How I became a cat shelter manager: - bored in 2020 during the pandemic, own cat recently died - started volunteering at my local cat shelter - started fostering after a year - previous manager quit and moved away - „ahh we have no one to take over!“ - took a seminar, did an oral exam, woops suddenly I‘m the manager 😂

From a technical standpoint, I appreciate that your handwritten silly captions are appearing for longer onscreen, not only so I have time to read them, but can read them a second time and laugh all over again 😹😂😹😂😹😂‼️

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

Kay is doing the best.

It's fun that a cat rescue is named after a dog! 🙂❤🐶🐱🐱🐱🐱😻

@krisniznik3953

Ай бұрын

I foster tons of kittens and my dog loves them! If I had my own rescue it definitely would be named after her!

So you were studying fruit flies and started a kitten rescue… if you’d been studying kittens I wonder if you’d have a fruit fly rescue today…. 😆

@stephgreen3070

4 ай бұрын

I swear my house is a fruit fly rescue that I DID NOT sign up for lol.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

One can only ponder

@avalonminpins

4 ай бұрын

Lol!

@brandonclark435

3 ай бұрын

In an alternate universe.

I always used automatic captions and it always transcribed Miss Dixie's as Mystic Seas (not in this video though). 😅 Now it makes sense!

@Evergreen2219

4 ай бұрын

I thought she was saying mystic seas this entire time

@SackZement

4 ай бұрын

so I wasn't the only one....

@jtidema

4 ай бұрын

OMG, I just said the same thing

@reneerogers912

4 ай бұрын

I kept hearing Mystic Cs too lol 😂

@bek7562

3 ай бұрын

Same, it took me 5 videos to hear it right@@Evergreen2219

I don’t know why I always imagined Miss Dixie was an elderly Southern lady who you were the social media manager for because she just “doesn’t understand the Tik Tok” 😂

I would love to foster kittens. What holding me back is I'm afraid I won't wanna let them go. I don't want to adopt because I can't afford to care for them properly if they get sick. I had 3 senior cats at the same time. They had thyroid disease, diabetes, kidney failure, HCM, pleural effusion, pica and more. Not behind able to afford the best treatments was just as bad as seeing them get sick. But I'm a cat person in my soul and it's been almost a year with no cats and I hate it to my core.

@MrMaddoks

4 ай бұрын

I would suggest volunteering then, allows you to get a dose of cat love and gives the cats human interaction which will help get them adopted. Wish you well in your journey

@nataliegraham9552

4 ай бұрын

I will echo the reply you've gotten to go the volunteering route if that would work out in your situation. I would love to foster again - used to foster both cats and dogs for a couple of organizations - but I can't now due to rental restrictions and cost. So, I help my local county animal shelter by volunteering a shift at a local pet store where they have a cat adoption area - I get to enjoy some cat and kitten company when I take care of them on my shift, and get to celebrate with the rest of the 'store cat care crew' when our residents go to their forever homes. ❤😸❤

@36janders

4 ай бұрын

Yes definitely volunteer, but also I will say that it does get easier with time. It is wonderful hearing from people who have adopted my fosters and getting updates. It feels good knowing that adopting out your fosters means you can go save another life, and it beats knowing that being too afraid to foster means cats are dying in shelters. With that said I have two foster fails. 😬 I wish I could foster right now, but I lost the extra bedroom I had.

@countessk

4 ай бұрын

What helps me is reminding myself often that while I love each kitten and they earn a place in my heart, they are not for me (heck, I have 4 of my own). I am helping to give the best start to someone else's future best friend. And it's hard to give them up. I cry a little bit for each one as they depart, but I'm still happy for them. I still remember each one and have many pictures of them. Some of the adopters reach back and give me pictures as they grow up. So if you can manage to think if it that way, maybe you can foster. If not, then volunteering other ways is great! You can visit another foster for play dates with their brood. It's good for kittens to be exposed to many different people so they are more out-going.

@jenpink4298

4 ай бұрын

❤

the moment you said "studied fruit flies" my inner biology major burst forth and I muttered "DrOsOphiLa" under my breath

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

DrOsOphila MelANOgaster

Mary, you will make a fantastic, most empathetic Vet. You are wonderful and I think you need to hear this often. Watching Dr. Barbara play behind you, I’m dumbfounded that her prior “family” decided to put that sweet girl down instead of doing the treatment needed to heal her paw. They should never be allowed to own another animal again! I mean, look at her! What a happy, playful little goil! Thank you for all you do. Again, you are an amazing human ❤❤❤!

your shorts showed up on my feed yesterday and i cant stop watching! my kitty was a scrappy lil stray for about 5 years and now he is so happy indoors, and he has changed my life! the work you do is amazing and every cat deserves a chance, but sadly there just arent enough people with the resources to give them one. you’re amazing!

Dr Barb, medicine queen.

I heard “adopted Bethany” but was probably actually “got Bethany”. Either way, it’s totally accurate. 😂

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

I sent her this. We got a good laugh.

I worked in a shelter and fostered for them. Then I stopped working in the shelter and still fostered a little. Then I fostered more. Now I foster for a small rescue instead of the county's humane society and get a new kitty later this week! Fostering is the best, I love it so much. In addition to my own five cats. Oopsies?

I don't know how you find the energy to do all that you do. I can barely get through my 60 hour work weeks with my sanity intact, so I really admire your efforts.

@thedrugthatkilled

4 ай бұрын

60 hour weeks? I struggle with 40 hours 😮

@cate9540

4 ай бұрын

@@thedrugthatkilled I work in IT for a local law enforcement agency. My partner & I are on call 24/7/365. There's only the two of us to support over 1000 staff and multiple software systems spread out in half a dozen buildings, so we put in a lot of hours. I'm aiming to retire this year after doing this for more than 30 years. I'll probably do nothing but sleep for the first month. 😁

@thedrugthatkilled

4 ай бұрын

@@cate9540 you've definitely earned your retirement & rest! I hope it all goes to plan & your bed is comfortable & your pillow is cool 💕

@cate9540

4 ай бұрын

@@thedrugthatkilled Thank you so much for your kind words. The only thing that will keep me from retiring this year is if my retirement account takes a big financial hit from something like a government shutdown. Keeping my fingers crossed that Congress can pass the 2024 budget soon (preferably before they have to start working on the 2025 budget).

@thedrugthatkilled

4 ай бұрын

@@cate9540 I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, too 😊💖

I love what you do, and I love the background Barbara! She's entering her second kittenhood. 💕

There are no organizations that TNR in my area because we are unincorporated. No one will help, so I started to try to TNR cats in my neighborhood myself last summer, and I did get several prolific males. The problem is people keep dumping cats on me and expected me to also be a rescue, and I just can’t. I am in over my head, and it caused a severe depression that I’m still trying to claw my way out of. I don’t know what to do. 😔 You were my inspiration to start doing this, but I don’t know if I can keep going. I have no vets in my area except one who is willing to offer low cost services and they are booked out months in advance, so it takes so much planning and the homeowners usually refuse to help. I don’t know which direction to turn at this point.

@smol-one

4 ай бұрын

I think the long and short of it is that you need help. You said no one will help, but who did you ask? And, from Mary's videos, what I've gathered is that people who feed the colonies tend to wall off other people. Maybe because they think the cats will be hurt or taken away, maybe because they think they'll get in trouble, maybe a lot of things. This isn't going to be for everyone. And you need to take care of yourself. Maybe, take some time and really think things through. Think about what needs to be done and what you're actually capable of doing, you know? Maybe it's a lack of planning things out and if you can get together a plan it will help. You said no one was doing TNR where you are, but maybe there are rescues where you are. You could talk to them. Even if it's not a cat rescue, you could still learn from them, I imagine lots of animal rescues have similar problems. You've done good stuff. I hope things get better for you. Love you. Proud of you. ❤

@CricketsBay

4 ай бұрын

Contact cat rescues in your state. Ask how they handle the same problems you have.

@36janders

4 ай бұрын

@@smol-onethank you for your kind words. I actually am a volunteer with our local rescue, they just don’t work directly in my neighborhood and can’t expand. I volunteer anyway. We have no animal services in my area because of our status as a MUD district outside of the city, so calls to our local shelters always result in “sorry about your bad luck” and they refuse to expand TNR to our area or accept or strays. The other shelter is high-kill. I TNR in our neighborhood. What tends to cause me to crash is people who expect me to swoop in and foster every stray they find, and I feel awful when I have to say no. However, after I wrote the message above, which was after a particularly hard day where a finder was telling me she would put a sweet stray back out on the street in 20 degree temps if I didn’t take her, I was able to reunite that sweet baby with her owner. She had been lost 2 weeks and had wandered 10 blocks from her home. It was the outcome I needed, for perspective. I will keep doing this as long as I can. You are right that I need to know my limits and develop stronger boundaries.

@36janders

4 ай бұрын

My experiences over the past year have given me the utmost respect for what Mary has accomplished and continues to accomplish. This is hard, and I don’t think people truly understand how hard it is until they are doing it themselves. It’s important, though, and my next steps include advocacy at the city level for affordable vet care and TNR.

Volunteering is especially rewarding to do. I volunteer at my local shelter & help take care of the cats. It's an absolutely rewarding experience to do.

I have been following you since the beginning and I am so grateful and thankful for everything you have taught me so when I had a pregnant kitty show up I knew exactly what to do!! Also because of you I was officially diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 51. Watching you makes me feel normal and like I have found a place where my chaos is ok! You da best!!❤

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

I appreciate you so much. welcome to the ADHD family and thank you for stepping up and helping your local kitties. 🖤

Another way to help: comment on the videos too! And don't skip the ads until 30 sec have played.

Oh man I felt that when you were talking about grad school. Grad school can be absolutely soul crushing 😅

I had to get my baby boy put to rest 3 nights ago and your videos have become something in my life that cheers me up. For the last week and a half (since knowing it was what was best for him) I have been a wreck. He was my baby for 13.5yrs thankfully I still have his sister, she's getting so much loves and trying to make sure she isn't feeling lonely

I’m currently in my PhD and I spend most of my weekends at the local rabbit rescue. I sincerely wonder if I’m headed in a similar direction haha. Thankfully I’m feeling really good about my PhD as well, but bunny rescue just hits different lol

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

You will need a hobby lol

Thank you so much for your hard work, so many pets are left abandoned and it hurts my heart so much to not be able to help them. You and your team are incredibly wonderful, I can't begin to express how much I cherish your work.

Dr Barbara needs her own spin off

We Love you so much Dr. Mary. Thank you for a very informative video on the initial steps of starting a nonprofit and sharing your experience. I've been taking care of special needs kitties for years now - I work with one rescue from which I have adopted a kitty with terrible GI issues (poopy poop); heart issues; diabetes and kidney diseases - such that we are essentially a sanctuary at this point. I've considered starting a nonprofit, but I have "analysis paralysis" and am terrible at the social medial stuff, so I guess I figure "whats the point?" But I get to take care and love on my kitties, and I wear cat-themed Tshirts so people will ask, so I can talk about the various ways people can help with cat rescues - the best I have I guess is to help educate people about the importance of spay/neuter; TNR; and other aspects of kitty health. You will make a WONDERFUL veterinarian and I can't wait to see how you set up your rescue/clinic in the future. Thank you for allowing this older woman to live vicariously through you!!

Mary, you are amazing! You are doing the job I have always wanted! I started working for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in December, and I am quickly realizing that it's not what I expected or wanted to do. It's basically a giant production line of care for the animals! 😢 I expected to be able to work with the cats as well as cleaning and feeding. I am struggling with this! 😢 I am also VERY disappointed with the "behavior" people who don't seem to know what they are doing! The cat behavior lady recommends euthanasia if she sees a terrified cat! 😱 She never works with any of the cats to calm them or work around their fear! Again, I am struggling with this! Being able to experience your way of doing things gives me hope and encouragement that I might be able to do what you do some day. Thank you!

I love your videos and you're one of the only 3 accounts I check daily - yours, poetssquarecats (I saw ur t-shirt 👀) and meganandtherescues, ofc. I get rescue content from others, but you're the holy trinity 😂 and I actively open these daily to see if there are new posts

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

Love both of them!

Not me wearing my Sad Boy Summer shirt while you're also repping Poets Square Cats in the video!!!❤❤❤ 😂 Love it.

I've always rescued, all animals and some reptiles, since i was 5. The most rewarding was working with special needs kitties. The most fun was taming baby Kitty ferals. The most work, hand feeding baby kittens .Wouldn't have it any other way. 🐾

I became a foster kitty mama because of your TikTok channel! Thank you for all you do.

Idk why they say there’s a “ kitten season “ . There’s a stray/feral cat colony in my neighborhood and kitten season is every other week😂🙏 I’ve noticed summer babies and winter babies are very different. The summer babies are carefree and the winter babies are born into struggle. I’m doing my best with them🙏 I’ve fixed a million, found 30 cats/kittens great homes, I took three inside, turned my garage into a safe haven for another 6. My 9 are great, tight knit family unit. I just can’t take in one more.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

It depends on where you live. Warmer areas tend to have all-season kitten season, but colder climates tend to have a true slow-down in kittens. But really, it varies

@troyrussell177

4 ай бұрын

@@Fortheloveofkittenrescue I live in southern nj. It’s been cold lately but this is also the first time it snowed in 4 years. Picking up a female from the vet in 30 minutes coincidentally. She’s not going back to the streets so she’s at least warm for recuperating. She’s going back in my neighbors house though. That’s a whole other clusterfuck pardon my French.

I had a Sheltie named Dixie! She lived to be 17 years old. We had to put her down a few years ago, and about a year after we put her down, I adopted two cats!

Yay, the Doctors!

I started feeding cats outside my backyard. And four days later, there have been a total of 8 cats in my backyard. Ahh what do I do?!

I love how many of us went “welp I have no idea what I want so grad school it is”.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

I think that’s the blue print of higher education.

That thumbnail though... 🤣🤣👌 Great job fostering, studying and all the things!! Keep it up! 💪

I did a research project on fruit flies in high school!!😮

I’ve been thinking of fostering for Paws & Claws in Illinois, quite near me … but again, when it comes to other species, I’m a little fragile emotionally and do not handle loss well, so for now I just buy them items on their wishlist.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

And I love this! It’s what you’re able (emotionally or otherwise lol) able to do, and it helps more than you probably know!

@danopticon

4 ай бұрын

@@Fortheloveofkittenrescue - You are very kind to say this, I really appreciate it! I walk by their storefront some evenings, and I see their four-legged clients playing and napping and looking out at me winsomely, and I think “Little ones, you should all be home with MEEEE!” but right now I couldn’t handle anything bad happening. Hopefully someday I’ll have the fortitude again.

Great work! Glad that I came on you across the internet :) Greetings from Wrocław, Poland

You're amazing, I love everything you do for the kitties. (❤From a fellow tuxedo cat mom)

Love you Mary! ❤

Thanks! Donation to help with "Tony the monster" dental extractions and medicines.

As a "career college student," I am curious about the process of getting a PhD in veterinary medicine. Do you have to write a dissertation and defend it, or do you have to do an internship or work study and defend that? Do you have qualifying exams or comprehensive exams that you have to take and defend your answers to? All my degrees are in the humanities, so I'm curious about how similar and/or different the process is for the sciences.

@docgammycat

4 ай бұрын

Google "postbaccalaureate premedical program." This is what I did to switch from humanities to veterinary medicine. These are formal academic programs offered by some institutions (Bryn Mawr, Columbia, and Harvard are three who do, for example) to help humanities graduates acquire the premedical knowledge required to go into veterinary medicine. Then you have to take the GRE standardized exam and apply to one of about 25 vet schools in the U.S. (there are also vet schools in Europe and thd Caribbean).

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

So i got my PhD in Biological sciences and not Veterinary Medicine. It was unrelated to vet med, just another chapter in the life.

@docgammycat

4 ай бұрын

@KayaChan1369 I wonder if you mean you want to study to become a doctor of veterinary medicine? That isn't a "PhD," that's a unique credential called a "DVM." And of course, our wonderful and truly unique double-Dr. Mary is working on having both 👍😃😺🐾 !!

I don't know how u are able to do what u do but we LOVE that u do cuz it's helped my depression a LOT!! My question tho is Screamies? I love it so much and i look forward to it every year!!

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

We will have all that information soon! Just finalizing dates.

I’m curious what partner does and whether it’s animal related … not curious in a chit-chat small-talk kinda way, but curious in an “Is it also kitty-related?” kinda way, because I would LOVE to have a house full of cats? (although I could not deal with the loss and heartbreak) but I imagine not everyone would.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

Partner prefers to not be on the internet at all, but i can say he does nothing cat-related but he loves the ones we have.

@danopticon

4 ай бұрын

@@Fortheloveofkittenrescue - On all fronts, sounds like a quality partner! Lucky kitties in every way. 🤗💕🐈

Sooo it all really started with Mr Dr Mary????❤❤ Thank you sir!

Hold up. You live in South Carolina and haven’t gotten the memo that it’s pronounced KAY-roe surrup? 😂 You’ve done so, so much. I’m inspired. See a problem? Become the solution. ❤

You are doing great work

I have always wanted to go to vet school but I was convinced that it was too saturated and vets and vet techs have one of the highest suicide rates and mental health issues. I still desperately want to help animals and you have inspired me to try and volunteer at my local shelter. That you so much for all you do! Btw how long is vet school? 4 years?

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

The shelter is a great place to start! I am hopeful that the veterinary field will become a more mentally healthy field as we get more and more vets out of school. And vetschool is 4 years!

I love your videos so much!

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

😍😭

❤

Interaction post! 🎉💃🏻

hey, i love watching your videos and channel. I wanted to ask something, there is 4 cats near my campus and one of them is a kitten. They stay around the dining hall area but would it be bad to take the kitten and care for it? the weather isn’t the warmest rn

I have a question.. I’m in south there nj and I am drowning in kittens. The neighborhood is actually. I’ve fixed 24 I think, on my own dollar. I can’t keep up🙏

Have a question for you. I rescued a feral kitten. Can you give me any advice on how to tame her? I have had her 6 weeks and she still will not let me touch her. Any help would be appreciated

Haha... I thought it was Mystic Seas, not Miss Dixie's.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

Surprise!

Hello yes I have a question! You said the word “lawyer” here and there are many cats in your videos so I assume you are an Attorney at Paw™. My kitten has charged me with attempted murder for not feeding him his Churu quickly enough. Do you do free consultations? Am I going to jail?

You wouldn't happen to know anything about Chicago TNR would you? I would want to prioritize someplace people know before I do my own research

@CricketsBay

4 ай бұрын

The ASPCA in Chicago works with cat rescue organizations. They should be able to point you in the right direction. All major cities have an ASPCA animal shelter, whereas smaller cities and towns may have a Humane Society only, or no resources at all.

Hey, I love your videos and what you're doing. This is so great! I don't normally do this but I find it hard sometimes to listen to your videos because of the music. I like the piece but the sensory overload of the very lively music and you talking is a challenge for me. I guess it is part of your IP now, so I don't know if you could even change it if you wanted to, but I wanted to just point it out. Maybe there is something that can be done :)

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

I can absolutely turn it down. Still working on finding a good audio level 🤍🤍 thank you for the feedback

@karolinewulfert613

4 ай бұрын

@@Fortheloveofkittenrescue Thank you so much for considering this!

Why's the channel named "for the love of kitten rescue" then?

@aksez2u

4 ай бұрын

What? Because they love to rescue kittens, maybe?

@CocoTheTortie

4 ай бұрын

Why not Miss Dixie's Kitten Rescue?

@aksez2u

4 ай бұрын

@@CocoTheTortie Because the name of the rescue organization doesn't have to be the name of the channel.

@18lalalalalala

4 ай бұрын

Also Mary has made it clear that the KZread money doesn't necessarily go to the rescue. She makes the content on KZread but if people want to donate to the rescue, that's different. I think in that case, it is actually very transparent and responsible of her to not name the channel the same thing as the rescue.

You are so awesome ! Thank you for this amazing work that you are doing. ! 👑👑👑🦄🦄🦄

A question about politics, in the broadest sense of the word. Have you come up against locals, be they individuals, in government, or law enforcement, who are vehemently opposed to what you do? In the greater Hudson Valley area (NY), there is unfortunately more than one Animal Control Officer who hates cats and would rather kill them all than TNR. They target rescues and individuals for vicious harassment campaigns. I've read about this sort of tragic insanity happening all over the U.S., and I hope/pray you have never and will never encounter anything like this--? 🩷🩷🩷

@CricketsBay

4 ай бұрын

Talk to the city or municipal government. If you can find out who loves cats and hates the Animal Control Officer, you have an ally. Then you can build from there. You can e-mail most city councilmembers with questions and see how they respond. Their contact info. is required to be available on the city or municipal website.

@Fortheloveofkittenrescue

4 ай бұрын

Yes, we have. But in general, our community is moving towards accepting TNR (even though we aren’t there yet). When we do experience push-back in the field, we try to educate and inform and work with people at their pace. We also will not work with people who are hostile or threaten the safety of me or my team. But that’s the basics. We go where we are wanted and avoid where we are not.

@docgammycat

4 ай бұрын

@CricketsBay Crickets, it's even worse than I described. The corruption is legion. The ACO launders money for the County, so the legislators benefit. The Sheriff benefits. It's just about unspeakable.