Chateaux De Gatos Sanctuary: Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Grant funding from the 2026 Operation Grant program directly supported the essential care required to raise several vulnerable, abandoned kittens from intake through adoption.
The funding was used primarily for kitten formula, canned kitten food, and minor vet care. It allowed us to bottle-feed neonatal kittens using specialized formula and provide high-quality nutrition as they developed.
Funding also supported basic wellness needs necessary for adoption readiness, including deworming, flea/parasite prevention, and treatment of common conditions such as eye infections. All kittens in our program received age-appropriate vaccinations, socialization, and daily hands-on care to ensure they were healthy, adoptable, and well-adjusted.
How many pets did this grant help?
We anticipate that we will help 20-25 cats throughout the year.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
One of the kittens whose life was truly changed by this funding is a tiny survivor we named “Little Bit.”
At just three weeks old, Little Bit was found alone in a shoe box at a gas station in Rincón — fragile, underweight, and completely dependent on human care to survive. She had no mother, no protection, and was very, very hungry.
We stepped in and Little Bit was bottle-fed every two hours around the clock during her first week in care. As she stabilized, she grew strong enough to go three to four hours between feedings. She proved to be a determined little fighter — eating well, gaining weight, and soon becoming more alert and mobile each day.
As Little Bit continued to grow, she transitioned to kitten pâté and received a thorough veterinary exam. We learned that she was actually closer to five weeks old — just very small for her age — and she received the deworming and basic care needed to stay on a healthy path. With consistent nutrition, warmth, and socialization, her transformation was remarkable.
Through our adoption network on Petfinder, Little Bit found her forever home and is now thriving in New Jersey with a loving family. She now shares her days with a boy who is just about her age in people years — gentle, sweet, and incredibly careful with her. The two have formed a beautiful bond. They play together, rest together, and truly love each other in that simple, pure way only little ones can.
Little Bit’s journey — from a vulnerable kitten alone at a gas station to a cherished member of a family — is exactly what this grant made possible. It is the story of survival, compassion, and the profound impact of caring for these tiny souls.
