The woman from Kitty Cat Village said it wasn’t really a village. Just the apartment building where she lived. But she and some of the other seniors living there decided that Kitty Cat Village sounded more fun so that’s what they called it.

But besides her and a few neighbors, no one else knew. Because what they were doing was illegal. Yes, they were lawbreakers. And Kitty Cat Village must remain a secret.

That’s because they were caring for a few more cats than they were supposed to have. But she said they could not say no. Since they all had cats already, adding a few more was easy to do.

So they decided to adopt the oldest shelter cats that no one else wanted so they could live out their years with comfort and grace.

But then a series of things happened all at once. It was, as she called it, just a load of poop. And suddenly Kitty Cat Village was about out of food and money was tight and they knew it would be a struggle for the next few months. And that’s why they were reaching out now.

They knew The Pongo Fund was not anywhere near where they were. But they were hopeful.

Kitty Cat Village sounds like a wonderful place. And we wish there was a Kitty Cat Village in every apartment building. But helping places like Kitty Cat Village is not really the direct focus of The Pongo Fund. Our focus is Oregon and Washington. The states where we’ve provided the bulk of our more than 8,000,000 high-quality meals and helped keep tens of thousands of hungry family pets safe at home and out of the shelters.

But still. Could we? How?

Because the bigger problem was that Kitty Cat Village was in New York. Thousands of miles away.

Shipping bags of cat food is expensive. Really expensive. And that just wouldn’t work. So I mentioned to a friend that I sure wish we had a truckload of something shipping to New York so we could add some cat food too.

Well, he told someone who told someone else and all of a sudden a guy that was shipping several pallets to New York said he had a little extra room. Would we like to include some cat food?

And that’s how the cat food meowed its way to Kitty Cat Village. Thanks to our newest Kibble Courier.

But that’s not all.

Because the bigger story was not the delivery. It was the cat food itself. Because sometimes things just make sense. And that’s why we knew that some of the cat food we had in Oregon needed to be in New York.

How did we know that? It was almost as if a Great Spirit Cat was watching over us, purring in our ear so we knew what to do. Really.

And who was that Great Spirit Cat?

That was Baby the Cat. He was BTC to me. His Mom is my friend. And he was a New York cat. We lost him almost one year ago on July 25, 2014. And when that happened a very special friend of BTC donated a chunk of money to buy cat food in his memory so that other cat friends would not go hungry.

As the first anniversary of Baby’s passing came closer, The Pongo Fund was once again surprised by the news of a special cat food donation in memory of Baby. And just like that, as if it were meant to be, here were the Kitty Cat Grandmas of Kitty Cat Village, asking if we could help.

Although Baby the Cat had crossed the Rainbow Bridge one year ago, we knew he still stayed busy in New York keeping an eye on his Mom and family. He’s a cool cat like that.

So it just made sense. Some of this food donated in memory of a New York kitty needed to make its way back home to help other New York kitties. So it did.

Tummies are full at Kitty Cat Village. But don’t tell anyone, because it’s a secret.

In memory of Baby the Cat. What a handsome man he was. Just look at those photos. He left peacefully and pain free. The bravest cat you’ll ever know. He fought every battle with courage and grace. Greeting each day with love. A kind soul. An old soul. Loved by all. And always giving so much love in return. Purrs of love to you always, Sweet Baby. Purrs of love to you always.

Baby the Cat. He’s everywhere. And Always in a New York State of Mind.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. BTC Forever. thepongofund.org