http://www.giffordcatshelter.org/

Ellen M. Gifford Shelter, 30 Undine Road, Brighton, MA (2025)

01/06/2025

What's better than a bonded pair of Gifford cats? A bonded TRIO! Cosmo, Nova, and Orion ALL went home with these lovely adopters! 😻😻😻

We are always seeking applicants interested in adopting two or more cats/kittens! If this is you, please apply on our website, www.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

01/03/2025

Meet Sadie, a sweet, spunky, and absolutely stunning senior gal ❤. We're helping Sadie find the purr-fect home to retire to; a spot where she can spend her golden years getting all the love and attention she deserves.

Sadie is a local lady who came into Gifford's care when her previous owner could no longer care for her. She is gentle and friendly—always the first to meow 'hello' to new shelter volunteers and visitors. She adores attention, and even if you're just sitting beside her while she bird-watches, she appreciates your company.

Given her age, Sadie has a couple of underlying health conditions that an adopter would need to be willing to take on. Sadie has hyperthyroidism and currently takes medication for it, which is applied to her ear once a day. She also has heart disease, early kidney disease, and her teeth aren't those of a kitten, either. We can give more details on all of these things to a prospective adopter. Despite all of this, Sadie has a lot of love to give, and we believe that this older gal could truly thrive in a comfortable, caring home of her own.

If you may be interested in adopting Sadie, please fill out an application at www.giffordcatshelter.org/adoption-info

01/02/2025

Adoption update! 😻

"Minerva (FKA Candice), who we usually call Minnie Winnie, has really come out of her shell since we got her a year ago! When we first came home, she hid under the bed for almost two weeks, but now, she is a whole new cat. Minnie loves to play with all her little stuffed toys, often showing off her "catch" to everyone by loudly crying while carrying it around the apartment in her mouth. She loves getting pets while she eats (a girl still needs her emotional support), and spends most of her time by me in her cardboard box while I work on my computer, or sleeping on the couch. Whenever we are busy or out of the apartment, Minnie enjoys watching (and bopping) the birdies and squirrels on the TV. While she is still getting comfortable being off the ground and trusting humans, she does something new and brave all the time, from getting up on the bed while I'm on it, to peeking her head out when we have company. Minnie isn't quite a lap cat, but I wouldn't be surprised if one day she was one. We are happy to support her while she becomes more sure of herself and humans, and we are so proud of the confident, sweet little gremlin that she is becoming, and are so lucky to have her in our lives!"

Isn't she adorable!? To apply to adopt a Gifford kitty of your own, visit our website at www.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

01/01/2025

The beautiful miss Silki was adopted! Congratulations to all. 😺🎉

To apply to adopt, support the shelter, and more, visit www.giffordcatshelter.org

12/31/2024

Adoption update ahead! This one tugged at our heartstrings—thank you to Gus' adopters for sharing his story ❤.

"When my partner and I were first thinking about adopting a cat we had ideas of a black cat that was a little younger, but what we came home with was an 11 year old, slightly ornery, orange and white older guy and we couldn't have been any luckier. He sadly left us just a few days before his adoptoversary and the sadness is immense. However, the sadness and grief is just a reminder of all the love and good times we had and we would go back to Gifford and adopt him a million, bazillion times over again if we could.

He was marked as ""adaptable"" on the whiteboard in the room where all the cats were at Gifford and you all were so right about that. After a few months with us in Boston, we moved across the country with him and he turned out to be quite the Rick Steves, feeling at home in any hotel room. He saw bison in Yellowstone and bears in Glacier. He walked on Cannon Beach in Oregon and saw huge waterfalls in Washington State. More recently, upon a move back to the East Coast, he traveled with us to Acadia where he watched lobster boats from the rocky shore. In any apartment we moved to during our almost 6 years together, he always adjusted faster than us. We eventually bought a house last year in Vermont and we joked that we bought it for him. He loved sun bathing on the porch, going for walks down the driveway (and being admired by the neighbors), and had zoomies down his beloved carpeted staircase up until the very end.

We will miss him forever and after we learn to live with this new grief we will look to places like Gifford to bring home another sweet kitty. They won't replace Gus, but will be special and loved in their own right.

Forever grateful to Gifford for matching us with Gus (fka Crush) over five years ago and wish many happy tails to all of the Gifford Community.

PS, please don't be afraid to adopt a senior! Gus was proof that old cats can learn new tricks."

Nothing makes us happier than hearing stories like Gus's. If you have a Gifford story to share, send photos and your written update to [email protected] 🐾

12/30/2024

Coco & Heaven are heading home together! These two all-black cuties never really jived with the other cats in their rooms. We thought each would be best as an only cat, until we introduced them to each other! Coco & Heaven got along so well, these adopters decided to take them as a pair. We're so thrilled! 🖤

We're always seeking adopters who are interested in Gifford pairs! To apply to adopt, visit www.giffordcatshelter.org/adoption-info

12/27/2024

Mineral Cats adoption update! (Click the link below for more Mineral stories, or to contribute to our year-end campaign) 😺.

Silver & Emerald struggled to open up at the shelter (pictured at Gifford in final photo), but blossomed in their forever home. Here's what their adopters say today!

"Emerald & Silver have been such a wonderful addition to our family and are doing very well. Our sweet and shy cats come out of their shells more and more every day. Hence we have renamed them after nuts: Emerald we now call Pistachio and Silver is now Hazel.

Silver has been the bravest of the two and has become quite talkative [recently]. She comes into the kitchen with her tail held high and meows to let us know it's time for dinner. She loves playing with small cat nip toys, her ribbon wand and goes bonkers for the laser. Every day she makes small but steady progress, while her brother tends to make his progress in small bursts.

Emerald, who has been silent (besides his rhythmic purr) let his voice sing for the first time yesterday! He’ll join his sister brushing up against our legs when it’s time for breakfast and dinner, but can be a bit shy if we reach down to pet him. He prefers to be in the cat tree in their bedroom when he gets his pets. He loves to roll over and let us rub his tummy while he purrs and makes air biscuits with his front paws. However, we can’t let his bashful demeanor fool us, Emerald has shown himself to be extremely intelligent. We have caught him on camera not only opening cabinets, but he somehow understands how drawers work and can get them to open with a little bit of kitty ingenuity and elbow grease.

One thing that does not cease to amaze us with these two is the bond they share. They truly love one another and can be often seen cuddling and playing together. We are so grateful to have them in our lives and we are so excited to be on this journey with them as their trust grows and they open up and reveal their true selves a little more every day."

We're thrilled to see this adorable duo finally coming out of their "shells!" To support cats like Hazel & Pistachio, contribute to our year-end campaign at events.giffordcatshelter.org

12/26/2024

Adoption update! Dahlia, now known as Zaytoona (which means "Olive" in Arabic), is thriving in her forever home! Here's what her adopter had to say: "She’s adjusted wonderfully to her new home! Zaytoona has really come into her own – she’s super playful, and her favorite pastime is chasing anything that moves. She’s just as much of an attention lover as she was at the shelter and has become quite the lap cat. Whenever I settle in for the evening, she curls up with me and enjoys all the pets and attention."

We're so happy to see this pretty girl looking so loved! Apply to adopt a Gifford cat of your own at www.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

12/25/2024

Bonded pair Nabu & Rocket wanted to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday, and a very happy new year! 😺❄️

We have the utmost appreciation for all your support this year; with your help, we've found forever homes for more than 300 cats and kittens, and we can't wait to work even harder for these animals in need in 2025. Thank you, now and always, for your dedication to the Gifford Cat Shelter mission!

If you'd like to offer your continued support to current and future Gifford cats, please consider a contribution to our year-end campaign! Visit events.giffordcatshelter.org for more info. 🐾

12/24/2024

Mineral Cat adoption update ahead! Gold was the smallest, shiest member of the Mineral Cats family when she arrived at the shelter in April. Now known as Zena, this little cutie is now a confident queen! Here's what her adopter shared about their time together so far:

"[Zena] bonded immediately with my other cat Zeke (who also came from Gifford!) but sadly he passed 2 months after adopting Zena so it’s just me and her now. Hopefully not for too much longer as she looooves other cats and I’m sure misses being around all her other mineral siblings! I will say that these past couple months, she has really come out her shell and frequently comes asking (sometimes begging) for snuggles - it has to be at her ask though, never mine. Classic! After a couple months of not hearing any purrs, I finally got to hear some! And now she can’t stop! She’s always curled up next to me whenever I am home and I am just smitten with her to say the least. Her favorite toys are hair ties, felt mice, and a black cat paw print wand in memory of brother Zeke, who she obsessively loved for the couple months they were together. I love her so much and she’s been my angel!

Thank you for everything that everyone at Gifford does. I am forever grateful!"

With a donation of any size to our year-end campaign, you directly support cats like the Mineral Cats, who need our help to find, and thrive in, their forever homes. Contribute at events.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

12/23/2024

The lovely miss Mini was adopted! So happy to see this sweetheart heading to her fur-ever home!

To apply to adopt, support the shelter, and much more, visit our website at www.giffordcatshelter.org🐾

12/20/2024

Save the date: the Feline Affair is BACK in 2025! 😺🎩🎉

We are thrilled to be hosting this extra special event once again, and hope to see you all there! Tickets aren't available for sale just yet, but mark your calendars for May 31st, and keep an eye on our social media pages for more info coming soon.

In the meantime, we are currently seeking sponsors to help make this event possible! If you or someone you know may be interested in sponsoring, please contact us at [email protected]. To learn more about our available opportunities, follow this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SFkujXTd0drFAX2hrnBrJHHStKP1GH4O/view?usp=sharing

12/19/2024

Amazing news: Susie was adopted! We are so thrilled to see this extremely sweet senior girl heading home. Thank you to all who contributed to our vet care campaign in support of this little lady; it's because of you that we can help Susie and cats like her flourish! 💛

Learn how you can support Gifford cats like Susie at donate.giffordcatshelter.org/vetcare 🐾

12/18/2024

It's time for a new Mineral Cats update! This group of twelve siblings made up one of our favorite rescue stories of 2024. With a donation of any size to our year-end campaign, you help us support cats like them, who need our help to find and thrive in their forever homes. Please give anything you can this holiday season (link below)! 😺🎁

When she and her siblings first came into our care, Spinel quickly defined herself as the bravest of the bunch. This playful cutie wasted no time making new friends—feline and human alike. Now, she and her adoptive Gifford sibling are loving life at home!

"This lovely kitty joined our household in early June," Spinel's adopter writes. "Since then, she's been curious and friendly and increasingly showing her affectionate and cuddly side. We'd brought home one of her Gifford "roommates" a week earlier, and both were overjoyed to be reconnected. She loves being here. She follows me from floor to floor, and we all sleep together in a heap. Sometimes she and her brother spend a long time grooming each other, other times these goofy young cats chase each other like lunatics. It's been a very happy transition for all!"

To learn more about the Mineral Cats stories' and contribute to our year-end campaign, please visit events.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

12/17/2024

Adoption update! "SpongeBob (Bob-Bob), Heather, and Savory are the best of friends and love sleeping in the afternoon sun. Savory also loves her catnip toys and she and Bob-Bob often get the zoomies! Heather prefers peace and quiet!"

Apply to adopt a Gifford cat (or two, or three!) at www.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

12/16/2024

Alex is headed home with her furr-ever family! Congratulations, all! 🖤

Visit our website at www.giffordcatshelter.org to apply to adopt, support the shelter, and much more! 🐾

12/13/2024

Meet Peaches 🍑 & Mango 🥭: a bonded pair of 14 year old brothers, looking for the purr-fect home to peacefully live out their golden years. These Gifford alums came back into our care just recently, more than ten years post-adoption (perhaps some of our longtime followers recognize these adorable faces?). They've settled right into the shelter, Peaches cozying up in blanketed cubbies while Mango bird-watches in his favorite window. Both kitties adore attention, and will purr, purr, and purr for pets. We'd love to send these two older fellas into a home where they can laze the days away to their hearts' content, though we'll certainly miss them once they've found their new fam!

If you may be interested in adopting both Peaches & Mango, learn more and apply to adopt at www.giffordcatshelter.org/adoption-info 🐾

12/12/2024

Mineral Cats adoption update! This group of twelve shy siblings made up one of our favorite rescue stories of 2024. With a donation of any size to our year-end campaign, you help us save and support cats like the Mineral Cats, who need our help to find and thrive in their forever homes. Please give anything you can this holiday season to help us reach our fundraising goal (link below)! 😺🎁

Bumblebee (FKA Quartz) had a little trouble feeling secure at the shelter. When her brother Beignet (FKA Mica) arrived in our care, she began to open up! Here's how these cuties are doing since their June adoption:

"We had no idea the integral part of our family that [Bumblebee and Beignet, or Benny for short] would become. The two are inseparable, one rarely being without the other and are so loving. They are curious, friendly, and an absolute riot. Benny has always been very friendly and though there were early concerns about Bumblebee not wanting affection, she has grown to come out of her shell and loves snoozing with her Mom and Dad. Benny is always very jealous of any attention that she gets. We also thought they’d be nervous around guests but it couldn’t be more the opposite. They love to ham it up and show off for any audience that they get! We love them so much and they complete our home. Thank you for taking care of them and helping us to find them."

To learn more about the Mineral Cats stories' and contribute to our year-end campaign, please visit events.giffordcatshelter.org 🐾

Ellen M. Gifford Shelter