Say hello to Quinn, a spirited four-and-a-half-month-old tortie who’s waiting for her forever home!
Quinn came to Nine Lives from the Stockton Animal Shelter in early March — just two weeks old — with her mother, Saoirse, and nine littermates.
Despite being one of the smallest and most vulnerable in her litter, Quinn showed incredible resilience from the very beginning.
She faced serious challenges, including a severe upper respiratory infection, intestinal parasites, and fleas, all while struggling to gain weight. Sadly, her tiny sister, the runt of the litter, succumbed to similar struggles shortly after their arrival.
Yet Quinn’s spirit, coupled with the hard work of our medical team and the loving support of her foster family, helped her persevere.
Quinn’s devoted foster parents brought her to our Adoption Center multiple times a week for fluids and syringe feedings. It took two long months before she would eat on her own, only for her health to decline again.
She stopped eating, lost nearly 25% of her weight in a week, and became emaciated, depressed, and lethargic.
With extensive testing, medications, daily fluids, and more syringe feedings, Quinn overcame every obstacle. By mid-June, at almost four months old, she was finally big enough for her spay surgery — a milestone most kittens reach by eight weeks old!
Today, Quinn is thriving and full of life! She’s a loving and energetic kitten with a mighty purr and talent for air biscuits. She adores chasing toys and then settling into your lap or in your arms, her purr roaring with pure contentment.
Quinn is the last of her family waiting to be adopted and is sure to bring endless joy to any home. Could you be the forever family she’s been waiting for? Come by our Adoption Center and meet her this weekend!
Make Your Cat a Star!
The Nine Lives Foundation 2025 Calendar Photo Contest has begun! Head over to our contest website to submit fabulous photos of your favorite felines and rally everyone you know to vote for them. Your cat could be our 2025 “Cover Cat” or featured as a “Cat of the Month”!
Each photo entry is a $30 donation to Nine Lives and includes a complimentary 2025 calendar. Each vote cast is a $5 donation, and you can vote as often as you like through August 11th. Every vote helps save homeless and at-risk cats and kittens.
Every cat entered will be included somewhere in the calendar, so every kitty gets their moment to shine. Enter your photos today!
Kitty Party Auction
Our Kitten Baby Shower Auction was an incredible success, and we’re thrilled to extend it online for those who couldn’t join us in person! Take a look at the fantastic donated auction items and jump in with a bid!
Each bid is a donation to save vulnerable kitten lives. Every day, adorable and fragile kittens arrive at our doors, desperately in need of loving care.
The situation is critical, and your bid today can make a lifesaving difference for these babies — plus it’s fun for you too!
You can bid on a Santa Cruz Mountain Winery tour!
Join us in this urgent mission to give these kittens the chance they deserve. The auction closes next Friday, July 19 at 11:50 pm PT, so make your bid today.
We’re thrilled to share that Nine Lives has been awarded $15,000 from the Maddie’s Fund“Open Arms Challenge“ 2024! This marks our third consecutive win, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the recognition and support.
The Open Arms Challenge included 243 animal shelters and other rescue organizations nationwide, all working to keep pets and people together. By becoming more accessible and inclusive, expanding return-to-home and foster programs, and strengthening bonds between pets and their families, these organizations have made a tremendous impact.
Thanks to the participants’ collective efforts, 11,052 animals were adopted and 69,539 animals were able to remain happy and healthy in their homes and communities!
The grant will help us continue our mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome cats and kittens in need. We look forward to expanding our foster program and supporting more animals on their journey to loving homes.
Thank you to Maddie’s Fund and all the funding partners for believing in our mission. And thank you to our incredible community for making this possible! Together, we’re making a significant difference in the lives of countless animals.
Liam’s Corner
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us for our second annual Kitten Baby Shower. It was a truly special event, and I am incredibly grateful to our board, volunteers, and staff for making it fun, beautiful, and educational.
We were delighted to showcase over 30 rescue kittens who graduated from our life-saving programs and were eagerly seeking their forever homes. Our silent auction — which is still available online — will raise essential funds for all of our rescue efforts.
It was fantastic meeting so many members of our lifesaving community and an absolute joy to see so many happy kids with their adorable cat-themed painted faces!
A few scenes from the Kitten Baby Shower!
Stay tuned for a recording of my keynote speech, which will be shared soon. In the meantime, check out our Kitten Season campaign video to see how your gifts change lives.
As fun as it was, the Kitten Baby Shower served a critical purpose: raising funds for Kitten Season. This is the toughest time of year for our staff and volunteers, as so many fragile lives are at stake.
Our goal for 2024 is to rescue 350 kittens from the streets and into our care. We’ve already saved over 300, and it’s only July! And we expect to rescue over 100 more as the need remains urgent.
On average, it costs us $800 to care for each rescue kitten. For 350 kittens, that’s a whopping $280,000! We’re a long way from reaching this goal and urgently need your donations to continue providing these vital lifelines.
Remember little April? She was the last of our “Parks and Rec” litter to undergo a life-saving enucleation surgery. Despite being only three months old, she’s already endured so much illness and hardship.
But after months of bottle feeding, medication, and other treatments, April was finally healthy enough for surgery. A big shout-out to Shaunalia and Pretab, who generously sponsored April’s enucleation! Now, with her unique one-eyed, small-but-scrappy charm, April is healthy and ready for her forever home.
April can’t wait to find her forever home 🩷
Thank you all for your continued support. Let’s save lives, together!
