🐾 Sanctuary Update: What's Been Happening

It's been a whirlwind few weeks around here — busy days, big plans, and lots of love (and yes, a little chaos) behind the scenes. Here's your full catch-up!

🩺 Health & Home Updates

Everyone is happy and healthy — except sweet Chloe, who's been battling a UTI and resting in her crate while she heals. That meant Gem temporarily lost her crate and had to move into "gen pop" with the rest of the crew. She's made her opinion on that very clear as she's not very happy! 😹

We're also excited about a big upgrade: solar panel installation is underway, which means no more electrical outages — a huge deal for keeping our cats safe and comfortable year-round. ☀️

🎪 Where to Find Us

We had a great (if rain-shortened) time at Woofstock, hosted by New Hope Animal Outreach — thank you for having us!

Going forward, we've made a decision: we'll be at the Central Park Farmers Market in downtown Decatur every Saturday, 8–12, through the end of the season (selling some plants and produce, along with other cat themed goodies, so come shop for a cause!). We're also narrowing our focus to vendor shows in the Decatur area only — not because we don't love traveling, but because we're stretched thin and want to concentrate on the community we serve.

🏷️ Upcoming Fundraiser: Citywide Garage Sale

Mark your calendars — Saturday, July 25, 9 AM–4 PM at the Civic Center. We're digging through the house for donations, and every dollar raised goes straight to the cats' care.

📚 Behind the Scenes

We've been busy on a few fronts:

• Deep cleaning and rearranging to make life better for the cats

• Writing our first educational ebook (about halfway done!) on the importance of spay/neuter — it'll be available for a small donation both online and in person. Next up, taking care of kittens.

• Working on our online store, so you can support us even when we can't be face-to-face at a vendor booth

And yes — there's a few mysteries brewing. We've got an announcement coming soon that we genuinely cannot wait to share. Stay tuned. 👀

💛 A Note From Our Hearts

We want to be honest about something that's been weighing on us. Every shelter within an hour of us is full, with waitlists on top of that — and we've gotten calls several days in a row about kittens with nowhere to go. We hate having to say no, but we're at capacity too.

It's also worth repeating: we're a sanctuary, not a typical rescue. We don't adopt out — we're built specifically for special-needs cats, and that's a different mission than most people expect.

This crisis has only deepened since the APL in Springfield lost both of its buildings in a tornado a few weeks ago. Other rescues have stepped up to help house their animals, which is exactly what should happen — but it's added real strain to a system that was already stretched too thin.

We don't have a fix for the bigger problem. We just keep showing up for the cats in front of us, one day at a time.

🧡 Taking Care of Ourselves, Too

Running a sanctuary is more than most people realize — it's like running a business where the cats are your boss! Some days are full of big projects. Other days are about rest, errands, and a well-earned nap. Either way, the cats always get their meals, fresh water, clean spaces, and love — that part never wavers.

Thank you for following along, for showing up at events, and for supporting our little sanctuary. We truly appreciate all of the donations (both monetarily and supplies wise). None of what we raise comes back to us — it's all for the cats. 💛🐾

See you at the Farmers Market on Saturdays, or at the garage sale on July 25!

Phantom says thank you for the new bed.

Take a moment to learn more about his rescue story!

Contact us at:

Bre@SpecialLittleWhiskersKittenRescue.com

(217)386-1746

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Special Little Whiskers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal-related public charity.

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