08/29/2026
This morning, one of our caregivers walked up on a tomato box sitting at one of our colonies. The lid had been knocked off. There was a p*e pad inside. And there were two kittens — barely weaned, big enough to climb out — running loose around it. Two that we could see. We have no way of knowing if there were more.
Somebody drove to a known colony and left babies in a produce box like a package on a porch.
Meet Brandywine and Sungold — named, of course, after the box they came in.
We took them. Of course we took them. You cannot leave kittens loose at a colony and drive away — not with predators and grown cats who don't know them. But we need you to hear what that moment really was: not a rescue. It only ended okay because someone happened to find them in time.
So let's talk plainly, because we love this community and we are worn all the way down.
CLAWS is NOT a RESCUE!
We are not a shelter. We don't have a building, paid staff, or open kennels. Right now, CLAWS is two people — me and Chris — keeping community cats alive through trap-neuter-return and supporting the people already caring for them.
That means we are not the place to call when:
• you found kittens under your porch
• a stray showed up and won't leave
• the cats you started feeding have become a colony of their
own
• someone you know wants to "get rid of" some cats
We wish we could be everything for every cat. We can't. And every time we get pulled into a situation we aren't built for, it takes us away from the work that no one else out here is doing.
And here's the part people don't want to hear: right now, there is nowhere for these kittens to go. The rescues are full — completely full. When someone dumps kittens at a colony, they are not handing them to a safety net. There is no net. There's just us — two tired people and a vet bill.
And it is a bill. These two will cost us at least $600 to vet, before we count food and other supplies. CLAWS does not have that money sitting there. We will find it, because we always do — but we shouldn't have to, for kittens someone chose to abandon.
To whoever left them: we hope you see this. Those are your kittens in these photos. They are safe now because of a volunteer. If you have a shred of care for them, the right thing to do now is help pay for the care they need: givebutter.com/standinthegap
And know this: dumping an animal in Virginia is a crime — a Class 1 misdemeanor under state law (§ 3.2-6504).
To everyone else: if you truly want to help cats, stop the next litter before it starts. Get your own animals fixed. Don't feed outdoor cats unless you have a plan to get them fixed too — feeding without fixing is exactly how a tomato box full of kittens shows up six months later. We've pinned a post with information for spay/neuter resources and rescues. That is the best and most real help we can point you to.
A box at a colony is not a safety net. Prevention is.
Before you scroll on: how many times have you seen one of our posts and thought "someone should do something"?
You're the someone. And here's the something — because this does not have to keep happening.
There are more than 20,000 adults in Russell County. If every one of us gave a single dollar, that's $20,000 — enough to get nearly every cat and kitten people keep calling us about spayed, neutered, and done. Not rescued after the fact. Prevented. The tomato boxes, the porch litters, the colonies that keep growing — that is how they stop.
One dollar. That's the whole ask. We can't fix this alone — but together, we actually could.
👉 givebutter.com/standinthegap
