November 2025

Inside this issue:

• Join us for Whiskers in Wonderland™ on Saturday, December 6th
• Over 500 cats spayed and neutered (and counting!) through Sweetie's Spay and Neuter Squad -- see how you can help!
• Clove: The Little Kitten With a Lion's Heart
• Happie Tails — See who Found Homes
• Become a Monthly Donor and Help Ladewbies (like Bella) All Year Long
• The 2026 Calendar is ready!

✨🎄 Whiskers in Wonderland™ is Almost Here! 🎄✨

Step into a world of magic, whiskers, and holiday cheer! Join us for our Whiskers in Wonderland Adoption Event, at our sanctuary located at 34 Hamilton Avenue, Oyster Bay from 12-5 PM, where cats of all ages will be waiting to meet the families of their dreams.

🏠 Adoptable Cats
From playful kittens to wise and wonderful seniors, our whiskered friends are ready to find their forever homes just in time for the holidays.

🎁 Family Fun
Bring the kids for a festive scavenger hunt with prizes, explore our cozy shelter with a tour, and learn more about the lifesaving work your support makes possible.

✨ Whether you're looking to adopt or just want to enjoy a heartwarming day surrounded by holiday magic and adorable cats, Whiskers in Wonderland is the place to be.

Come make spirits bright — and maybe meet your new best friend! 💖🐾

💗🐾 Sweetie’s Spay & Neuter Squad Hits a Huge Milestone! 🐾💗

We are thrilled to share that Sweetie’s Spay & Neuter Squad has spayed and neutered over 500 cats this year!
That’s an incredible achievement — and it means thousands of unhoused kittens prevented from being born into hardship, sickness, and homelessness.

To put it in perspective:
✨ One unspayed female, her mate, and their offspring can produce hundreds of kittens in just a few years.
By reaching 500 cats, Sweetie’s Squad has stopped unwanted births in the millions — and given neighborhood cats healthier, safer lives.

But we want to hear from you.
If you have a colony that has been helped through Sweetie’s Spay & Neuter Squad — whether it’s two cats or twenty — we’d love to share your story.

Your testimonials show the real, lasting impact of this work, and help inspire others to support it.

💛 Help Us Keep This Lifesaving Program Going
Every surgery means fewer kittens suffering outside, fewer emergencies, and more resources for the cats who truly need us. Sweetie’s Squad relies completely on community support, and we’re asking for your help to continue this mission.

🙏 Please consider making a donation today to keep Sweetie’s Spay & Neuter Squad moving forward.
Together, we can change the future for community cats — one surgery at a time.

🐾 Thank you for believing in this work. Sweetie would be so proud.

🌟 Clove’s Story: A Journey of Courage, Kindness, and Hope 🌟

On a busy Staten Island expressway, surrounded by noise, danger, and rushing cars, a tiny kitten fought to stay alive. She was just a baby — fragile, frightened, and badly injured — yet she held onto life with a strength far bigger than her tiny body. That kitten was Clove.

Clove had suffered a devastating injury to her left front leg, leaving it limp and unusable. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t climb. She couldn’t even escape harm. But she could hope — and thankfully, someone spotted her, scooped her up, and brought her into the arms of safety.

From the moment she arrived, everyone who met her felt the same thing:
Clove wanted to live.
She purred through her pain, tucked herself gratefully into warm hands, and showed the fierce little spark that so many injured kittens carry.

After specialist evaluations, we learned the full truth — Clove’s leg had a brachial plexus avulsion, a severe nerve injury that left the limb completely without function. It couldn’t be saved. But Clove could. And that was all that mattered.

Clove was brought to Animal Surgical Center, where their extraordinary team treated her with tenderness and skill. Thanks to donors who believed in her future, Clove underwent surgery to remove the injured limb and give her the chance at a comfortable, pain-free life.

And oh, how she has blossomed.

Today, Clove is a bright, bouncy, three-legged wonder — zipping around her room, cuddling with anyone who will hold her, and proving that nothing can dim her joy. She climbs into laps, chases toys with unmatched enthusiasm, and greets each day as if it’s the best one yet.

Clove’s journey isn’t just about recovery
It’s about the power of compassion, the resilience of a tiny soul, and the community that came together to save her.

Very soon, Clove will be ready to find the forever family who will love her for the miracle she is. A family who will see her not as a kitten who lost a leg, but as a kitten who gained a whole new future.

And we’ll be cheering her on — just as we have from the very beginning. 💛🐾

Happie* Tails

*Fun fact:  The "H" in Patricia H. Ladew Foundation, Inc. stands for Happie which was Pat's middle name!

Below are some of the lucky Ladewbies who found homes during the last month!

Handsome Ming lost his home when his owner was evicted — but his story now has the happiest of endings!  Yesterday, Ming was adopted by his new mom, who’s studying to become a doctor.

From uncertainty to a future filled with love, Ming will now have the best medicine of all — a forever home. 

Congratulations to Trixie and her new family — who are repeat Ladew adopters! We’re so happy this sweet girl has found her forever home with such wonderful people who already know how special rescue cats are. Here’s to many happy purrs and cuddles ahead!

Congratulations to mama Bertha (all of her kittens were adopted!) and her new mom, Adriana! Wishing a happy and healthy life for both of you!

Congrats to Muschi! This sweet gorgeous boy is doing great in his new home - entertaining his new family with kitten antics!

Sweet little Minka has found her forever home! This adorable kitten stole hearts the moment she arrived — playful, snuggly, and full of purrs. Now she has a family of her own who adores her just as much as we do.

Happy life, Minka! You’ll always be part of our rescue family.

Happily Ever After for Mr. Bones! 

When Mr. Bones’ first family moved away, they left him behind outside — confused, heartbroken, and alone.  But this sweet boy never lost hope. With a little help from our rescue team, Mr. Bones got the care, love, and second chance he deserved.

And now… he has a new family who will never leave him behind.  He’s safe, loved, and soaking up every snuggle in his forever home.

Here’s to Mr. Bones — proof that even after heartbreak, happy endings are possible. 
 

Become a Monthly Donor -- Help us Help Cats like Bella!

🐾 Meet Bella — A Survivor With a Heart Full of Love 🐾

Beautiful Bella didn’t deserve the hand she was dealt. She was recently surrendered by her owner for reasons we’ll never know — but what we do know is that Bella arrived in urgent need of help. She had never been spayed and she was never given the care she needed.  By the time she reached us she was suffering from pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection that requires emergency surgery.

On top of that, Bella had severe dental disease, leaving her in constant pain that she had quietly endured for far too long.

But Bella’s story doesn’t end in heartbreak — it turns into hope. 💛

Thanks to quick action and expert veterinary care, Bella underwent surgery and came through like the absolute champ she is. Today, she looks amazing. Her eyes are bright, she’s comfortable for the first time in ages, and her sweet personality is shining through every day.

Now Bella is ready for what she’s always deserved:
🏡 a home that will cherish her.

She’s also available through our Seniors for Seniors program, which means that if she is adopted by a senior citizen, her medical care will be covered by the Ladew Foundation — making it easier than ever for an adopter to open their heart and home to this gentle girl.

If you’re looking for a calm, grateful, affectionate companion… Bella is waiting. 💕🐱

Do you want to help us with our mission but keep forgetting or can't find the time to donate? Become an automatic Monthly Donor and help us help cats until they find their forever homes. Your donations will help pay for medical care, food, spay/neuter surgeries for our cats. Additionally, your donations help us place senior cats with senior citizens and cover their medical care for life!

Your donation will help cats like Bella while they wait for a family to call their own.  

Purchase our 2026 Calendar!

Cover design by Jennifer Sita

Our 2026 Calendar features Ladewbies looking for homes as well as some that found their forever homes.  

Help us help more kitties by purchasing one for just $25.00.