On a winter day before Christmas I had the most wonderful experience adopting a rescued kitten in my village of Oxford. I had been wishing for a little female kitten to liven things up between my two older, very settled, bored once-rescued cats named Buddy Budd and PD Budd-- and to make me happy too. This happened when Dona Olsen of Little Mews Cat Rescue of Oxford N.Y. stood at my front door with a carrier holding the cutest yellow-eyed, black and white female kitten inside. She wears a tuxedo design with a lacey white bib and white at her very toe tips… 7 of them on her front paws and 6 on each of the back ones. I’ve counted. Gracie Twinkle-toes is a polydactyl—an extra added attraction and rare in cats. After Dona came inside, Gracie and I got to cuddle together on my sofa. This little bundle, so easily curled up in one of my hands, relaxed and tame, she obviously had been well-loved at Little Mews. I sat listening, drawn between the rumble of purring vibrating in my hands and Dona’s voice as she went over the terms of Little Mews adoption agreement. I had to promise to have the kitten spayed in two months when she was six months old. Dona also gave me information that would help with the cost and the name of a local veterinarian who work with Little Mews. And I also had to promise not to get Grace’s many toes “de-clawed,” a euphemism for removing the first knuckle of each finger. A torture for any cat, but for a multi-toed feline it could only cripple the cat for life. It was no problem for me to make such a promise. Dona told me the “family history” such as it was. Gracie has two long-haired tuxedo brothers who are also polydactyl. They had been adopted. As a retired, limited income elder I felt pleased to hear that there was no charge for this extraordinary service. Future contributions were not on the Little Mews list, but I plan on some “Gifts from Gracie T-t” as time goes by. Before Dona left she handed me a folder of kitten raising information with product coupons. She urged me to call her whenever I had any questions. Then like a fairy godmother of cat rescuers, Dona Olsen disappeared leaving me with a black and white furry bundle looking up at me. As I write this, young Gracie naps across the room on one of her choice sleeping spots. After two months since her “big girl surgery” the hair on her belly grows downy soft and she gets along well with the two old “uncles” who had lived a far more settled life before she moved in. Every day I am grateful for Little Mews Cat Rescue and Dona Olsen who does such a perfect job of bringing rescued little kitties back to health and finding homes for them. Dona offers a premium service for cats and humans, too. How else would I have found a perfectly healthy, adoptable cat delivered right to my own home?
My daughter has 5 cats she can't keep them she is moving and there three orange kittens males and two adult one female and male need a good home for them there are loving caring cats indoor cats
Amazing organization! Not only do they care so much about the kitties but they educate people in the community to understand the importance of spay/neuter and not declawing. Will only ever adopt from this organization!
Outstanding people who are determined to make the lives of animals better. My mom does a dog agility sport in the local park and her group had found a distressed mama cat with her freshly born kittens. Mom was clearly distressed and it was very hot out. She called the local shelter, animal control, a local vets clinic and not a single one was willing to help. She finally made a post on Facebook asking for help and someone got her in contact with Little Mews, one call is all it took and someone was on their way immediately and there within 15 minutes. The woman scooped up mom and babies and loaded them into her car immediately and was on the road with them. That same woman gave mommy mom regular updates after and my mom and me came by to drop off a large bag of food and cat litter as thanks. All of the babies and mom were fixed and adopted.
Little Mews has extremely caring and dedicated fosters who happily sacrifice home space, time , and resources to help kittens and cats on a daily basis. They bend over backwards to help our most vulnerable cat populations and work very hard to find them comfortable and loving forever homes.
My roommate and I have fostered/volunteered with Little Mews for just over a year. We have loved every minute of it! Although we had a chaotic start we were well supported in taking care of the foster kitties, we always felt comfortable to reach out and ask questions. It’s clear that everyone involved just loves cats and wants to help as many as possible! Pictured: the two cats we foster failed :)
Little Mews Rescue goes above and beyond to help it’s local community and cat population. It is 100% volunteer run and all cats live in foster homes. I am so glad to be a part of such a wonderful organization!
Little Mews is such a valuable resource for Lenawee County. They have volunteers helping 24 hours a day. Cats are taken to the ER vets at all hours. Even when there's no room, someone almost always tries to squeeze in whatever the need is. Our community is so lucky to have them!
I’ve made several donations to this group so they can save the innocent. They are a great group who educates people in the importance of spay and neuter. It warms my heart, the amount of work they put in to save the little kittens, to become healthy for adoption.
As with any rescue, little mews does all that they can and then some.
We live in the country, and stray cats and kittens seem to find our house often. Little mews has helped us with spaying and neutering several, and even took some from us. They are often running at full capacity + 50%, so we appreciate all that they do. They rely solely on donations, and we help when we can.
They are a first class rescue!
Marti and Patrick Harris
This wonderful organization has been saving kittens and cats all over our community. We are blessed to have their dedication and service.
This is a great grass roots organization to support! They are caring, professional and won't leave any cat behind.
Little Mews has been such a blessing to Lenawee county and surrounding areas. All of the people I met involved in the rescue have been amazing and a great support to our community. They go above and beyond for our feline friends and are always very appreciative of everyone’s support. I use to be timid and shy of cats, but they’ve really helped me to understand that cats communicate in their own special way and only want love and on their terms. I’m proud to know everyone I’ve met with this rescue. They’ve given me purpose in a hard situation and now I get to be a small part of their big hearts in rescue. I can’t say enough great things about Little Mews and the people who make it what it is. Several and I mean SEVERAL cats are living their best lives, all because this reacue cares deeply and passionately for the cats. I’m proud to know them, proud to help them and proud to share their greatness with so many of you. Honing in on my Bob Barker and encouraging you to spay and neuter your pets! Thank you, Little Mews, for all you do!
Our outdoor mom was poisoned by someone in our neighborhood. Jamie met me that night to pick up her 4 kittens to bottle feed them and raise them for adoption.
After losing our 16 year old kitty, we were looking to give a home and our hearts to another. I found Little Mews Rescue online and saw the sweetest little gray Tabby kitten. I called and had a wonderful conversation with Dona and we arranged to meet and hopefully bring home our new baby. Before we could bring her home, Annie got some mysterious illness and Dona put her heart and soul, not to mention many trips to the Vet. into making her better. It took a while, but Dona kept us up to date with photos and emails every day and finally she hit 2 lbs. and Annie Oakley became ours.
About 6 months later we decided to add another kitty. Dona let us know she had a sweet orange female and sent pictures. Before long we had our sweet Lucy Ricardo in our home too. We have been so blessed to have both of these girls with us for the last 10 years.
Little Mews goes the extra mile to rescue, care for and place these cats of all ages who need the love and care of a family. I would not hesitate to check them out when you are looking to give someone a forever home.
Two precious kittens were abandoned by their young mother. They were only three weeks old and needed immediate care and food. My sister asked her friend from work if she knew of an organization who would take them. She suggested that we should email Little Mews. They were helpful and so wonderful they took in the kittens hours after I emailed them. They are Guardian Angels for animals. We are blessed to have Little Mews in our county.
Little Mews rescue has been the biggest part of my life my father had worked with Donna for Year's and they had become very close she has helped my father rehome a lot of cats that he had rescued from the streets they are the best rescue centers that I know of right now and if I had enough money I would donate a lot of it to help them this organization means the world to me and I like to say thank you for the help you had given my father God bless you very much
Little Mews is run by people who are passionate about keeping cats safe, healthy, and happy, and finding them good homes. They care for as many cats as they can, have several good volunteer foster homes, and carefully screen potential adopters. I highly recommend adopting a kitty or two or three from Little Mews!
I love Little Mews Rescue! Have a couple cats from there that are a wonderful addition to my home. Loving and caring people!
Little Mews matched me with the best cat I've ever had, coached me through the transition and helps to this day if I have questions about his care, behavior or veterinary needs. Little Mews goes way above and beyond the call of duty to help cats and cat owners in our community!
littlemews 09/26/2014
Jen not only did you get a wonderful cat, but you're a wonderful cat mom. You took on the challenge of falling in love with a feline leukemia positive cat without hesitation. You've given Tyson everything he needs to make his life as healthy and comfortable as possible. He looks great, and obviously living the good life with you. And if that's not enough... you found an almost dead horse and brought him back to life too!! Simply amazing what love can do to preserve life.
My story is too long to tell. It involves a mama cat and two litters. All I can say is that the people at Little Mews went above and beyond in helping me out with a tough and sad situation and to make sure that the cats received the best care possible. Even went as far as calming me into the late hours of the night and keeping in contact with me. They truly love the cats that they help. I would not go anywhere else to save a cat. God bless them.
Dona from Little Mews is compassionate and very dedicated to rescuing cats. I had personal experience when a friend lost her apartment and had to give up her cats, both cats had medical issues but Little Mews took them in and cared for them until adoption. Dona works tirelessly rescuing cats in Oxford as well as all of Chenango County and she is responsible for hundreds of successful placements.
I adopted my boy, Fritz, from Little Mews in February of 2013. I had heard of Little Mews through a family friend and followed them on Facebook. I already had one cat, Abbey, who I had taken in the summer before, as a stray. I had been thinking of getting another cat but I wasn't sure. That was when I found Fritz. I instantly fell in love with him. He is a little grey tabby with one eye. He was just so handsome! I showed him to my at the time, fiance, now husband, and commented how perfect he was. A few days went by and I couldn't stop thinking about him! So, I talked to my fiance, and I talked to my mom, whose property I lived on at the time, and we all decided I could adopt him, if I really wanted. Dona was amazing! I messaged her on facebook, expressing my interest, and I filled out an application on the Little Mews website. Abbey had just been spayed a few days before, but we had a little meet and greet set up at my house and had Fritz come to be introduced to Abbey and ourselves. He loved up to us immediately, flopping onto his back and demanding belly rubs! He also wanted to be best friends with Abbey from the start. Of course, Abbey wanted nothing to do with him. She was NOT happy to have a stranger in her house. So, Fritz went back to his foster home, and Abbey finished healing from her spay. When she was healed, we finalized the adoption and had our newest member brought home! It took them about a week to get used to each other but they have been best friends ever since! Dona and her organization, Little Mews Rescue, are so wonderful! Dona and her volunteers work tirelessly to help rescue cats in need and try to find them all loving homes. Every interaction I've had with her has been nothing short of extremely pleasant and amazing! I would definitely recommend her to anyone who is looking for the perfect cat or cats to call their own!
I came across little mews, and Donna, on Facebook, She was helping another person find homes and spay/neuter services for there cats. I asked her some questions, and for some advice. She gave it, with out making me feel like i was dumb and a bad pet owner for having to ask. When it came time for my move, she placed my two kitten sisters, in an amazing home, togeather. Better then i could have asked. She also told me about AAM, and with there help i am able to get my male cat neutured. Donna and little mews, well i cant say enough good things about them. There saviors. Donna goes out of the way to save animals. I know she has helped save more then just cats. She saves humans as well. She saves them by offering help, and a hand up not a hand out. She teaches not preaches. She explains things with out judgement. I am forever and eternally greatfull for her.
I discovered Little Mews Rescue while visiting the local Tractor Supply in our community. There was a large crate with the cutest little balls of fur inside, and a table set up with information about the rescue. That is where I met Dona. She gave me a sheet, and we talked for a little while. I learned a lot about the overpopulation of cats, and the problems with getting funding to have them spayed and neutered, and even finding foster homes and adoptions to "forever" homes. I now help them by setting up a donation jar on the stage, right on my piano wherever my band SUNDOWN plays. We have raised a few hundred dollars so far this way. Thanks go out to our fans who reach out and help.
Little Meows Fantastic place to adopt great cats from, I have two love them both. Little meows has always been honest and I would recommend adopting from little meows!
We have taken in 3 Fosters to Help Little Mews and I'm proud to say we can't let them go. This Rescue is more than caring and compassionate. They work their butts off to keep these cats healthy and ALIVE unlike the SPCA who LOVE to put them down. If your looking for a cat or kitty this is the place. Be prepared for a back ground check as they make sure these adorable critters go to GOOD homes ONLY!!!!!
Little Mews Rescue, is awesome, early this summer, I had some kittens that a mother cat had abandoned in my garage, I desperately reached out to Little Mews rescue, they told me how to go about capturing them safely, and once I did, they came and got them, and now they have been adopted. They are a wonderful Rescue, so caring about all cats tame and feral.
I have volunteered with Little Mews Rescue for several years. The work that they do continues to amaze me. At first, I just helped with a couple of bake sales. After a while, I decided to get involved in helping with their feral cat Trap Neuter Release (TNR) program. At first, I would just go and check traps that had already been set. After trapping the first cat successfully, I was pretty much hooked. A friend had told me about an area known to have feral cats where kittens had been seen. I went there, and saw 4 little tiger kittens playing. So, I set 2 traps. The first day, I trapped 2 kittens and Dona picked them up. I was pretty sure there were 3 more playing around the traps, so I set 3 traps the next day. When I went to check them, I had 3 kittens in traps, and 1 more playing! What we originally thought was a litter of 4 turned out to be a litter of 6 almost identical little tiger kittens. Since they were VERY feral - ferocious little guys - they were all spayed or neutered and released on a farm. They were adorable - and the furthest from cuddly I have ever seen.
Quite a while back my mother had to go to a Nursing Home and we did not know what do to because she had an 8 year old Persian "Frankie" who had been an indoor cat for these years. I myself had 2 dogs and 2 cats and 2 small children that I did not think Frankie would be happy at. I had heard from a friend about Little Mews Rescue and thought I would give it a shot. Dona was such an amazing person, in no time at all she found a home for Frankie with a wonderful lady, who had kept in touch with me through the years to let us know how he was. This made it so much easier for my mother and all of us. Frankie lived a long life and we owe it to Dona and her rescue. My children recently went though their toys to donate to one of her recent garage sales to benefit the rescue. I am so proud of them! We LOVE Little Mews Rescue!
I would just like to say that Little Mews is an excellent operation run by truly dedicated people in Dona & Lars who live for helping cats & kittens find loving homes. I was living in the home in Texas when the Wonderful story of "Vanna & Kim" took place and met them both personally. It was a memorable lifetime experience and a combined effort to place a beautiful cat in a nice home and a person's dream fulfilled. Only from donations of generous and concerned people that the trip from Canada to Texas was made a reality. Heart warming stories like this are only made possible by animals lovers who care enough to give what they can to help non-profit organizations like Little Mews that give all their time and effort to foster the Beautiful cats & kittens they help place in suitable homes.. Bless and Thank You Dona and All For Helping The Cause..
I live too far away from Little Mews to adopt one of their fosters, but I follow their progress on an internet community avidly. Dona and Lars always have lovely, well-crafted images of their kittens and adult cats to share, and the animals are always lovingly cared for and well-socialized. I followed the story of Vanna, the lucky momma cat who was able to find a home in Texas through the previously mentioned internet community and made a spectacular trip across country with a Canadian saviour (the spelling is for you, Kim!).
I don't have any spare cash to donate, but I have been able to send donations of materials a couple of times. I only wish I could send more, these folks do great work and they richly deserve all the support they can get.