease and will live out his days at Tiny Kittens headquarters. His story went viral last year after Shelly Roche, the founder of Tiny Kittens, discovered Grandpa Mason loves to be surrounded by kittens.
“One of his favorite litters was six orphaned kittens who were around three-and-a-half weeks old when they were rescued,” said Roche in an email interview.
“They had almost starved to death, and they really missed their mama. Grandpa Mason became their surrogate mama and helped teach them all of the secrets of being a cat they would have missed out on otherwise. Because they were younger, he had almost two months with them, which was ‘purrfect’.”
But now all the kittens have found new homes and Roche is hoping someone might know of a litter they could take care of.
“We don’t want to bring in kittens that are close to being old enough for adoption, because he wouldn’t have enough time with them without impairing their adoptability,” said Roche.
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“We also need to be careful not to expose him to viruses or other diseases because his immune system is compromised due to his kidney disease. So, we are looking for three to four week old kittens that are healthy,” which she admits is not easy this time of year.
“Because three to four weeks is way too little to separate kittens from a mom if they have one, we would be happy to take a mama with her kittens, and would spay/neuter and adopt all of them out when the time came,” added Roche.
Roche, along with many others, were shocked to discover Grandpa Mason’s love for kittens.
“We were blown away when we first witnessed him melting into a pile of kittens,” she said. “He is getting to experience the kittenhood he missed out on the first time around, and it is ADORABLE. He is happy to snooze away his days in front of the fireplace, on his tiny sofa, but he overflows with joy when he has kittens to smoosh, play with and love.”
“His many battle scars told us how hard he had fought to survive as long as he did, and thankfully, that part of his life is now over. We want to make sure every day he has left is full of as much love, joy and kitteny goodness as possible.”
Roche is hoping someone needs help with a litter of kittens and potentially their mother and get in touch.
“We would ideally take over care and responsibility for the kittens, since we livestream our rescue kitties 24/7 and we know people who are amazing pet owners will fall in love with them and want to adopt them,” she said. “They will be graduates from Grandpa Mason’s Academy of Excellence, which is quite prestigious.”
She can be reached at meow@tinykittens.com if anyone has kittens that meet the criteria for age and health.
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Roche is also hoping Grandpa Mason’s story is one that teaches people that every feral cat is an individual with something to offer.
“Being an old feral cat with kidney disease, there’s no question Mason would have been euthanized, because rescue workers would assume that was their only option,” she said.
“It breaks our hearts to think the world might never have gotten to witness his limitless capacity for kitten-love, and to see that loving him on his terms is giving him the best months of his life.”
“He is proving every day that even an old ‘lost cause disposable’ feral cat was worth saving, and that is a message that really needs to get out.
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