The Bitty Kitty Brigade

The Bitty Kitty Brigade Our mission is to provide care for orphaned neonatal kittens and to partner with rescue organizations and impound facilities to improve survival rates.

The Bitty Kitty Brigade will be providing FREE DAPPv Canine and HCP Feline vaccines as well as a variety of discounted t...
03/03/2025

The Bitty Kitty Brigade will be providing FREE DAPPv Canine and HCP Feline vaccines as well as a variety of discounted testing and other feline and canine vaccinations, nail trims and microchips for Twin Cities area pets. Pre-registration is required.

There are so many benefits to adopting an adult cat - find a new friend today!
03/02/2025

There are so many benefits to adopting an adult cat - find a new friend today!

Meet Hops! This tiny fluffball with a big heart got his nickname because he hops with excitement when you call him. He’s...
02/25/2025

Meet Hops!

This tiny fluffball with a big heart got his nickname because he hops with excitement when you call him. He’s playful, cuddly, and the most well-adjusted pup you’ll ever meet—great with dogs, cats, chickens, and everyone he meets!

Hops is always up for an adventure, whether it’s a road trip, brewery visit, or just playing with his kitty friends. He may have some back leg paralysis, but that doesn’t slow him down—his wheelchair keeps him zooming! If you’re looking for a pup full of love and joy, Hops is your guy! 🐾❤️

💕 Apply to adopt or learn more about his care needs: 🔗 https://bittykittybrigade.org/adopt/available-puppies/

🐈‍⬛ Feral Friday - Gimme Shelter 🐈‍⬛We do our best to help colony caretakers keep their community cats warm. Cats are ve...
02/15/2025

🐈‍⬛ Feral Friday - Gimme Shelter 🐈‍⬛

We do our best to help colony caretakers keep their community cats warm. Cats are very smart creatures. When the weather drops, they look for small spaces out of the elements for shelter. Sometimes it’s under the hood of a car that’s still warm. Sometimes under a deck, against a house, where there’s lots of leaves that can serve as insulation.

We’ve made a few shelters as needed for some new colonies, and have worked with other organizations and Facebook groups that provide outdoor shelters, but we thought we’d share some of our favorites from colony caretakers that have put a little more money and time into their kitty condos. As you can see in one photo, our latest colony caretaker has tarped in her front porch, taped cardboard sheets to block the wind, and added 2 heat lamps and 3 shelters.

There are a few key components that make a great shelter:

1. Insulated and stuffed with STRAW, the only insulation material that stays dry and doesn’t freeze. Any type of blankets will wick moisture from the air and freeze.
2. Elevated – keeps it away from moisture on the ground
3. Only ONE 6” door/exit – two doors create drafts and aren’t safe for cats. They tend not to use 2-door shelters because they can’t see what’s sneaking up on them.
4. Weatherproof – waterproofed and windproofed! An awning doesn’t let rain blow in. A simple piece of leaned plywood works as an awning.
5. Small – Cats use their body heat to create warmth in a small space, which is why the size of a Coleman cooler is perfect for a few cats.

Two that you can buy online stand out to us as winners.

1) Feralvilla outdoor cat shelter II
$114.95 at https://feralvilla-com.3dcartstores.com/
The Feralvilla is a 2-story, baffled and insulated house with a fully shingled roof that can be hinged. Its design keeps the cats as warm as possible. Plus, it can fit a K&H electric heat pad. But if you’re looking for straw, Feralvilla offers that on their website too.
2) Clawsable outdoor heated cat house
Prices vary from $117-170 at https://clawsable.com/
Unfortunately, most Clawsable houses are 2-doors, making them drafty and unsafe. But the outdoor lift-top has elevation, one door, and is very durable. They come with their own heat pad and ground stakes. An eave over the entry would make it perfect, but you could add your own.

Our least favorite is the K&H outdoor kitty house. Even though you can buy a version with a heat pad, the two doors give zero protection from the outdoor elements. And it’s not deep enough to put an adequate amount of straw in.

Our vote for most creative is this one, cut out of a garbage container. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ajzgWh8Jdnjh6H7U/
In our neck of the woods, we would suggest cutting a 6” round hole, adding insulation with a ceiling about 18” up, and stuffing with straw.

Lastly, looking for a quick fix? Find a thick Styrofoam cooler, the type frozen or medical shipments come in. Cut a 6” hole. Wrap in a heavy duty contractor bag. Duct tape the opening. And fill with straw.

Enjoy the photos of cats staying warm in these elements!

Update on Sabi, our little frostbite survivor. She has lost the tops of both ears and her front right paw now. She had a...
02/13/2025

Update on Sabi, our little frostbite survivor.

She has lost the tops of both ears and her front right paw now. She had a visit with the dermatologist where they sedated her, debrided the dead tissue, applied medical grade honey and wrapped up all four paws to protect them from infection. She’s been going in 2x a week for continued debridement and bandage changes.

We will continue this process until these areas are less contaminated and then the surgeon will partially amputate and close up the skin. Then, our big project will be to find Sabi some orthotics which will be a daunting endeavor.

Despite it all, Sabi is in good spirits. She has gained a pound since coming to us. She can walk on her bandages, although pretty unsteadily, so she uses her litter box perfectly and heads into the kitchen to make sure the other kitties aren’t getting better food than she is. She spends a lot of time in her Grogu “hut” on the couch, enjoys bird tv and would prefer nonstop attention from anyone who will give it to her. She is goofy and chirpy. The resilience of this little girl is amazing.

Today is your LAST CHANCE to purchase the Email and Print-at-Home options for the cutest Valentines around! Send a note ...
02/11/2025

Today is your LAST CHANCE to purchase the Email and Print-at-Home options for the cutest Valentines around! Send a note to a friend or family member or get ready for a card exchange at school...whatever you do, you'll be supporting orphan kittens!

https://givebutter.com/c/bkbvalentine2025

🐈‍⬛ Feral Five Dollar Friday 🐈‍⬛We call him “Eye Guy.” He’s a crusty and grizzled old street warrior that showed up at a...
02/07/2025

🐈‍⬛ Feral Five Dollar Friday 🐈‍⬛

We call him “Eye Guy.” He’s a crusty and grizzled old street warrior that showed up at a colony with a bad eye. He escaped not one, but two traps! It took us over two months, but we finally trapped him.

He was whisked off to be neutered and vetted. It turns out his eyeball is in there, just damaged beyond repair so his third eyelid is permanently stuck to protect it. But his teeth were a mess. It was discovered he had broken teeth and a pretty bad oral infection. He had so many fleas he was starting to get some bald spots. And the worms! Ugh. After a long discussion, it was decided he should get a dental and medical treatment, and retire from living outside. “Eye Guy” is recovering from his dental, is flea- and worm-free and will be ready for the cush life soon. No more street fights for this old man.

Can you help us raise $500 to cover his neuter, dental, and vet treatments so he can be his crusty old self again, just not outside? He’s earned it!

Today is the LAST DAY to order snail mail ❤️ Valentine cards ❤️ so if you'd like us to hand write a card and send it on ...
02/01/2025

Today is the LAST DAY to order snail mail ❤️ Valentine cards ❤️ so if you'd like us to hand write a card and send it on for you, get those orders in! Email and print-at-home options will be available until 2/12.

📬 Snail Mail cards (handwritten & sent with love)
📧 Email cards (delivered to their inbox)
🖨️ Print-at-home cards (DIY love!)

💕 https://givebutter.com/c/bkbvalentine2025

🐈‍⬛ Feral Friday 🐈‍⬛Take the Maggie challenge!Currently named for the awesome Maggie M., the most recent winner, other B...
01/31/2025

🐈‍⬛ Feral Friday 🐈‍⬛

Take the Maggie challenge!

Currently named for the awesome Maggie M., the most recent winner, other BKB volunteers have done the challenge in the past too.

Huge shout out to Maggie, who spoke up when she started having a cat visitor on her front porch. She put out some food. One cat turned into three regulars, plus a couple of occasional visitors. When the got over to help set up for trapping, Maggie jumped in and absorbed info like a sponge, asking all sorts of great questions.

After some time trap training, the big day arrived. Maggie trapped all three regulars. With help and supplies from BCB, she held the cats safely in her garage, got the cats to their spa day appointments, recovered the cats in her garage overnight, and returned them back to the neighborhood the next evening.

Lessons learned?

- The 3 cats came for food daily even during that spell where the highs remained below zero. We always wish the cats could tell us their stories. Of course they can't, but their behavior can tell us clues. These cats are most likely true community cats, living and surviving outside on their own, preferring to be away from human interaction.

- Watch out for look-a-likes. Maggie thought she had one black and white cat visitor. Well, after that one was caught and in her garage, another showed up that looked almost identical. Surprise! We'll help her keep working on catching the other one.

Nice work Maggie! So who will be next to take the Maggie challenge? We already have another BKB volunteer trap training for 2 cats at her house so stay tuned. Never trapped before? Take the Maggie challenge and the next winner could be you!

If you see something, say something. Winter is the best time to help community cats get spayed/neutered and vaccinated. There are usually no kittens to worry about and getting them done now means healthier cats in the spring with no babies. Once the spring rush hits, there are far more requests for help than all of the rescue groups combined can keep up with so 'tis the season right now.

💜 Welcome Home Wednesday 💜These bitties (and no so bitties) found their homes in the past week!
01/29/2025

💜 Welcome Home Wednesday 💜

These bitties (and no so bitties) found their homes in the past week!

🌟 Meet Maven and her adorable babies! 🌟Maven has been the best mom since day one! Her kittens came to us first, and then...
01/29/2025

🌟 Meet Maven and her adorable babies! 🌟

Maven has been the best mom since day one! Her kittens came to us first, and then she was found and reunited with them. You may notice that her kittens need a little extra hooman hand support—that’s because they have Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH). This means they need some help getting around and completing their normal kitten activities. But don’t worry—it doesn’t detract one bit from how loving, cuddly, and absolutely adorable they are!

✨ Bettie is the definition of a spitfire!
✨ Zak is a big, feisty boy who loves to play and snuggle.
✨ Bowee is the baby of the bunch and a total sweetheart.
✨ And Maven is the ultimate mama cat.

They are all looking for loving homes where they can continue to thrive. Could one (or more!) of them be your new best friend? 💕

Apply to adopt or learn more about their care needs:
🔗 https://bittykittybrigade.org/adopt/available-kittens/

💕 Made it to Rescue Monday 💕On Friday, a local impound sent out an email to rescues about an urgent medical kitten. This...
01/27/2025

💕 Made it to Rescue Monday 💕

On Friday, a local impound sent out an email to rescues about an urgent medical kitten. This little girl had been found as a stray and has suffered severe frostbite. We picked her up and headed straight for the vet. All four of her paws are frostbitten and mangled. It sounds like hooves when she walks because they’re all so solid. She will lose at least one paw, if not more. Her right ear will fall off soon and the top part of her left one will likely fall off eventually, too. She weighs about half what she should.

Despite all that, she is an incredibly sweet little girl who is really enjoying her indoor life with fluffy beds, heat and FOOD. The girl looooves to eat! She chirps to call both humans and cats to the bed she’s lying in. She’s receiving a variety of meds and treatments to prevent pain and infection and see if we can save some of her paws. We're so grateful someone found her in time and we love that we get to spoil her rotten now. 🧡🖤

You can help this girl and kittens like her by donating to help cover urgent care visits, medications, treatments and general care!

Thank you to Purina, Greater Good Charities and Feeding Furry Friends for providing food that our TNR team will use for ...
01/26/2025

Thank you to Purina, Greater Good Charities and Feeding Furry Friends for providing food that our TNR team will use for the cats and kittens they have in holding.

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Hopkins, MN
55344

Telephone

+16517056264

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Videos

Vacation mode ACTIVATED! Are you feeling this chill? #bittykittybrigade #christmaskitten #sleepingkitten #cutecats

🎄🌟 The Seven Days of Kitmas – A Wrap-Up! 🌟🎄 A little wrap-up from our introductions to Partridge, Turtledove, French Hen, Calling Bird, Golden Ring, Goose, and Swan – seven tiny gifts who were found abandoned outside and have been keeping us busy with their eating, sleeping, growing and utter cutness. 🐾

sleepy baby 💛 #bottlebabykitten #kittenrescue

Maze says thank you to everyone who sent her well wishes. Her surgeries went really well and she got to come home last night. She’s eating like a champ, trying to rest (6 weeks of kennel rest 😢) and requesting kitty visitors come by her comfy blankie hangouts to help with her FOMO. Two weeks in the lampshade of shame but she gets to go without when supervised and at this point, isn’t the least bit interested in investigating her incisions. On the mend! #hiatalhernia #brokenleg #kittenrescue #bittykittybrigade

The 2025 Bitty Kitty Brigade calendar is coming! We are having a presale this year - get your calendar for $15 now, before prices go up to $20 after November 1st! The Bitty Kitty calendar will bring joy to your days while supporting the rescue and care of orphaned kittens. Every purchase directly contributes to their well-being, providing them with food, shelter, and medical attention. Pre-order your calendar here: https://bittykittybrigade.org/.../bitty-kitty-2025-calendar/

Thank you to Dr. Harris and MetroPet staff for the assist on this difficult intake today!

Groom Puddle!
Groom Puddle!

Keeping clean is a family matter.

Spaghetti came to us missing a foot and her noodley little bones were exposed. The vet was able to trim those so that her leg could heal over. Now we just watch as she grows and see if the leg needs to be amputated or isn’t a problem. She’s doing great!

Jaku's Rescue
Jaku's Rescue

🐈‍⬛ FERAL FRIDAY 🐈‍⬛ A couple in south Minneapolis contacted Bitty Kitty Brigade about 3 kittens found shivering in their window well. We know that 99% of the time the mother is around, usually watching in hiding from a distance. We asked them to put out food by their doorbell camera, and sure enough, she showed up. Unfortunately, she looked injured. She was limping and not putting any pressure on her front left paw. A different plan had to be hatched. It’s very challenging to provide medical care to a feral cat. We needed to trap her as soon as possible and get her to a vet. With the help of the homeowners, we got her the next day. As we assessed her, we realized she was more shy than feral and was starting to trust us. We got her into the vet right away. X-rays showed her leg was dislocated and her toes crushed. The best option was to amputate. She wasn’t showing as much pain as discomfort, so we decided to reunite her with her kittens while she gained weight and regained her health. She wasn’t producing much milk, so our bottle baby volunteer took over those round-the-clock duties while their mom, Jaku, kept them clean and comforted. Finally the day came for her surgery. Her babies were weaned and it was Jaku’s time to be doted on. Her surgery went well. There have been a few bumps in the road, but she’s gaining much needed weight and can easily jump up to a kitchen stool now. Jaku and her three kiddos will be available for adoption soon. We’re very grateful to the homeowners who went the distance to keep working on the situation after the kittens were rescued. They didn’t just save Jaku from the endless cycle of having kittens, they helped save her life. #birthcontrolbrigade

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The Bitty Kitty Brigade

The Bitty Kitty Brigade (BKB) is an all volunteer, foster-based rescue for orphaned neonatal kittens. We provide around-the-clock foster care for bottle babies ages 0-6 weeks. Kittens are kept in our care until they are 12 weeks old, are spayed or neutered and receive all age-appropriate vaccinations.

BKB is funded exclusively through donations and grants. We rely on the public to help us provide the kitten formula, kitten food, supplies and quality veterinary care that help us further our mission to improve the outcomes of this fragile population.

BKB foster caregivers complete several rounds of training, both online and in-person, prior to receiving their first foster kittens and are paired with a mentor to provide on-going education and support.