Here are 3 of our favorite heartwarming stories involving these furry friends from the year.
Gem City Catfe′
The Gem City Catfe′, a coffee shop and cat adoption center, opened at the beginning of the year, providing a place for the community to snuggle with cats.
The goal of the catfe′, located at 513 E. Fifth St. in the St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood, is “to foster positive interactions between cats and people, in an expectation free environment,” according to their website.
Visitors can book time to cat cuddle with rescue cats in the cat lounge, enjoy coffee, tea and bakery items in the espresso bar and view local art shows in an upstairs gallery.
Bottle feeding kittens
In August we told you about a need for human foster parents to bottle feed kittens.
A sudden wave of motherless kittens prompted the call to the community.
“When we get little babies that have been separated from their mothers, then we fill in as the mothers,” said Brian Weltge, the president and CEO of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.
“We feed the babies with little bottles or syringes full of formula made just for kittens. The kittens that are on formula are called ‘bottle babies’.”
The community stepped up to save lives and dozens of new applications to become a foster came in.
“The response has been unheard of,” Jessica Garringer, marketing and development project manager for the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, said. “We’ve had such a wonderful response from people. I’ve been here six years and haven’t seen anything like it.”
Lil BUB
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Celebrity cat, Lil BUB, visited Dayton in November for a special meet and greet.
The well-known cat, rescued as a kitten from an Indiana tool shed in 2011, visited in support of Gem City Kitties, a nonprofit that is housed inside Gem City Catfé.
Lil BUB and her dude, Mike Bridavsky, presented “The Story of Lil BUB” to a crowd at the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner events hall.
According to the famous feline’s website, she is a published author, a talk show host, a movie star and has helped raise more than $300,000 for animals in need.
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