08/11/2026
💕 BUFFY’S STORY 💕
Buffy is the kind of cat I love so, so, so much. And, ironically, she made her way to us almost completely by accident and was almost released!!
Buffy’s story with us started about six months ago when we were contacted by someone asking us to take in some kittens who had been born outside. We made it clear that a condition of taking the kittens was that we would also need to address the adult cats in the area and, at minimum, get them all fixed because simply plucking kittens off the street while leaving their unsterilized parents behind is insanely IRRESPONSIBLE. If we are going to help, we want to actually end the “kitten cycle”.
Anyway….back to Buffy’s story. The caretaker estimated there were about five adult cats regularly coming around, including the kittens’ presumed mom. She told us that all of the cats were feral and agreed to help us trap everyone.
We trapped about 6 cats very quickly, of which Buffy was one, but the caretaker didn’t recognize her.
She was this incredibly skinny, dirty, beat-up little white cat who was so terrified and shut down. Even though the caretaker didn’t recognize her, we took her to the clinic to get her fixed and assumed that we would have to release her afterwards. Side note - the other cats who were supposed to be “feral”. turned out to be varying degrees of some of the sweetest, friendliest cats imaginable. Buffy was actually the only one we thought might need to be returned outside.
So Buffy went to the clinic to be spayed, and because we thought she would probably be released, we had her ear-tipped. But something made us want to give her a little time before making that decision, so we also had her combo tested and planned to keep her for a few days to see how she adjusted.
During her spay surgery, the vet discovered that Buffy was nursing, meaning there were kittens somewhere 😢😢😢. The caretaker helped to search and search for them, but they were never found. Maybe Buffy belonged to someone and went in and out of a house. Maybe she had given birth somewhere we simply couldn’t find. Maybe someone had already taken her kittens. Sadly, we will never know.
What we did know was that Buffy was full of milk…and suddenly separated from her babies.
At the same time, completely coincidentally, we had taken in a litter of tiny orphaned kittens who were struggling terribly. They were being bottle-fed but just weren’t gaining the weight they needed to gain, and we were becoming increasingly worried about them.
Eventually, we decided to try something. We introduced them to Buffy and this scared, skinny, shut-down little cat who had lost her own babies immediately became the mama that these babies desperately needed. ❤️. Buffy took incredible care of them. She nursed them, cleaned them, loved them and quite literally helped nurse these struggling little kittens back to health. It felt like somehow they had found each other exactly when they needed each other most.
And the funniest part? They even looked like they belonged together. 😂
But while Buffy was taking care of those babies, something else happened. We started getting to know Buffy and realized that underneath all that fear was the sweetest, gentlest little girl.
She is quiet and shy but little by little, as she realized she was safe, she started allowing herself to trust us and show her incredibly sweet and affectionate side.
Today, Buffy barely looks like that emaciated little cat we trapped. She has probably doubled in size. She still has a petite little frame, but she has filled out beautifully, her coat looks so much better, and most importantly, she is learning what it feels like to be loved.
Although Buffy has gained a lot of confidence, her adopter will still need to understand that Buffy may need a little time to realize that her new home is safe. We have absolutely no idea what happened to her before she crossed our path but, based on the condition she was in and how terrified she was, we are guessing life had not been especially kind to her.
Buffy is fine with other cats, but we also think she would be perfectly happy as an only cat — and honestly, there is something about imagining this little girl as someone’s one and only, being spoiled absolutely rotten, that makes us ridiculously happy. 🥹💕
She deserves a person who will be patient with her. She deserves to know she will never be hungry again. She deserves to know she will never have to survive outside again. She deserves more than a few minutes of attention squeezed into a day among dozens of other rescue cats.
Somehow, this little cat we weren’t even looking for crossed our path and we are so incredibly grateful that she did. Now we just need to finish her story by finding the person who will make sure Buffy knows, for the rest of her life, that she is finally safe. ❤️
🏡 Please share Buffy and help us find her forever home.
