08/14/2026
A lightly meandering tale of six cats, and a glimpse into a wild few days of rescue work at HSSB for this Feline Friday.
Iris, her sister Skye, her 3 weaned kittens, were brought to us when their owner had to move out of state.
We were at shelter capacity when we recieved the call, so we worked with their owner to accept this cat family in stages.
Iris and Skye arrived first, and we got them in to Brevard Spay/Neuter Clinic the same week.
After her spay, while recovering from the anaesthesia, Iris started bleeding internally. The vet got her into surgery to stop the bleeding, but she needed an emergency blood donor. Luckily, there was a cat already in the building that was big and healthy enough to be a donor. His name is Boots.
Boots, a beautiful and kind brown tabby, was surrendered to Brevard County, Fl - South Animal Care and Adoption Center when his owner went into the hospital, and there was no family to take care of him (do you have a plan if you suddenly weren't there to take care of your animals???)
The South Animal Care and Adoption Center had taken him to Brevard Spay and Neuter that day for vaccines and a neuter, if needed. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save Iris' life.
The kittens, adorable, rambunctions lil leopards, arrived next. They immediately went into foster. One of them, now named Gizmo, has a spinal deformity, giving him a very characteristic hump. This hasn't hindered his ability to stay active, but he does have some interesting ways of getting up and down the cat towers, with some days where gets around better than others.
He and his brothers, named Rocket and Dash, love to run and jump and play and snuggle. They will be available for adoption in the upcoming weeks. Right now we can't say what Gizmo's life will look like, but we expect he will have some special needs and will be looking for a special adopter.
Their mother Skye is a sweet girl who loves lounging and gossiping loudly with anyone that will come by to listen. While Iris, still recovering, spends more than a cat's share of time lounging, she is sweet and will make a great companion.
We didn't forgot about Boots, though. We reached out to find out about his background, and pulled him the day after his wayward visit to Brevard Spay and Neuter. He was scared and hiding at the louder shelter, but now that he is at HSSB, he comes up for pets and treats. We think he is going to be a wonderful couch cuddle buddy. He's enjoying his cage with a window view as he recovers from a dental, with lots of soft gravy food.
He is available for adoption and retirement from the unwitting hero life this weekend.
Thanks to the hardworking staff at BSN and the BCSO shelter for everything they do to help animals in need. This winding tale is a prime example of the fact that rescue is a community effort, where we can all chip in to help share the load when things get rough.
