January 17, 2026

𝟑𝟔𝟓 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞: 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟕

The hits just keep on coming.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤

I was doing my morning rounds when I saw her. One of our seniors, the one we knew had kidneys that were two different sizes. I could tell immediately that she didn't feel well. When I put my hand on her, I could feel that she'd lost weight—that kind of weight loss you can feel in your fingertips, where the bones are suddenly more prominent than they should be.

I brought her back to medical to run bloodwork. Kidney failure. The numbers told the story her body was already showing me. Once they start showing symptoms, the kidney damage is irreversible. We can manage and support, try to keep them comfortable, but we can't fix what's already broken.

The second senior we lost today was one of the new ones who simply refused to eat. I think she wanted to join her mom in heaven. No matter what we did, she refused all food, and this can only go on so long. She had a couple of IV catheters over the past week, got fluids for three days in a couple different rounds because she wouldn't drink either. Despite our best efforts, she did not want to continue in this world.

Two more. Two more goodbyes on top of all the others this week.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬

Our mama and her four little beans went to foster today. It's always a relief to get nursing families out of the building—they don't need to be anywhere near sick cats since the babies have zero immune system. They're safe now, warm, in a quiet home where mama can raise her kittens without the stress of shelter life.

The 18 and 14-year-old bonded seniors that came in yesterday also went to foster today. Their foster was very excited, and it was wonderful to get another senior into a home environment where it's not so scary. I'm bummed I won't get to know them better, but I'd much rather they be safe and have someone to dote on them.

𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

Our senior who won't poop is still having issues. After we cleaned him out on Monday, he's still not defecating on his own. We moved him to his very own office and I have a camera in there to watch his behavior. He's moving a lot more in that room, so I'm praying that gets his poor guts going. Sometimes a change of environment and reduced stress makes all the difference. Sometimes it doesn't. We wait and watch and hope.

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬

We had an intake of two four-month-old kittens today who are absolutely gorgeous. Young, healthy, adoptable—the kind of cats that will move quickly once they're ready.

We also had a return of an adult cat that was adopted as a kitten. His family had to file for bankruptcy and cannot afford him anymore. Another casualty of economic hardship. He came back to us through no fault of his own, and now we start over—find him a new family, a new chance.

𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

After being off for two days, I was excited to check on the progress of our cats that recently returned from the cafe. I was immediately met by two of them, and what I saw shocked me. Last week, they were up on the catwalks, keeping their distance. Today they were on the floor. They both approached me and asked for attention.

These moments of breakthrough matter so much. Watching a terrified cat choose to engage, choose to trust, choose to show the world they're ready—there isn't much that makes me happier.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Holly knows how well I know all the cats, but sometimes I still blow her mind. Today she gave me a basic description and location, and I started to tell her who the cat was, but then I hesitated. The behavior she described didn't match what I knew about this particular cat.

One of our GenPop cats was on the floor dolphin-jumping against strangers. Dolphin-jumping. Against strangers. This cat who'd been hunkered down in a corner bed for weeks.

I told Holly who I thought it was, fully expecting to be wrong. But I was right. He went from terrified and hiding to showing the world he was ready for connection, for a home, for love. Those are the moments I live for. Watching one of my babies bloom into who they were always meant to be.

𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

We had six adoptions today:

• One kitten• A bonded pair of kittens• A kitten who had some dietary issues that we solved with adult food, so he was living in GenPop• An adult cat who'd previously been at the cafe, was adopted and then returned after being terrorized by children in the home• An aged-out kitten

Six cats found their families. Six fewer in the building. Six happy endings written today.

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞

Tomorrow when our adoptions slideshow airs, there will be twenty-two cats featured as going home between last Saturday and today. Twenty-two lives transformed. Twenty-two families who walked through our doors and left with love in a carrier.

That is definitely something to celebrate.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭

Two losses. Six adoptions. Cats going to foster. Cats coming back from foster. New intakes. Returns. Medical mysteries. Behavioral breakthroughs. The endless cycle of rescue work where joy and grief sit side by side at every moment of every day.

I drove home tonight thinking about the senior who didn't want to continue, about the dolphin-jumping cat who finally decided he did, about twenty-two adoptions in a week, about the mama cat nursing four tiny beans in someone's quiet spare bedroom.

The hits keep coming. The good ones and the hard ones, all mixed together, impossible to separate.

We show up anyway. We do the work anyway. We love them anyway.

Tomorrow we start again.