A 4 week old kitten was rescued from the recent Arkansas tornadoes. His name is Mission Kitty. Just another rescued kitten amongst many from devastating tornadoes, you might think. Not quite because enlightened organisers made arrangements for this vulnerable kitten to be fostered by kindergarten kids.

Kindergarten kids foster a rescue kitten. Photo by OAKBROOKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Kindergarten Teacher Kristian Laughy (believed)

The children go to school at Oakbrooke Elementary School. A teacher at the school, Kristian Laughy made contact with a lady who had found the kitten and who had posted a message on Facebook requesting some daytime assistance in caring for the kitten.

The end result is that Mission Kitty is now being cared for by Kristian Laughy’s class of children.

This is one of those classic win-win situations. For sometime, I have been gently promoting the idea of educating children about animal welfare and in particular caring for domestic animals, most particularly the domestic cat, my special interest.

In this instance, we have a situation which exactly reflects what I was thinking about except that it goes beyond that because not only do the children benefit in learning about the needs of a vulnerable kitten and caring for a domestic cat but the kitten is fostered back to health and confidence. This is a chance too for the children to bring the kitten through kittenhood into adulthood.

I am very impressed by Kristian Laughy. One of her¹ classes was entitled “Don’t Shop-Adopt”. What an excellent subject to teach kids: promoting the adoption of cats and kittens from shelters rather than buying from a shop or a breeder.

I would hope that this sort of program is adopted by very many schools in any country. It’s a wonderful idea provided, of course, the children are properly managed by their teacher when caring for such a small and vulnerable kitten. I am confident that they are.

Apparently, Mission Kitty has found his voice while being cared for by the kindergarten kids; he started to meow – a sign of growing confidence? Mission Kitty has come a long way from being the victim of viscous tornadoes when found starving, dehydrated and with an eye infection.

Notes:

1. Kristian is a unisex name but I have presumed that the teacher is female. Wrong? Please correct me.
2. My thanks to Elisa for finding the story.