Not everyone in this world is a cat lover— and really, that’s okay! We all have our own likes and preferences, and for some, cats just aren’t the end-all-be-all of existence. That’s what Hannah Shaw from Philadelphia thought before she rescued a kitten that completely changed her life.
Hannah had never considered herself a cat person— and she never expected that rescuing cats would turn into a full-time job. But that’s exactly what happened when she met a little kitten named Coco.
“I looked up and found this little kitten in a tree,” she told The Dodo. “I climbed up the tree and got her down, and I thought “Oh my gosh, what do I do now?”
Hannah had never rescued a kitten before, and she was in over of her head. She consulted with vets and vet technicians, but she still didn’t have enough information to be confident about caring for the tiny creature. After going home to search online, that’s when she made a discovery.
“I discovered that there were very few resources for kittens,” Hannah said. “I really had to make my own path to help [Coco].”
Hannah taught herself everything there is to know about caring for kittens. In the end, she adopted Coco— and then adopted another rescue named Eloise four years later. Even though these two babies were lucky enough to find a loving home, Hannah knew there were millions of others that still needed help.
In general, most kittens are born during “kitten season“. This is the time of year when the feline breeding cycle begins— usually in very early spring. During “kitten season”, shelters and rescues are often stuffed and overflowing with pregnant females and newly-born litters.
After Hannah had adopted Coco and Eloise, she received a call from a friend. “My friend called me and said, ‘Hey, I know you just saved some kittens. There’s one in my alleyway. Can you come help? He’s really young,'” she recalled.
When Hannah got there and saw the kitten, she immediately broke down. “I just started to sob.”
“I think this kitten was maybe 3 or 4 days old. I knew I was in way over my head, and I already knew that there was no one who was going to help me.”
Hannah spent every waking minute devoted to Zeke’s— the kitten’s— care. She even brought him to school every single day, where she worked as a teacher. “I would sneak him into school with me because he needed to eat every couple of hours. I would actually wear a scarf around my neck, and I would keep the kitten in my scarf.”
With her endless love and support, Zeke eventually grew big and strong, and was adopted into a forever home. Since then, Hannah has been obsessed with saving kittens’ lives.
Hannah had so much trouble finding information and resources about saving kittens, that she is now devoted to providing this type of information to cat lovers everywhere. The Kitten Lady, as she is known on social media, has over 636,000 followers on Instagram and over 217,000 likes on her public Facebook page.
Thanks to Hannah, kittens everywhere are getting the lives they deserve— something that never would have happened without a tiny kitten named Coco completely changing her life.
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