On the afternoon of Friday May 15th, I received a call from a lady named Connie who desperately needed help. She had tried everything she could think of and reached out to numerous places in hopes of catching a cat that belonged to her father. The cat had been living alone for nearly a year after her owner had to move into an assisted living facility. Connie lives almost two hours away and had recently heard about Purrfect Place.

As we talked, I stopped making chocolate-covered treats for my son's graduation party that Sunday, told my daughter, "Let's go," and we headed out to help.

We were given permission to search anywhere necessary—inside the house, under the house, wherever we needed to go. Connie feared the cat wouldn't survive much longer on her own, although she had been making sure food and water were available when she could and auto feeder and waterer, along with some help from people in town.

We set out fresh water and placed a live trap baited with my lunch. A few hours later, we caught her. Connie mentioned that about a week and a half earlier, the cat had a very large, firm belly. Thinking there might be kittens somewhere, we checked her and released her after feeding and watering her.

The next day along with my mother we returned and searched everywhere we could think of—under the house, inside the house, around the property. No kittens. We trapped Momma again and checked her. It became clear she had already given birth somewhere, but we still couldn't find the babies. Once again, we fed and watered her before letting her go.

We made a plan with Connie. She and her daughter, Olivia, would be coming down on Sunday to pick up flowers from family, and we would all meet at the property to search together.

We arrived a little early. No sign of Momma. We looked and called for her but found nothing. When Connie and Olivia arrived, we went into the house to search again. Then suddenly, under the sink, I spotted Momma—and a tiny kitten disappeared!

The kitten disappeared beneath the cabinets where we couldn't reach it. Connie had to leave to meet family, so she gave us permission to do whatever was necessary to rescue the kittens.

We called my ex-stepdad, and he immediately came over with a saw. He carefully cut away the bottom board of the cabinet and held it up just enough for me to reach underneath. The kittens were scared and completely feral, but within 15 minutes, we safely rescued all three babies. It took about 20 minutes and we were able to catch Momma too.

The family was reunited at last with the help of my mother, Rhonda Hawpe, my daughter and ex step-dad.

When we called Connie and Olivia, they came right back. They were thrilled and surprised to discover the kittens were approximately 3–4 weeks old rather than the 1–1½ weeks old they had expected.

After helping load the family into their vehicle, they headed home together.

We are happy to report that Momma and all three kittens have since been examined by a veterinarian, and are healthy. Momma needs some time to regain weight, but overall she is doing very well.

Even better, Connie and her family have decided to keep all four cats together!

We would also like to recognize Connie and her family for their generous donation to our nonprofit organization. , for being amazing caring people., who did not give up on this cat and kept looking for help.

This is why we do what we do. To help the voiceless, to help four-legged babies, and to help families stay together whenever possible. We hope this story inspires others to help when they can. Sometimes rescue takes patience, determination, love, and a lot of persistence—but amazing outcomes are possible.

Please help us welcome:

🐾 Momma Mia
🐾 Mario
🐾 Daisy
🐾 Chester

To being a part of our story, part of another happy ending.

Patience, Persistence, and Three Hidden Kittens