Laurie Cinotto’s Story of The “Itty Bitty Kitty Committee”

How one person changed her entire lifestyle to find a "forever" home for 250 kittens

All photo credits go to Laurie Cinotto

Laurie Cinotto’s Story of The “Itty Bitty Kitty Committee”

Cause: Fostering kittens

Avenues used: Promotion, fundraising

Methods used: Art, writing

Numerous studies show that cats have spatial awareness. They can sense the energy within a room, but they are unable to communicate. Imagine. Laurie Cinotto sculpted an opportunity for herself that impacted so many. She started by volunteering at a shelter where she nurtured kittens that did not have a mother. Laurie was deeply invested in fostering the kittens in a space where they could find a forever home. She decided to bring them home, and she could see the impact it was making on having them in a calm, loving environment. When Laurie fostered kittens, she knew she was going into difficult work. It is more than cuddling with cute kittens every once in a while. She had to commit to waking up in the middle of the night to feed the kittens and hold them so that they could feel safe and adapt to the environment. She committed to changing her entire lifestyle to be the mother of 250 kittens over ten years. She even had names for every one of her foster kittens. That is commitment.

After her commitment to nursing the kittens and working closely with the shelter, she wanted to grow this into something more significant. She began an organization called The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. She wanted to change the lives of abandoned kittens and request more people to foster kittens. In the US today, there are 6-8 million sheltered cats, and 71% of them at some point are euthanized. These statistics scare anyone who is a cat lover or an animal lover in general. Laurie began her Itty Bitty Kitty Committee website to share the kittens' stories in hopes of finding them good homes. All of the cats that she fostered were from her local humane society. Laurie learned the fundamentals of feeding, vaccinating, and care-giving. Once the kittens were taken care of, she would market them on her blog with photos and the personal stories of who the kittens were and what they have gone through. From there, interested owners would pick up the kittens and bring them to their forever home.

Graham Loudermilk

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee began to grow. Laurie observed that her blog was skyrocketing in supporters from all over the globe. The organization evolved into more than an action project in Tacoma, Washington, and into an awareness project worldwide. The fundraising element is tied to their global audience as well as education and awareness. Laurie always wanted to keep her fundraising and educating experiences very light-hearted and cheerful, and it paid off. The shelter organizations, such as the foster care one that Laurie was working with, needed money to support the medical expenses to treat the cats from kittens to senior cats. Laurie communicated the importance of her work with her broad audience by using her cute kitten photos and personal stories. 

She used her photography and crafting talent to create these storytelling photos of the cats for her blog. This attracted many more supporters.

Her work has been difficult because of the health concerns that can come up when working with abandoned kittens, but on the other side, fostering for her has been so much fun. The cats that she helped every day were such vulnerable animals, but she provided a stable environment where they could be safe and grow. Towards the end of her work, in total, she raised $749,721.50 for various cat services. Each year she determined where the proceeds would go. Some would be towards a foster program, and others would be towards a community cat room and visitation area.

Volunteering and advocating can strain your mental and physical well-being, but once you come to understand the positives of being a part of a movement, you will never go back. It is essential to take breaks from long periods of work, precisely what Laurie is doing right now. She was able to keep the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee alive for ten years! She has done her part in change-making and will be forever remembered for it. The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee is just one of the many animal rights organizations. If you are interested in donating to these causes, please look here at the humane society legislative fund. If you want to learn more about Laurie's past work, please look at her blog.

Many thanks for reading this weeks article,

Ruby