New Beginnings for Cats

12/31/2024

Hi! Hansel, our sweet blind leukemia kitty, wanted to let you know that our shelter will be closed tomorrow for the New Year 's Day holiday. (He had a meeting about this decision with his friends, Sully and Jesse, and this is what they decided)!
Happy New Year to everyone and, as always, thanks for all of your support of the kitties residing at New Beginnings! 😻 🥰

12/26/2024

About a week before Christmas a nice gentleman named Tim came in looking for an older kitty. He stated that he was looking for a senior kitty, who was on the calm side, and just wanted a nice couch to lay on. Tim spent quite a long time here looking at our different senior kitties. He went into one of our cat rooms and fell in love with a 15-year-old kitty named Whiskers! Tim knew he had found his purrfect buddy! Just a couple of days before Christmas, Whiskers got the ultimate gift of a forever home!
We are so thankful for people like Tim who see the beauty and joy that define senior kitties! They are some of the most overlooked kitties in shelters and they still have so much love to give, if people are just willing to give them a chance! Thanks, Tim, for giving Whiskers that chance! ❤️ 😻

12/23/2024

Hi! We will be closed on Christmas Day so that our staff can take care of our kitties and celebrate Christmas with them! We will be open today (Monday, Dec. 23) from 10 - 2. Feel free to stop by; the kitties would love some visitors! Thanks for all of the support you've given the kitties this year - we couldn't do this without you! Merry Christmas! 😻🎄🎀 🎁

12/03/2024

Hi from the leukemia positive cats at Harry's House! For Giving Tuesday, we have a very special request. This past weekend the heat in our building where we live went out and at one point it was below 60° and we were shivering! 🥶 Thanks to our wonderful heating company, Cousins Heating and Plumbing, we were able to get it fixed and now we are toasty warm again! 😊 However, our repairs will be costly and we are asking for any help, whether it is sharing this post or making a donation towards our heating repair. We know it takes a village to take care of us and we thank you so very much! ❤️
Sincerely,
Jesse, Lucy, Sully, Elsie, Hansel, Zak, Vivian, Benny, and Connor (the greatest leukemia cats in the world!) 😻 💕 🩷

PS... We LOVE having visitors and we are a very friendly group! We would love for you to come meet us sometime! 🥰

11/26/2024

Visit us and meet our cats. You may encounter one that captivates your heart and becomes a cherished companion.

11/13/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15V7xb94F6/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Since opening our new location in August, we have been able increase our offerings. Our surgeries are still very discounted, without sacrificing the medicine for all pets in need. Spread the word and give us a call. 815-630-4411

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from all of the kitties at New Beginnings! Zak, one of our leukemia positive kitties, is doing his best impression of a vampire!

10/29/2024

Happy National Cat Day to these adorable sweethearts!

10/27/2024

A shout out to Lisa and Brian, Deb Christenssn, Sheryl and Laurie for your help with donations and raffles, setup and post bash help.
A special thanks to Deb from Chatterbox for donating the bar cooler and her continued support! We greatly appreciate everyone’s assistance.

10/27/2024

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Black Cat Bash!

10/18/2024

A big shout out to our Sponsors. Please help us support these businesses! These are in no particular order.

09/07/2024

Hi! My name is Branch and I am about to turn eight years old. I have been at the shelter since I was three months old. I was adopted once, but unfortunately, I was returned through no fault of my own. I am a very sweet, but misunderstood cat, because the way I communicate is a little bit different than my other cat friends. Instead of meowing, I tend to greet everyone with a hiss! This tends to scare humans, but this is just the way I talk! You see, my hisses are like kisses to me! My caregivers tell me once I hiss, I'm just like a big teddy bear. Sometimes after I meet you, I forget and don't even hiss, especially after I've gotten to know you! Oh, and I love attention and having my back scratched! Please consider taking a chance on a guy like me and giving me a home I can call my own!
My adoption fee is only $60, which includes all vaccinations. I'm updated on my rabies shot, microchipped, and neutered. For further information or adoption, please contact NB4C adoption coordinator, Beth Palumbo at (815) 325-9129. If no answer, please leave a message and Beth will get back to you. And, thank you in advance for considering adoption. Branch would LOVE to meet you at the shelter!

08/20/2024

We are in need of replacing the windows in the Main Shelter. This is a massive cost for the shelter. With that being said as a nonprofit facility we do not receive any government assistance. We are asking our community for help in caring for the cats here. Some of our cats our immune compromised so keeping as much of the cold air out as possible is extremely important to maintain their health. We appreciate your assistance with any amount you can donate. The cost to replace 1 window is approximately $250.00 not including labor costs. You may also donate via Venmo -smicker, Zelle Kim Smicker 815-474-2782 or for credit card call Kim.

08/16/2024

We are in need of replacing the windows in the main shelter. This is a massive cost for the shelter. With this being said as a non profit facility we do not receive any government assistance. We are asking the community for any help they can give no matter the amount. The cost of replacing a window is approximately $250.00 this does not include labor. If you would be interested in sponsoring a window please contact Kim via messenger or at 815-474-2782.

08/04/2024

Hi. A few weeks ago we took in two sweet 17-year-old kitties, who recently lost their owner. Sadly, one of the family members was planning to dump them outside and we couldn't bear to see that happen, so we took them in right away!
Fluffy and Bandit are trying to adjust to the shelter life and are doing well, all things considered. But we know this is not the best for them. They have lived their whole lives in a home and would love nothing more to start over again in a new home.
All they really want is a nice sofa to rest on and some love and attention. Of course they would also like some food, water, and treats!
We are looking for someone special who is willing to foster or adopt them and give them a place to spend the rest of their lives. If you feel that you are the right person/family to do this please reach out to Beth, our foster/adoption coordinator, at 815-325-9129. We thank you in advance! 💕

07/04/2024

Today is a very special day at Harry's House - our buddy Hansel is celebrating his golden birthday! Hansel has been leukemia positive since he was a kitten and today he celebrates his 4th birthday! We do not take this milestone for granted, because, sadly, some leukemia positive kittens don't make it into adulthood. Hansel is also blind but that never stops him from living his best life! He loves to play with toys, enjoys catnip, and playing with his best friend, Elsie! We are beyond grateful that we still get to celebrate birthdays with Hansel! Happy birthday, dear sweet Hansel! We love you to the moon and back, little buddy! 🥰 💕 😻

07/03/2024

Hi! My name is Dodger! I was found as a kitten, born to a feral mom, in the backyard of a very kind person. Fall was upon us, with winter quickly approaching, and she feared I would not survive the outdoors. It took about 2 months to catch me, as I enjoyed the game of dodging in and out of the patio furniture, flower gardens, and most of all the driveway culvert (so that's how I got my name). I was fostered for 7 months and was then brought to New Beginnings for Cats to further my social skills with other cats, as well as humans. I have achieved these skills and am ready and eager to find my forever home! I am very social, energetic, super playful, and always on the go, making friends with both cats and humans. I would be a perfect fit for a family with kids who could entertain me, or a younger person or couple who could keep up with me. My adoption fee is $60, which includes all vaccinations, 3-year rabies vaccine, spay, and microchip. For further information or adoption, please contact NB4C adoption coordinator, Beth Palumbo at (815)325-9129. If no answer, please leave a message and Beth will get back to you. Thank you for considering adoption! (Oh, and NB4C will provide a cat tunnel since I love to play hide-n-seek in them)!

06/24/2024

Hi from Harry's House! We wanted to share a great update on one of our FIV kitties, Gerald, who was adopted a few months ago. A wonderful lady named Lori fell in love with Gerald and knew he was the cat for her, in spite of being FIV positive. Gerald used to be in a feral colony and was quite shy when we first took him in. Lori reports that he has now become a snuggly lap cat! She gives us regular updates on him (which we love).
In her lastest update she said the following things: "I want other people to realize how wonderful these babies are and they should be given a chance to have a loving family. Gerald has my heart. My daughter said it best, 'Come get a dose of Gerald' because he is so loving and comforting".
Thanks, Lori, for taking a chance on a guy like Gerald - he's so lucky to have you! 💕😻🩷