TATER (one of a bonded pair) Domestic Short Hair Grand Rapids, MI

Meet the Fab Four: Chicky (Chicken Nugget), Tater (as in Tot), Penni and Stormie! These pint-sized playmates came to us as a shelter transfer (thank you to The Cat Connection in Okemos) on February 3rd, 2025, as Feline Leukemia positive kittens. They aren’t all actual siblings, but they were all housed together for 6 weeks, and prior to that they were set up in pairs. Chicky was a bottle baby, taken in as an orphan at 2 weeks old; he and Penni were born around 7/25/24. Tater’s date of birth is a bit earlier in the month, around 7/7/24, and Stormie is the eldest, arriving in this world around 6/20/24. As luck would have it for one of our cute little clowder, Penni retested negative via in-house and reference lab tests for Feline Leukemia, but since she has been a part of the group since her early days and hasn’t contracted the virus, we thought it best to keep them together for the time being. Shelter life is a lot different than hanging out in a foster room, so we wanted to make sure the quartet acclimated and settled in nicely before making any decisions to separate them. Chicky, Tater and Stormie all retested positive, and although I am not sure where the infection originated from, sadly it spread. Now, to watch these hilarious lunatics romping and darting around our free-roam facility, one would never guess anything is lurking within their bloodstreams, so we aren’t about to tell them! Each kitten has had ALL needed medical work, including treatment for internal parasites, anemia (Penni and Stormie), and dental issues (Chicky), along with completion of their vaccine series, radiographs, and anything else I felt they could benefit from!
The two boys are most definitely bonded, so they must go into a home together. Penni and Stormie are independent gals and get along well with everyone in the clubhouse, but they especially like it when Charlotte chases them around—and they sure do reciprocate. If each one of our lovely little ladies goes into a home with another playful cat, we won’t mind separating them. I do want to make it clear, however, that adopting a leukemia positive kitty, especially if he or she was born with it (or acquired it early on in kittenhood) does come with risks that I want everyone to be aware of. The lifespan of a kitten with the virus is greatly shortened, with some research stating that making it to a year old is the best one could hope for. I personally have taken in youngsters that have surpassed the odds of survival, but on the flip side, I have also had to say goodbye all too soon to many of them before they could celebrate their first birthdays. There are no guarantees of longevity or continuous health, but we do everything within our power to ensure that each of our beautiful babies is as happy and healthy as possible before we entertain the thought of letting them leave us.


CRASH's LANDING and BIG SID's SANCTUARY are proud to announce this one-of-a-kind initiative, FOREVER FOSTER-A-FELEUK-KITTY! Our goal is placing our FABULOUS positive cats into permanent (or as we like to say, purrmanent) homes, and at the same time alleviating potential financial strain for prospective owners.

These cats are just as deserving, if not more, of all that a home life entails, and we are making it our goal to promote their value and worth at a time when too many virally infected cats never get the opportunity to make it to shelters like ours.

Here are the basics:
1. Any interested person will have to fill out our adoption application and be approved by our Adoption Team; once approved, an appointment will be set up to come meet our residents.
2. Once a connection has been made and hearts stolen, the adoption process will get underway. The adopter/foster will be responsible for the $100 adoption fee. Crash's Landing will be responsible for a thorough pre-placement medical workup by founder Dr. Jen Gillum at Feline Wellness Center (FWC). This will include lab work, radiographs, preventative flea treatment and internal parasite control, and vaccinations, if due.
3. Routine medical care will be the responsibility of the owner, with mandatory annual exams and vaccines in most cases.
4. All life-long medical costs that are non-routine, including annual lab work, radiographs, dentistry, medical treatments, and medications dispensed (other than monthly flea control) will be covered by Crash's Landing, with the caveat that ALL care is continued by Dr. Jen at FWC.

As you can see, there are many benefits to this program:
~ It is not only financially feasible for the human participants, but it gives these amazing cats a chance at a home life that they are missing with us. Sure, our rescue facility is top notch, but it isn't a cozy, quiet home - and it must be shared with many others vying for attention.
~Furthermore, placing one of our residents into a home allows us to take another off the streets, which is imperative as we work locally to get the spread of this virus under control.
~Finally, this takes the potential financial burden out of the equation, and with that comes the peace of mind in knowing you can take your cat somewhere where he/she is known, inside-out and backwards, and receive the high quality, in-depth care recommended, without having to make decisions based on monetary constraints.
~Anyone who knows Dr. Jen understands how deeply she is committed to the care and well-being of our special FELV+ kitties. It isn't their fault they ended up with the virus, that is purely due to human negligence. Although we can’t change the past, we can ensure that their future is bright and beautiful! Be assured she will spare no expense in diagnosing and treating any of our FELV+ kitties - past, present, and future. It's kind of her thing – just ask her soulmate, Magda?

So, this is our pioneer program in a nutshell. We hope the pictures of our residents and their stories will tug on your heartstrings, and prompt you to open your home to one of our beloved cats.