Family Who Lost Kitten Gives New Cat Home For Holidays

CUTCHOGUE, NY — A tragic story on the North Fork has an ending filled with hope: After the search for a missing kitten in Cutchogue ended in heartbreak in November, a family decided to give another cat a forever home for the holidays.

Tanya McDowell, whose 12-week-old kitten Ziggy, an orange tabby, lost his life after the garage door blew open in the middle of the night and he escaped, posted the good news on Facebook this week.

"Welcome to the family. My heart is so full of joy! This little guy was just delivered to me and I couldn’t be happier! Thank you Maureen Ostrowski and North Fork Country Kids:Rescue and Preservation Through Pedagogy for making this possible," she said. "The people at the North Fork Country Kids are just amazing. When Ziggy went missing, they reached out to me and offered much-needed help. The dedication these woman have is amazing. I'm truly blessed that I was able to adopt from them."

North Fork Country Kids founder Virginia Scudder said all involved were thrilled to help facilitate the happy ending. "As a rescue we are here to advocate for all animals and when one of our neighbors calls us for help, we make sure one of our volunteers can assist with a rescue," she said. "Tayna was so distraught and sad. We understood her tears."

McDowell, Scudder said, "is a wonderful cat mom. And we are happy to have her as a new Country Kids member and cat mom. Nothing will replace her baby — but giving another animal a chance of love and happiness is a great way to remember your babies."

McDowell's new kitten, Cider, is eight weeks old.

And for McDowell, there was no better way to heal a broken heart than to open it again to love.

While memory of heartache remains — McDowell sometimes calls Cider "Ziggy" without realizing — the loss led to a new lease on life for Cider, and even new friendships for McDowell.

"Maureen from the North Fork Country Kids bottle fed him and his siblings from the time they were two days old and their mama abandoned them. She was told they wouldn’t make it but her dedication to them proved wrong. She bottle-fed them every two hours — she’s just an amazing woman and I’m thankful she’s in my life now," McDowell said.

Education is a key component of the rescue organization's mission, Scudder said. "As a rescue, we ask that you keep cats and dogs inside and away from the elements to stay protected. We know sometimes cats get out and dogs get out of gates. It is sad when we lose our furry friends — but that is why we aim to educate the importance of indoor only pets, especially on the North Fork, where there are hawks and other wildlife and heavy traffic seasons."

McDowell believes there was no better way to honor Ziggy's life than by giving another shelter kitty a home. "The shelters and foster parents are all so full of cats and kittens that need forever families," she said. "I’m actually fostering two myself at the moment. Adoption gives these cats a fighting chance to have a life and love. I have adopted a few over the years and the gratitude and love they give you back is pure joy."