09/21/2026
A Final Goodbye from Krissie’s Kritters 🐾💔
I have started this letter so many times, and honestly, I still don’t know how to find the right words.
Yesterday, Horton was my final adoption.
Except… Horton isn’t going anywhere.
He’s staying with me. 😽🐾❤️
And somehow, that feels like exactly how this chapter was supposed to end.
For the past year, I had the privilege of running Krissie’s Kritters as an official 501(c)(3) rescue. But the truth is, my rescue journey didn’t begin a year ago. Long before Krissie’s Kritters had a name, paperwork, or an official status, there were cats and kittens who needed help….and somehow, I always found myself opening my heart and my home to them.
Making Krissie’s Kritters official was something I was incredibly proud of. I dreamed of helping even more cats, giving them safety when they had nowhere else to go, getting them the medical care they needed, and ultimately finding them loving forever homes.
And for that one year, that’s exactly what we did.
But sadly, a complaint brought my rescue to an end. I was given 30 days to rehome the cats and stop operating the rescue from my home. And as devastating as that has been, I have made the decision to close Krissie’s Kritters rather than allow the cats I love so deeply to be put in a position where their future is uncertain.
This has broken my heart in ways I can’t really put into words.💔💔
Because these weren’t “just cats.”
They were lives.😽
They were personalities.😸
They were little souls who learned to trust.😻
They were frightened cats who eventually discovered what a gentle hand felt like.
They were kittens who needed someone to bottle-feed them, clean them, medicate them, comfort them, and sometimes simply hold them.
They were the cats who made me laugh on days when I desperately needed it.🐾🐈⬛
They were the cats who made me cry.😿
They were the ones I worried about in the middle of the night.
They were the ones I fought for.
And every time one of them finally went home with their forever family, a tiny piece of my heart went with them.❤️🩹
So today, instead of focusing on how this ended, I want to focus on what all of us accomplished together.💞
To every donor who gave money, food, litter, supplies, or anything else to help these cats**: thank you.** You may never know exactly which life your generosity touched, but I do. Your donations paid for veterinary care, medications, surgeries, dental work, spays and neuters, food, and so many things these cats desperately needed.
To my volunteers🫂🐾thank you for showing up. Thank you for giving your time, your energy, and your love. Rescue isn’t glamorous. There is cleaning, laundry, litter boxes, medications, vet appointments, sleepless nights, and plenty of moments when you’re completely exhausted. You helped carry that load.
To my fosters🐾😽thank you for opening your homes and your hearts. You gave cats a safe place to heal, grow, and learn how wonderful people can be.
To every adopter🌟🐾😽thank you for choosing one of my babies. I know I probably asked a lot of questions, and I cared deeply about where they were going. That’s because every single one mattered to me. Thank you for giving them the life I dreamed about for them.
To my family and friends😻😽thank you for understanding why rescue consumed so much of my life. Thank you for putting up with the long days, the late nights, the constant cleaning, the phone calls, the vet appointments, and all the emotional ups and downs. Thank you for understanding that when I said, “I have to go take care of the cats,” I really did.
And to every person who ever shared a post, donated, transported a cat, helped with fundraising events, brought supplies, sent an encouraging message, prayed for one of my cats, or simply cheered us on from the sidelines🫶🏼🫶🏼
You mattered.
You were part of this.🫂🫂
And I hope you know that.
There were so many moments during this past year when I was completely exhausted. There were days when I wondered how I was going to keep going. There were heartbreaking losses and incredibly difficult situations.
But there were also moments I will treasure forever.
The first time a terrified cat finally allowed me to touch them.
The first purr.😽
The first kitten who climbed into my lap.
The updates from adopters telling me how happy one of “my babies” was.
The pictures of cats sleeping in their new homes.
The moments when I knew, We did it.🙌🏼
Those moments are mine forever.❣️
And nobody can take them away.
Krissie’s Kritters may be closing, but the lives we saved don’t disappear because the rescue does.
Every cat sleeping peacefully tonight in a forever home is part of this story.
Every adopter who loves one of my babies is part of this story.
Every donor, volunteer, foster, friend, and family member who helped make it possible is part of this story.
And Horton will be the little piece of this rescue who stays right here with me. 😽🐾
Maybe that’s why I’m okay with him being my final adoption.
Because after spending so much of my life trying to make sure cats found their people, I suppose it was only fitting that one of them would end up reminding me that I deserve to keep one too.
Horton gets to stay.🤍🖤🐈⬛🐾
And I get to keep one little piece of Krissie’s Kritters beside me.
I don’t know what the future looks like from here. I only know that my heart will always belong to the cats.
I may no longer have an official rescue, but I will never stop caring.
I will never stop noticing the frightened cat who needs someone.
I will never stop believing that every life matters.
And I will never forget the incredible people who stood beside me during this chapter.
Thank you for believing in Krissie’s Kritters.🫶🏼🫶🏼
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for helping me save them.
Thank you for loving them.
And thank you for being part of something that meant more to me than I could ever explain.
My heart is broken that this is where the journey ends.
But my heart is also incredibly full.🫶🏼
Because we did good.😽
We saved lives.😻
We gave them love.💞
We gave them a second chance.🙌🏼
And for that, I will always, always be grateful.
With all my love,
Kris
Krissie’s Kritters 🐾❤️
The rescue may be closing its doors, but the love never ends.
And Horton… well, Horton is home. 😽🐾❤️
