‘I first saw Bijou on a Facebook group where her foster family had posted a write-up looking for someone to adopt her and honestly, I fell in love right away. When I brought her home I knew she was a special cat, always wanting to snuggle up and giving me headbutts right away. They told me she wasn't a lap cat, but liked to cuddle on her terms. Well, she's definitely a lap cat now! I work from home so she's my work buddy, sitting on my lap while I'm on the computer, following

'We adopted Jaxx (formally Charlie) in September 2018. We adopted him because our previously adopted cat Slater needed a friend. He was the first kitten that we decided to meet and instantly fell in love. There was absolutely no other choice, but to bring him home and give him all of the love that he deserves. Jaxx is by far the most loving, adventurous, and happy cat that I've ever met. His 2 brothers and mother have also been adopted through Team Cat Rescue and I get to see

Every cat deserves a home. Please read the most incredible story of our friend Chowder, an emaciated, wounded stray who found his forever home with the most incredible family. 'We first came across Chowder on Pet Finder. He was the saddest looking little kitty we’d ever seen. My boyfriend and I looked at each other and said “we need to give him a home”. We submitted an application right away and within days we were meeting our fur baby for the very first time. Chowder was a l

Imagine a kitten so traumatized, that he shook from terror whenever a human approached him. A kitten so scared of the humans who had let him down, that his foster mom had to swaddle him in order to show him that he was safe. For Potato Chip, his Happily Ever After started and ended with his foster mom Trish, who helped show him that not every human will let him down, and that love is there when you’re ready to accept it. When asked about her introduction to him, Trish told us

If you met Snarfles today, you would have no idea of the tragic life he's lived. This darling, affectionate boy was sent around from foster to foster after being rescued from Hamilton Animal Control, before finally finding a more permanent foster home. He was dubbed "Snarfles" because of his perpetual congestion, which made him sound like he was breathing through a scuba mask. His foster quickly discovered just how loving this sweet, funny boy was. He was eventually adopted,

Meet Hugo and Bea, a solidly bonded pair who were lucky to be adopted together from Team Cat Rescue three years ago. They were very different; Hugo was sweet and shy, but quick to hide from people - and especially wary of men. Bea was an extroverted lap cat, who greeted new people with enthusiasm. When their human parents-to-be first met them at their foster mum’s house, they were taken with Hugo’s sass, as he interacted with the foster family’s dogs. He’d lie on the couch an

Our favourite stories here at Team Cat Rescue are the ones in which the cats you think are least likely to trust and love their humans become total lovebugs. We've said it a million times before, but we see a lot of applicants shy away from cats all the time because they aren't the """perfect""" cat. But investing your time and love into a cat who has suffered trauma often times is just as - or in most cases - even more rewarding! That's why we love sharing stories like these

One of the saddest realities of working in rescue (aside from, you know, the thousands of animals abandoned and gassed every year), is that cats with special needs are regularly overlooked as being “difficult”, “expensive”, or “frustrating”. Physical and emotional issues, while sometimes challenging, often yield the most loving and loyal kitties out there. This is because after being seen as an outcast or being anxious for so long, having a human to depend on is a luxury in t

Working in cat rescue is a job full of roller-coaster emotion, and incredibly satisfying. Here is one of the many reasons the people at Team Cat Rescue work so hard – the happy tale of a cat named Bing. Bing was adopted into his forever home at the end of last year. His new home came complete with a big sister cat named Kaylee, who was bored and lonely when her humans were away from home during the day. When they left the apartment, Kaylee would cry and cry, so her fur-rents

Contrary to her grumpy-cat markings, Frankie (formerly Cherry Blossom), who was rescued from a hoarding situation, is a happy, affectionate cat who loves to follow her human mommy around! Her mom-to-be fell in love with the tiny one-year old who was fast asleep in her cage while being showcased at PetSmart. Frankie immediately woke up and started rubbing against the glass of her cage, waiting to be noticed. How could anybody resist? The decision to adopt the young cat was mad

There is nothing quite like the bond between a mother and her child. Luckily for us, these bonds need not be biological. Emma came to us from Quebec, pregnant, and with a severe respiratory tract infection. Nevertheless, she managed to steal hearts even during her brief stay at a Pet Valu, making herself known as a social and friendly lady, and chasing employees around the store to give them kisses. Sadly, she had to be hospitalized almost immediately after being brought to t

Working in animal rescue is enormously rewarding, but too often we run into obstacles that just break our hearts. Some of the most frustrating are the general public’s response to superficial traits that they think make our fur friends “less adoptable” or “undesirable”. For some kitties, aesthetics are a superficial factor: from a missing tooth or a coarse coat, to a missing leg or visual disability. Other kitties may have a manageable but often misunderstood condition like F

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: It’s easy to love the social, confident kitties. Of course it is. But there’s always something to be said for the ones that take some time. Their love, like anything worth having, takes patience and compromise. And sometimes, when you’ve just lost the cat who owned your heart, gaining that love can mean the world. Such was the case for our volunteer Tina in March of 2016. Here is her story: “Yesterday I came across Sam's i

This Happy Tail is the story of Puffy. It’s a reminder of how adopting a cat can be a positive, healing experience – not just for the cat, but for you too. When you adopt a cat, you are giving a second chance and a new life to another creature. You are also embarking on a shared journey, and just as you’ve improved the cat’s life, they can improve yours. Puffy found a loving forever home, and his adopter found a new family member and best friend: “Last year my life was a bit

My name is Monster, well now it is, for a brief moment it was Stark and before that it was Kiko. But before all of those names I was nameless, homeless, living in the streets of Cairo Egypt with my mom and sister. But like most stories go there was a death and my sister and I were looking at life alone. Now enter our first hero, someone who found us and took us in. they got us ready for a journey to a new world and we eventually ended up in Burlington Canada. Now enter my for

The hardest (and most special) part about fostering with a rescue is without a doubt the way you must give a piece of your heart to every cat, and then say goodbye when they get adopted. While even the most seasoned fosters struggle with this, the knowledge that you’ve helped save a life is well worth the bitter-sweet goodbyes, as you watch them go off to their amazing Furever Homes. Such is the blessing and curse of a foster family, to have loved and said goodbye to so many

At TEAM Cat Rescue, we do our best to screen applicants, and match them to cats who suit their personalities. One of the most accurate ways that we do this is by having our fosters invite cats into their homes, so that we may get a sense of the personality of the cats we pull from high kill shelters. Their personal relationships with the cats become crucial in discovering what makes our cats happiest, and what their furever homes should be like. Such was the case with taking

Sometimes the best way to heal a broken heart is to give someone your love. In the case of Bow and Arrow, their furever family took a chance on a bonded pair of bonded adult cats with FIV - A set of characteristics which would typically put them at the bottom of the list for most adopters. Lucky for them, their humans saw past the stigmas, and chose to love them for their personalities! Their mom sent us the following: “Besotted and smitten is what we are with our bonded pair

One wonderful benefit of cat adoption is companionship. Sometimes this means a new cat friend sitting next to you while you watch Netflix, but sometimes it means a true spiritual connection between you and your feline companion. Below is the story of Eddie, a remarkable cat who transformed his family’s life in the darkest of times. “A few months after our elderly cat passed away, my husband and I decided it was time to bring another cat into our lives, we have never been a on

Different is Beautiful – But special needs cats can take longer to be adopted. Unfortunately, potential adopters often view special needs kitties as “broken”, ask “what’s wrong” with them, or feel pity for them, all of which can make it challenging for them to find forever families. What’s often overlooked is the cats’ overwhelming ability to adapt to their challenging circumstances. It’s extremely inspiring to witness the resilience of a cat like Dr. Winkers, who’s traumatic