Friendly and helpful, considerate and caring—four of the elements that comprise the Girl Scout Law. On Sunday, May 6, four Scouts-in-waiting, aka Brownies, exemplified those ideals when they capered into the PetSmart on Seal Beach Boulevard in Seal Beach to fulfill a badge requirement. Troop #4276 from Rossmoor Elementary School; their troop leader Emily Hogenboom, aka Miss Emily; and a couple of moms to present homemade blankies to the newborn kittens at Helen Sanders CatPAWS.

CatPAWS is a local cat-rescue organization that pulls cats from shelters, fosters them, and bottle-feeds as many newborn kittens as they have volunteers to do. Some of their cats are housed in the adoption centers at the Seal Beach PetSmart as well as the Marina Shores Petco on the Pacific Coast Highway. The cats and kittens in the centers are healthy and old enough to be out in an adoption kennel, but thanks to the phenomenon of kitten season, which can start in Southern California as early as February and end as late as October, hundreds of kittens are born yearly, and they’re too young to be anywhere except with their mother. If orphaned (or perceived to be orphaned), the little guys need special care. CatPAWS has rescued and raised many of them, and the blankets will provide the extra warmth and comfort they require.

Here are the “Daisy Scouts” of the domestic-feline troops—just a few of the newborns being bottle-fed byCatPAWS fosters in anticipation of the day when they’ll be old enough to go to a forever home. Photos courtesy of Helen Sanders CatPAWS.

Hogenboom discovered CatPAWS when she was at the PetSmart requesting a tour of the store for her troop members so that they might learn about the habitats and care of animals and earn their Pets Badges. The cats caught Hogenboom’s interest right away, and she contacted CatPAWS to see if a project would be appreciated.

“These girls are pretty creative, and we wanted to be local in our community,” Higgenboom said.

The troop made 10 colorful, snuggly, kitten-size blankets out of material scraps and non-toxic fabric paint, with no little tassels or decorations that could invade the babies’’ delicate digestive systems. Each blanket bears the unmistakable mark of enthusiastic children who go gaga over kittens. Cat PAWS volunteer Deborah Felin was delighted with the gift.

Troop #4276 members and Miss Emily beam with pride as they show off the blankets they made with a few scraps, a little paint and a lot of heart. Photo by Kate Karp.

“It was a pleasure to meet with these bright, young girls and encourage their love and compassion for animals,” Felin said. “We appreciate the time and care they put into these beautiful kitten baby blankets”

The Brownies visibly restrained themselves from shrieking with delight as Felin introduced them to Ares (pronounced a-reez, named for the Greek god of war) who’s ready for adoption. Between the stiflings of “I want hims!”, the girls learned about newborn kitties and how their blankets will help them thrive. They also were told about all the cats born during kitten season.

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Deborah Felin—yes, that is her real name—guided the girls to pet Ares gently and educated them about cat care. Photos by Kate Karp.

The troop members will surely earn their Pet Badges, but they seemed far more impassioned by Ares and the other cats than about winning an award.

“I feel super, super excited because the cats are so cute!” one Brownie bubbled.

Two of the Brownies, who happen to be Miss Emily’s daughters, pled with their mom to adopt Ares. It was for naught, however, because Ares was adopted the next day. Plenty more where he came from, though. Photo by Kate Karp

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.”

~ Colette, French author