St. Sophia's Forgotten Felines

15/11/2025

HUGE thank you to the amazing Wheaton Petco team in Danada Sq for allowing us to use their adoption center to get some of our unexposed babies home. We had SEVEN adoptions!!!

Get yourselves over to Wheaton Petco as they have some amazing sales on right now too!!

15/11/2025

🎉 Guess Who’s Back, Chicago?! 🍔👑
HAMBURGER MARY’S!

If you’ve been a long-time supporter of St. Sophia’s — or a seasoned team member — you definitely remember our legendary Hamburger Mary’s fundraisers. I personally joined the rescue after the Chicago location closed in 2020, so I’ve only heard the stories… but WOW, people talk about how fun they were all the time. Drag, laughs, food, chaos… apparently it was iconic.

✨ So when we saw that Hamburger Mary’s opened a brand NEW Chicago location, our director wasted zero time and immediately got us on the calendar!

🍔💃 Come join us for what is guaranteed to be the FUNNEST event of the year!
Get ready for queens, cocktails, laughter, raffles, and supporting the cats of St. Sophia’s — all in one fabulous night out.

14/11/2025

🎄✨ SAVE THE DATE — Happy Meowidays is BACK! ✨🎄

Mark your calendars for Sunday, December 14 — our beloved annual Happy Meowidays celebration is returning, and you definitely don’t want to miss it!

🎅 Santa is already polishing his boots and getting ready to meet ALL your pets…
👗 And Evie? She’s been trying on outfits for WEEKS in preparation for her big moment!

Stay tuned for more details and the official sign-up — but for now, make sure you’ve got December 14 circled, highlighted, and taped to your fridge.

Expect everything you love about this magical day:
🐾 Santa photos
🐱 Holiday adoptions
🍪 Cookies & treats
🎉 And tons of festive fun!

All of us here at St. Sophia’s are beyond ready for a little extra cheer — and we can’t wait to celebrate the season with you! ❤️🎁

13/11/2025

✨🐾 MARK YOUR CALENDARS, GLITTER KITTENS! 🐾✨
On Sunday, December 7th, we’re unleashing the purr-fect storm of Drag… Bingo… all while helping us save more KITTENS at Hamburger Mary’s! 💅🎉

Our fabulous host Izzy Fierce will be serving looks, laughs, and loud meows — and trust us, you don’t want to miss a single “BINGO!” called by a queen in full glam. 👑🐱

Seats fill up faster than a kitten sprinting toward an open treat bag, so be sure to head to Hamburger Mary’s website and snag your reservation ASAP!

Let’s raise funds, raise spirits, and raise some eyebrows.
See you December 7th, babes. 💖✨

12/11/2025

Love tech? Love cats? This raffle’s for you. The High Stakes Raffle is back, offering high-tech prizes that make cat care smarter and easier.

🎁 Prizes:
• Litter-Robot 4 – the self-cleaning litter box that changes everything.
• SiiPet LitterLens Camera – smart litter box tracking that monitors your cat’s health.

Only 200 tickets will be sold — and at $25 each, your odds are fantastic. Plus, 100% of proceeds benefit St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines and the cats who depend on us.

🎟️ Enter now: https://stsff.eventgroovefundraising.com/hs2025

11/11/2025

Out of an abundance of caution, St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines will remain closed this week.

Our top priority is always the health and well-being of the cats in our care—and of the volunteers who care for them. We’re taking extra time to make sure everyone is healthy, every space is deeply cleaned and disinfected, and that we’re doing everything possible to ensure a safe environment before reopening.

Thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support as we work through this. We can’t wait to open our doors again soon and welcome you back when it’s safe to do so.

❤️ The St. Sophia’s Team

11/11/2025

This isn’t a full update, believe us,
the MINUTE we get two seconds to put one together that doesn’t include one of us wailing or blubbering then we’ll do it. But…

GUYS WE HAD TO SHARE!!!!!

Our little Marion is finally OUT!!!! After losing six kits and having 2 in hospital in intensive care Marion has given us all more hope than she will ever know. SHE IS EATING!!!!

We’re still drowning in vet bills and have 2 extremely positive looking babies still to come out of the woods but after weeks of bad news after bad news. The exhaustion. The emotions. The wondering who was next. Marion has provided a ray of light.

THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU!!! We never could have afforded her ginormous vet bill. She lives because of you. She’s gonna find a home because of you. She’s gonna get to spend Christmas with a family BECAUSE OF YOU!!!

THANK YOU from the bottom of all of our hearts!

If you can spare anything to help towards our other two babies still fighting then we’d greatly appreciate it. Look at the magic that happens when we come together.

Zelle & PayPal: [email protected]

10/11/2025

When comedy meets compassion, everybody wins.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, November 19 — we’re taking over Zanies Comedy Club for an unforgettable evening of stand-up, smiles, and saving cats!

🐱 Every laugh helps fund lifesaving care for St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines.
🎭 A stellar lineup of comedians will keep the good vibes rolling.
💰 Win big in our 50/50 raffle — half to you, half to the cats!

🎟️ Tickets: $25 single / $40 pair
📅 Doors open 6:00 PM | Show starts 7:00 PM
🍹 Must be 21+ with a 2-item food/drink minimum

Let’s pack the house and prove that laughter really can save lives.
Get your tickets now ➡️ https://events.eventgroove.com/event/117005

09/11/2025

Due to recent circumstances we will NOT be at Elmhurst Petco today for our scheduled adoption event.

We are sorry for any inconvenience and please reach out to reschedule if you planned on meeting any babies. 💔 😢

09/11/2025

08/11/2025

💔 A Difficult Week at St. Sophia’s – and a Thank You to Our Community

This has been an incredibly difficult week for our St. Sophia’s family. Over the past several weeks, we have faced a series of heartbreaking losses among some of our youngest kittens. Despite every effort from our medical partners and foster families, several kittens became critically ill, and tragically, not all could be saved.

Yesterday afternoon, our sweet Baddaboom took a sudden turn for the worse. Because of his extremely low white blood cell and platelet counts, he developed both internal and external bleeding that could not be stopped. Our veterinary partners worked tirelessly and tried everything possible, but ultimately, we had to make the incredibly difficult decision to let him go. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully in the loving arms of his foster mom, surrounded by compassion and care.

Our brave little Marion is still at VEG Oak Brook, stable and continuing to fight for her life. She is receiving around-the-clock care from an incredible veterinary team, and we are giving her every possible chance. We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has rallied around her with prayers, encouragement, and generosity. We will continue to press forward to find answers and ensure she receives the best treatment possible.

Our team is working closely with multiple veterinary hospitals — including VEG Oak Brook, VEG Schaumburg, Countryside Veterinary Center, and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine — to determine what exactly has caused these rare and severe illnesses. All of the kittens received comprehensive medical care, extensive testing, and every available treatment. Samples have been sent for advanced diagnostics and necropsy to help us find answers.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily paused all new cat intakes while we await results and review our shelter medicine protocols with our veterinary partners. Our foster families and shelter caretakers are providing exceptional care for the cats currently in our program, and our leadership team is focused on ensuring that every measure is taken to keep them healthy and safe.

To our incredible community: your support has carried us through this heartbreak. From donations of supplies and funds, to kind messages, prayers, and veterinary guidance — you have reminded us that we are not alone in this fight. We are deeply grateful to our fosters, volunteers, vet partners, fellow rescues, and everyone who has reached out to help. Your compassion truly embodies the heart of animal rescue.

As the Director of St. Sophia’s, I grew up with a family story that’s been passed down for generations — that every animal placed on this earth is a cherub, a baby angel, dressed in costume and sent by God to teach us how to love and be loved. When their lesson is complete, they are called back to Heaven. I don’t know yet what lesson God is teaching us through this loss, but I do know that each of these kittens was deeply loved and left a permanent mark on our hearts.

At St. Sophia’s — named after Our St. Sophia, the Mother of Orphans — we believe strongly in the theology that God gave humanity two first commandments:
1️⃣ Do not eat from that tree.
2️⃣ Name all of the animals and care for them.

While we can’t do much about the first, we take the second very seriously. Every day, we strive to live that mission — to care for them.

Thank you to everyone who continues to believe in us, stand beside us, and help us carry this mission forward. We will keep fighting for our cats, finding answers, and honoring the little lives that have touched ours so profoundly.

With gratitude,
Lauren Rizzo
Director, St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines

08/11/2025

Well, according to the weather… winter is officially upon us. 🥶
And as someone who’s not exactly thrilled about freezing my whiskers off, I’ve decided to focus on the good part of winter — the holidays! 🎄🎅

Sargent Salami has already broken out his Christmas best to help us get into the festive spirit. Come see some of our other festive kitty’s (and the rest of us!) spreading cheer at the Trinity Craft Fair — today, 9am–2pm at 1165 S. Westmore, Lombard!

Because nothing says “holiday season” like a cat in a Santa suit reminding you to shop local and support rescue kitties. ❤️🐾