This September will mark one year since Hurricane Lee struck Nova Scotia. The hurricane’s relentless winds and heavy rain caused flooding, power outages, and displaced pets and people.
For strays and abandoned animals, during the storm and in the aftermath, it was devastating.
On the Sunday after Hurricane Lee hit, a woman was walking around her yard scanning for storm damage when she heard faint meowing. She was shocked to find four newborn kittens, barely clinging to life, hiding behind a tree.
They were soaked, covered in mud, and dehydrated.
Kittens this young cannot regulate their own body temperature. They were cold and pale, so they were rushed to the Colchester SPCA. Shelter staff and volunteers acted quickly and provided critical care.
They dried the kitties off, gave them cozy blankets and heating pads, and tried to nurse them back to health… but they braced themselves that the kittens might not make it through the night.
Inspired by The Little Mermaid, and how you do not need to be able to speak the same language to connect and help each other, the kittens were named Ariel, Ursula, Chaz, and J-Slice.
Tragically, despite best efforts, Ariel didn’t make it – a loss that deeply affected everyone. But they tried to focus on the fact that the other kittens began to bounce back. The kitties showed remarkable resilience. With around-the-clock care and love from dedicated foster families, the kittens grew strength and confidence.
But that’s not all they gained… they also found amazing adoptive families!
Now, a year later, their families shared an update on their progress:
Chaz
“Chaz (now known as Oliver) is playful, goofy and a social butterfly. After his rough start outdoors, he is an indoor only kitty. If he’s not protecting our home in his throne, you’ll find him cuddled up and snuggling his humans after enjoying some playtime. Our favourite memories of Oliver so far is how he has never failed to greet us in the morning for love and cuddles by laying on our chest. Thank you SPCA for everything you do and for bringing Oliver into our lives!” – Jensen
J-Slice
“Let me tell you about how I came to own Patrick formerly known as J-Slice. I work with the province and was coming back from Amherst and I had recently lost my 16-year-old cat named Prada who was an orange and white cat. I was not looking for another orange and white cat but I stopped in at your shelter in Truro on the way home from Amherst. Honestly, I was looking for a grey and white kitten but I went into your kitten room and there was a cute little orange fluffy one who is happy to be held, and then there was Patrick, he just wanted love so of course I had to hold him. I didn’t want to take him because he honestly looked identical to my 16-year-old that just passed away in October. But I put him back and I went to put into it an application for the other cat and I could just hear him screaming, so I went back and saw him and he had his paws out yelling and I knew at that moment he was coming home with me. He is honestly almost identical to my 16-year-old that passed away but with a little bit more attitude and I couldn’t be more grateful that he didn’t give me a choice and made me choose him.” – Meghan
Ursula
“Ursula is now named Truffle. She was my one and only foster failure during my time at the SPCA. She is leash trained like all my others and gets supervised outside time. 🙂 Truffle has always been obsessed with people; I think that comes from my hand-raising her from three weeks of age. So, I think my favorite memories with her might be any time we take her to the pet store or a drive-through. We get to see her light up and make her “activation noises,” as we call them, whenever someone gives her attention and tells her she is pretty. She just loves it so much, and we love to see how happy she gets with these interactions.” – Staci-Ann
Right now, around 17 pets – just like these kitties – are brought to safety at the Nova Scotia SPCA every single day. And with storms and hurricanes on the horizon, it will get even busier.
As we face another hurricane season, it’s important to reflect and remember lessons we’ve learned. And one big takeaway from Hurricane Lee and the storm kitties, is that even in natural disasters, there is power in connection.
When we work together, there is always hope.