09/03/2026
WE'RE A SPECIAL NEEDS, NOT A SPECIALTY-BREED, RESCUE.
So it leaves us a little perplexed, and honestly, quite sad, when our animals that "look" like a fancy breed get tons of organic help/shares/etc, and our special needs and considerations animals, who don't look fancy - who are the reason for our being - don't get even a fraction of that attention.
Again, we so love that everyone came out to support our Brady & Minka - twice - and we didn't have to pay to boost their posts because they got so much help for their foster needs without us needing to do so (and we didn't have the money to do so), but what hurts is that our other beautiful animals in need - Sweetie Pie, and Meg who we want to help - have been sitting waiting for fosters for over a year and almost a year respectively. They don't get but a handful of shares (so how are they going to reach someone who would fall in love with them?). We don't understand this.
Brady & Minka were rescued by us (from the same house that Sweetie Pie was) because of where they came from (a hoarder house) and how that can impact animals living in those circumstances for so long (they lived there for 10 years). We didn't rescue them for the way they look. And let us be very clear. They are not purebred. They came from a hoarder house. Case in point that a Siamese cat doesn't have to be purebred, our undersocialized kitty Baba, who I was the caretaker for in my backyard, she came to us with 3, 8 week old kittens, and 3 more kittens in her belly - both litters had one Siamese in each litter (Tofu - a lynx point in one, and Pip, a seal point in the other). Baba is solid black. Her other 2 kittens in her first litter were black. And the other 2 kittens in her second litter was one black and one tabby. Baba carried the Siamese gene to produce a Siamese in 2 different litters (pretty sure I saw the dad of her second litter because her kids look just like him - and he was a tabby). I really, really, pray that our community is not so superficial that they will only rally around what society has shallowly defined as "pretty" animals (specialty breed-looking animals, cats with blue eyes, etc), and not the special needs and considerations animals that are just regular colors - and might not have any eyes at all like Sweetie Pie, because if that's the case, you are missing out on the true beauty in life. Our animals - just the plain ones - are so gorgeous.
If you are here for the right reasons - to help us help the animals with special needs and considerations that would be killed if brought to one of the local kill shelters - then show us. Show us with your actions on every plea and help us get these animals the foster homes they have been waiting so long for.
Today, we are looking for your help to find the most amazing person for our most phenomenal little blind girl, Sweetie Pie.
Sweetie Pie is 8 1/2 years old, and as you might be able to see, she just loves to be held and cuddled. I stopped by her temporary foster home and was talking to her temp foster mom, "Auntie Jeanne" and this is how Sweetie Pie hung out with us while we talked (after a good play sesh first).
We thought Jeanne's home would be a very temporary landing spot for Sweetie Pie - we had lined up a foster for her when we had to get her and Brady & Minka out of the hoarder house...and her foster backed out on her hours before we had to rescue them. Jeanne stepped in so we didn't have to leave Sweetie Pie behind, but her whole home is not a match for her so she's just in a room there. When we met Sweetie Pie we could instantly tell just how incredible she is so we thought this would be such a brief layover at her house because we would have people lined up to be her regular foster. We don't have any foster applications for her as of this writing.
She is the total package. Over the past 14 years, we've heard most people talk about their dream of a lap cat (whereas most cats aren't). Sweetie Pie is. She's a lap cat, a cuddle-bunny, a "spoon" (she'll spoon in your arm when you sleep), and a best friend to hold. She will purr when you give her attention or even just talk to her. She just wants to be loved and loved on.
Just because she's blind, don't think all she does is sit and cuddle all day though - she loves to play and is an EXPERT on playing soccer with you with her favorite toys - her springs and balls! She can even run and chase them by herself, but she loves company, and would rather be playing with you.
She also loves to sit on her window perch in a sunny window and listen to the songs of the birds and crickets serenading her from it. It's how she sees the world. A symphony that she sees.
Sweetie Pie is perfection - and she deserves the same for the past she has had to endure (can you imagine living in a hoarder house...but also being blind)?
We are looking for a regular foster for her at this time (so we can assess her long term needs in a full home - something we can't assess from one room of a home - but most of our foster homes (upwards of 95%), because we make the right placements, adopt their foster animal (and we always give priority to those who opened their heart and home to our animals in their time of need - the definition of a foster). The person(s) who help Sweetie Pie are going to be so blessed by her, but she also needs some things to live her best life. Animal-human relationships are always a 2-way street and this is what our precious-peanut needs to flourish:
Sweetie Pie is seeking a quiet, peaceful, tranquil, low-key foster home with an individual or couple who are established in their life and residence to give her the stability and predictability blind cats need to thrive. That residence should be located in a quiet neighborhood. Sweetie Pie is very sensitive to sound. Sound can be enriching and fulfilling to her - like her birds, bugs, and wildlife friends that are a must for her to enjoy daily from a window in her regular foster home, but other sounds are irritating and over-stimulating to her - so a home in a dense urban area - like a downtown, a busy road/street, or complex/community living (apartments/multifamily dwellings) would not be the right match for her. Snuggles, attention, and affection are a must - so her human(s) must have desire and time to spend doing these things with her everyday!
Sweetie Pie needs a home with no dogs, and we think would prefer to be someone's one and only animal (she really loves being the center of attention - and deserves that after a life full overwhelm and excess), but we will consider a home with the most laid back, chill, male, super-senior cat (mid-to-late teens) who at most might enjoy a nap together or hanging out in the window together and that we can ensure would be gentle with her.
All of our fosters must be located in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha, Ozaukee, and Racine counties.
I liken that this AMAZING kitty waiting so incredibly long for someone in a community of 2 million people to fall head over heels for her to a diamond that has fallen into the cracks of the sidewalk on a New York City street. How many people walk over it daily unnoticed? But one day, someone catches the sparkle out of the corner of their eye. It's someone who is not so consumed with and in themselves to miss the gifts right under their nose. They see the diamond. They get the prize everyone else missed but was just as much in front of them. The right person will finally notice Sweetie Pie, and oh, the joy they will BOTH have. Help us find them.
If you ARE "them" (the person we just described), go to www.milwaukeepetsalive.org/foster and return a foster application before someone else finally sees our sparkly gem...and you miss out because you waited to long.
Sweetie Pie will find her person faster if you help her. Press share. Or talk to someone you know that we are talking about that she needs.
Questions will not be answered in the comments - our social media admins don't have answers about our animals, or our programs - they just monitor the page - so if you leave one there, it won't be answered (or they may delete it to try to get you to follow directions). We're all volunteers here - help everyone out and follow instructions from the jump. If after reading this post you still have questions, email our Foster Team at [email protected]