Before the SEA LIFE aquarium at the Mall of America opened Monday morning, an unusual group of visitors arrived for a private tour. About two dozen rescue kittens from the Twin Cities-based Bitty Kitty Brigade spent nearly two hours exploring the aquarium. They scampered through a 300-foot underwater tunnel, watched sea turtles swim past and stared through the glass at stingrays and sharks much larger than anything they had encountered before.
One kitten named Turkey Leg stood on its hind legs and pawed at the glass while colorful clownfish darted nearby. Others, including Funnel Cake, Apple Fries, Lottie Dottie, and Mouth Trap, raced around the exhibits or settled beneath the aquarium’s blue glow for a nap.
The visit was adorable, but it also served a purpose. The Bitty Kitty Brigade finds foster homes for orphaned newborn kittens, and new sights and experiences help the animals become more comfortable around people and unfamiliar surroundings. That socialization can make it easier for them to adjust when they are eventually adopted.
This was the rescue organization’s sixth annual aquarium field trip. The group currently oversees about 1,000 kittens, so the outing also offered a chance to draw attention to its work and the animals still waiting for homes.
The aquarium has hosted rescue puppies on similar visits, but, wisely, it invites the puppies and kittens on different days.
For one quiet morning, the sharks stayed behind the glass, the kittens explored a much bigger world, and a rescue organization gave potential adopters another reason to notice the small lives in its care. That sounds like a field trip worth taking.
...all ways to expose rescue animals to the public to accelerate finding homes welcome... programs to spade/neuter also help reduce shelter populations...such management will lead to shelters having waiting lists for people wanting to adopt, & a minimum of animals having to live caged...rescue works both ways, win-win...