Six Incredible Kittens and Their Stories

Kittens are cute as buttons, and people have been smitten with them for ages. They are funny, loving and surprisingly strong. Most of all, they are symbols of all things delicate and worth protecting. But with so many dog stories out there, our tiny kitten friends don’t get much attention. Here are six kittens with inspiring stories.

The Ground Zero Kitten

A New York fireman brought in a tiny furball to the KittyKind rescue in Petco a few months after September 11, 2001. Kiri Blakeley, a long time volunteer of the organization saw the gray and white kitten slowly come up from under the thick, black coat of the firefighter. He said he found her near the Trade Center. He wanted to bring the kitten home, but he had to keep working at Ground Zero. Blakeley was asked if she could foster the kitten.

Blakeley named the her “Ground Zero,” and kept her for a few weeks before bringing her to the shelter for adoption. When people found out where the kitten had been found, they lined up to adopt her, amazed that such a little kitten survived the aftermath of the disaster. The shelter also had a few other cats who came in after their owner perished in the attack. The staff at KittyKind wished all their other cats were receiving as much attention as those with the 9/11 back-story.

Ground Zero kitten found a home, thanks to the fireman and the caring volunteers of KittyKind.

The Railroad Kitten

Chessie is one kitten character that mastered climbing the ladder —the corporate ladder that is. During the Great Depression, this mini kitten stole American hearts by becoming the cherished mascot of C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Railroad Company. Cuddly Chessie, named after the Chesapeake railroad (now Amtrak), became the company’s spokescat when the marketing manager saw an etching of her sleeping under a blanket with her paw contentedly forward. Chessie’s drawings were featured in ads in newspapers and national magazines for the railway’s new air-conditioned sleeper car service with a slogan “Sleep Like a Kitten and Arrive Fresh as a Daisy in Air-Conditioned Comfort”.   

A whole campaign began around Chessie including a calendar with 40,000 copies in distribution. With her comforting messages and feline cuteness, Chessie’s character became “America’s Sleepheart” and the talk of the railroad world. She eventually got two look-alike kittens and a mate named Peake (the other half of Chessie in Chesapeake) and was the subject of two children’s books.

Chessie single handedly propelled C&O to the top ranks of railroad advertising and lifted the spirits of depression-era Americans.

The Innocent Kitten

Nine-year old Jamarea Mills and his brothers were playing with a stray tabby kitten on a sunny day in Suffolk, VA last summer when things suddenly took a turn for the worse. A 12-year old boy joined them, grabbed the kitten and began beating it with a stick before tossing it to the ground. The kitten was only seven weeks old at the time. Shocked, Jamarea and his brothers yelled stop, but the bully continued abusing the kitten. When the older boy took out a knife and threatened to cut the kitten, Jamarea couldn’t stop himself. He ran in and took the knife away from the older kid, and smacked the animal out of his hand, saving the cat’s life.

The boys brought the kitten home before an animal control officer came to their aid. The kitten suffered a broken leg and bruised abdomen and lungs. Sadly, despite around the clock foster care, the kitten who was named Little Heart didn’t make it, but he left this world surrounded by those who loved him.

The 12-year old abuser was charged and later sentenced under one count of misdemeanor for cruelty towards an animal. Jamarea on the other hand, having braved a bully attack and saving a helpless kitten said he wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up.

The Verrazano Kitten

There seems to be no end to animal cruelty. Last July, a Russian blue kitten was thrown out of a moving car on the Verrazano Bridge in New York. Luckily for the kitten, an Animal Care & Control officer happened to be driving on the bridge at the time. He worked with some truck drivers to halt traffic and rescued the kitten who was dangerously wedged by a barrier on the roadway. He then brought the kitten to the AC&C's Staten Island shelter.

The kitten rescued from the bridge sparked a huge public outcry, and he went on to being featured on The View. One of the show’s hosts, Whoopi Goldberg and former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari applied to adopt the survivor. Whoopi won and brought him home in August. She named the lucky kitten Vinny, after the Verrazano.

The Marine Kitten

You’ve heard of hero dogs helping soldiers, but have you heard of kittens bringing smiles to Marines? Last year, Marines stationed in eastern Afghanistan befriended a group of stray kittens found near their base. Far away from home, the marines sought comfort in the company of these purring kittens. Marine Brian Chambers and others at the base took in these animals and cared for them. The kittens gave them something to look forward to at the end of the day. The cats also kept mice and snakes away from their camp. Chambers fell in love with a 3-week old kitten that he named KiKi.

One spring morning, KiKi went missing. He turned up a few days later in terrible condition, with cuts on his body at four places. Someone tried to skin him. After getting immediate treatment by a local vet, KiKi recovered from the abuse and got back to her usual self.

But Chambers didn’t want his cherished cat roaming in Afghanistan anymore. Together with his wife, he made arrangements to bring the cat back to Houston. With the help of a rescue organization called Nowzad Dogs and donations amounting to $6,000, Chambers was able to get Kiki and three of her feline friends transferred home and onwards to their various destinations.

The Green Kitten

Do you know kittens like broccoli? Well, this little darling named Captain Pugwash in the YouTube video below created quite a comedic sensation when he started chowing down on some broccoli. The best part is the cute little noises he makes while doing so. At least this kitten knows it’s healthy to eat his greens.