Strays Hope For Life Rescue

While El Gaucho is patiently waiting for his adoption to be finalized, his sisters LiliChed, Madame Janette & Betty Pacsetti are ready to accept the application 😻 They are being fostered on Staten Island, NY and are ready to meet their potential parents!

Few seconds break from having zoomies 🐈‍⬛😻😍

P.S Miyu is already reserved 🏡 Yoko, Kato & Kenji are now accepting the pre-adoption applications and will be available after November 2nd

💔 RIP, our sweet Sereja. 💔

I needed time to put this post together. And I don’t want to lie and say that we are strong, or that after doing rescue for so long we somehow learn to accept the good and the bad 24/7. I don’t…we don’t.

I am still tearing up while writing this post.

Two days ago, devastation came to our rescue once again. Our mush, our sweet, handsome, silly boy Sereja gained his wings and left for a better world. A world free of pain and suffering. A world where no human will ever betray him again 😭💔

Sereja came to our rescue in August 2025.

One of our volunteers spotted him sitting in the bushes at one of our managed colonies. Something about him immediately told her that this was not a feral cat. No feral cat would sit there like that, almost crying to be noticed and asking someone to help him.

She gently picked him up and placed him into the carrier she always keeps in her trunk.

Sereja looked like he had recently been beaten up. There were also older, healed wounds on his body. We didn’t know where he came from or what his life had been before that moment. But despite everything, this incredibly sweet boy still trusted people.

And then the next day came the news we were not prepared for.

Sereja tested positive for FeLV — feline leukemia.

As a rescue, we know all too well what those words can mean. But we desperately held onto the hope that perhaps it was a false positive. We took the next step and had a qPCR test performed. Those were some of the longest hours.

The results confirmed what we were afraid of: Sereja was progressively infected with FeLV.

He was only about two years old 😞.

We couldn’t tell him how much time he had. Days? Weeks? Months? Maybe, if we were lucky, a couple of years.

But we could make him one promise:

However much time you have, Sereja, you will be loved and spoiled every single day of it.

And that is exactly what happened. ❤️

Sereja also had dental disease, but considering his FeLV status and bloodwork, his doctors felt that putting him through a dental procedure carried too much risk. He received courses of antibiotics when needed, and most importantly, he had a wonderful hospice family watching over him, loving him and making sure every day that he was comfortable.

And our boy gave us 12½ beautiful months.

For 12½ months, Sereja wasn’t the abandoned cat sitting in the bushes anymore. Our boy had a home
and warm beds and the toys and plenty of delicious food and treats and most importantly he had people to love, the humans who worried about him, spoiled him, laughed at his silly personality.

Nothing seemed concerning until last week, when Sereja suddenly refused to eat and became lethargic. The next few days were a roller coaster of hope and fear.

And then Monday night, Sereja had a seizure.

His foster family rushed him to the ER, but in our hearts, we already knew. 😓

Our precious boy passed away surrounded by his favorite humans — two mamas, who loved him until his very last breath, no matter how painful it was for them to say goodbye.

We all cried that night.

And we are still crying today.

But through these tears, I keep reminding myself and his foster family Sereja did not die alone in those bushes.

He left this world knowing what it felt like to be someone’s baby and maybe that is the greatest gift rescue was able to give him.

I know our precious boy is finally at peace, and I hope somewhere, somehow, he is watching over his foster mamas who gave him the life he deserved.

We loved you, Sereja.

We will never forget you.

And we will forever be grateful that you found your way into our lives.

Rest peacefully, our sweet, silly, funny mush. ❤️

RIP Sereja. 🌈🐾
Until we meet again. ❤️❤️❤️

SHFL Team

The names say it all 🤦🏻‍♀️! These were the longest 72 sleepless hours… Mama Olympia was already spayed and vaccinated today. She also needed to have some bloodwork done, but she’s now safely recovering after the surgery. And these little “houdinis” are finally reunited 😅! Welcome to SHFL Nor & Easter & Storm (even though you are silently hating us right now haha)

🚨🚖Transporters and trappers desperately needed!

Dear supporters and animal lovers, we are once again posting our plea for help with the transport and trapping! We really appreciate all the help we always receive from all of you, but the transportation and the trapping are our biggest challenges we face on a daily basis.

As you know we are a small foster-based rescue with not only the cute kittens, but always with the multiple medical cats on hand, and besides that we are actively involved in TNR.

Let me tell you how it works for us. Here is just one example. When we receive a phone call/email/messages to let’s say the litter of kittens, we don’t run just to grab the kittens. Each rescue involves the logistics:

- do we have the foster
- do we have any available trappers, who can get to the location
- where is the mother (we don’t fall into “mother was hit by the car” or “mother abandoned the kittens” unless we have the proof and know the details). The mother needs to be trapped and spayed to end this cycle and live her life without suffering every 4-6 months
-it’s always never just 1 mother and the kittens. Most of the times it’s the colony with the multiple cats, who need to be trapped/vetted/recovered/released back outside
Now here comes a dilemma-

-do we have the transporter, who can bring the kittens to the foster home
-do we have anyone who would be able to bring the kittens from the foster to our vet if the foster isn’t driving or simply doesn’t have time due to the schedule
-do we have the transport for the mama cat and other trapped cats to bring these cats in the traps to Brooklyn to get them fixed? If we get lucky once or twice a month and have a couple of appointments at a low-cost clinic, the cats need to leave Staten Island at the latest 6:30 am ( and if we don’t have low-cost appointments, both feral cats in the traps and/or the adoptable cats in the carriers still need to be brought to Brooklyn for their spay/neuter appointments and brought back to either their fosters or the recovery place)

This is just one example of how it works. When we say it takes a village to save lives we mean it.

If you (or your friend/neighbor/or someone you may know) want to be involved, but can’t foster or can’t afford it on your own, but willing to learn how TNR works and/or able to transport- please let us know or email us at

[email protected]

and one of our volunteers will reach out to you to discuss. All expenses for the gas/tolls will be covered.

Trying to make the photos of the black kittens is not the easiest task 🤣😅

I feel like we all need a little extra cuteness for this weekend 🥹 and yes, the girls are now available for adoption 🏡

Two weeks ago I woke up to the email no rescue wants to receive- the microchip company informed us that our “lost” cat had been successfully found. We haven’t had any missing cats (thank Goodness!) and my brain started to work on the speed mode. I immediately pulled up the records by the microchip # and couldn’t even believe my eyes.

Few minutes later I received the phone call from our local ACC, informing me that our poor Vi was surrendered to the shelter right before Labor Day. I still couldn’t believe the family, who we thought was a perfect match for our girl, would have surrendered her to the shelter, instead of contacting us directly if they couldn’t take care about her. We immediately contacted the owner, who refused to acknowledge that she adopted Vi (and yes, of course, we have a contract signed by this woman). Instead she told us it was her dad who adopted the cat (they lived together at the time of the adoption and had a dog and another cat), but he’s sick now and the brother brought her to ACC.

Our poor girl was terrified at the shelter even though ACC employees tried their best to comfort her. She lost everything in one day - her home, her owner, the life she’s used to living since she was a baby. I am truly grateful to ACC for contacting us as soon as it was possible and for our volunteer rushing to pick her up and to another volunteer, who opened her door for Vi, knowing that we were completely full.

I remember Vi when she came to the rescue, a little black panther with a lot of personality. 4 years later she didn’t change a bit! Yes, she was completely confused and petrified once she was brought to the foster, but her natural sweet personality took over her fear and all she wants now is some attention, while she gently makes some biscuits with her adorable paws.

Vi is UTD on shots/FIV/FeLV negative, spayed and microchipped and she will be looking for the new family, who will never ever hurt her again, who will never betray her, who will love her for who she is.

https://form.jotform.com/82828565257166

When you were born adorable, but only learned about it a few weeks later after you joined your foster family 🥹