Pokeypotpie’s Playschool for Wayward Kittens

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Pokeypotpie’s Playschool for Wayward Kittens

Pokeypotpie’s Playschool for Wayward Kittens chronicles our adventures in fostering orphaned kitte

09/04/2026

🏃 “Look, Ma! No eyes!!” 🏃

Ok, that’s not quite true. Gussie has 1 tiny eye that’s mostly obscured by his 3rd eyelid, and we’re not sure if it actually works, so he while he technically has eyes, he is functionally blind. But that doesn’t stop him from being an absolute MENACE on his cat wheel!

Gussie loves to run and walk on his wheel - but preferably with an audience to cheer him on! 😹

He often climbs onto the wheel and meows until we let him know we’re watching. He’ll then run a few sprints and then dismount for celebratory pets and prancypants.

He is the absolute cutest.

09/01/2026

🎂🎉HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY, DORA!!🎉🎂

Our beautiful little bean has turned 16! It’s almost impossible to comprehend how long she’s been a part of our lives.💗

Dora keeps us on our toes with her chatty nature, persistent demands for treats, and excellence in every way. She is a true force of nature and we couldn’t love her more.

Happiest of birthdays, little girl!

08/23/2026

Five weeks: A lifetime, and a blink of an eye.

Thank you all for your continued support of us as we navigate through Bop’s death and Boop’s recent diagnosis.

You have all been so kind and generous with your messages and stories about your own cats. Cat people truly are the best people. 💗

08/16/2026

This has been an incredibly rough and confusing couple of months. We always try to do best by our cats, but sometimes it’s not clear what “the best” is- and that uncertainty is so hard to live with.

It would be wonderful if there were clear answers, guarantees that procedures would be successful, and certainty that medications would work exactly as intended, but unfortunately that is not how life works.

The best we can do is make informed decisions based on what we know about our own cats, researching the issues, and having collaborative discussions with providers we trust. We hope we are doing right by Boop, but will continue to listen to him and his vets as we work through this new issue.

Much thanks to Hamilton Veterinary Services for being my sounding board through this and to Friendship Hospital for Animals IMED for their incredibly thoughtful and compassionate support as we navigate this.

07/31/2026

Thank you all for the extremely kind and compassionate comments and messages about Bop’s passing. I haven’t been in the right mind frame to read them all (let alone respond), but I have seen quite a few expressing concern about Boop, Bop’s biological brother, so I wanted to let you all know how he is doing.

Boop definitely knows that Bop is no longer here, but it’s hard to say how that is affecting him. He has been checking out Bop’s favorite spots, almost as if he’s looking for him, but he does not seem overtly “sad,” as we saw in Dora when Azzy died or in Azzy when his brother, Nero, died. That said, he’s been more affectionate and has been seeking out snuggles more than usual, which tells me that he knows something is “off.”

While Bop and Boop were very close as kittens, they were not bonded, and as adults Boop started to gravitate more towards Hagrid and Pokey for cat affection, but I think the brotherly bond remained and Boop is confused by Bop’s absence.

I am struggling to adjust to a world without Bop, but I’m so glad that Boop (and Pokey, Hagrid, Dora, and Gus) are still here.

07/24/2026

It is with soul-crushing sadness that I have to tell you that Bop has passed away.

While we don’t have clear answers on what exactly happened, and we are working on processing his passing, I want to focus on how Bop LIVED, not on how he died - because Bop sure did know how to live. 💛

Bop was the happiest little guy I have ever known. He wanted to meet everyone that came to the house - cat or human. He was always the first to greet new fosters, he would crawl into the laps of strangers, and he always wanted to be around us. He entertained us endlessly with Twirly Bops, Happy Paws, and his enthusiastic little elephant trills.

Bop was curious and brave. He was the first to explore new furniture, boxes, and cat trees, and he adored exploring the sounds and smells of the Great Outside on his sunny strolls.

He was adorably stubborn - especially when it came to treats or food he wanted. I would occasionally have to eat standing up to prevent him from taking giant bites of my cheesy toast and nachos. He could sniff out bags of treats anywhere in the house and meow persistently until he was given a snackie.

He was fond of finding random spots and sticking to them religiously until he decided to up and move to a new one. Sometimes his spot would be a too-small shoe box placed in the middle of the bed, an awkwardly draped winter coat we’d have to leave exactly as is for months, or a perfectly Bop-sized divot in the couch pillow. His commitment to his spots was admirable and endearing.

But Bop’s best quality was his inexhaustible supply of Bopshine. ☀️ He simply exuded happiness and joy - he was sunshine morphed into the shape of cat.

While Bop is no longer with us, I believe his Bopshine remains. It’s the light flickering through the leaves onto his wood pile on the catio. It’s the sun filtering through the front door as the cats bathe in its gentle warmth. It’s the lightness in my heart when I remember all the ways he made me smile and see the good in life.

I hope his Bopshine stays with all of you too, and that when you remember him, it brings you a little smile to know that he existed and that he mattered so very very much.

We love you, Bop.

07/12/2026

💛Bop Update💛 Please swipe though for an update on our little man. And please read below for more on why I’m sharing this.

I know most people come to Instagram, especially to cat accounts, for uplifting stories and to escape “the real world” for a while, so I know it’s hard to see cats when they’re not feeling well or when chronic diseases catch up to them.

It can be an uncomfortable reminder of losses we’ve suffered, struggles we are currently experiencing, or raise worries we may have to confront with our own pets someday. I get it, and I understand it may be too much for people. We’ve lost thousands of followers since talking openly about Bop’s struggles, and I truly do understand why people need to leave.

While part of me wants to spare people the details of what’s going on, I’ve also received hundreds of messages from people about their own experiences and struggles with chronic kidney disease and other illnesses. Messages of compassion, sadness, loss, hope. Stories about favorite memories with beloved pets. Messages with ideas, tips, tricks, things that have worked for their cats. These messages have touched me deeply.

While we are often taught to keep big emotions and scary situations private - I’ve realized that this is a whole massive community of people who love cats immensely- which means big feelings and scary situations are a common thread for all of us. I hope that by being open about what’s going on with Bop, we can all learn from each other and take comfort in each other- knowing that we aren’t alone.

(Lastly- I’ll go back to “regularly scheduled programming” as I’m able. I won’t be posting just about Bop and his illness, this has just been all-consuming for a while now).

07/01/2026

Eight years ago today, after fostering the boys for nearly 7 months, we decided to make them a permanent part of our family.

While we were already head over heels in love with them, and had seen them each through several eye surgeries, we ultimately made the decision to adopt them when we learned about Bop’s congenital kidney disease.

At just 6 months old, Bop was already showing signs of kidney issues. After running some tests and meeting with a specialist, we realized that Bop was going to need a lot of care over his lifetime in order to monitor and best maintain his kidney function.

While we had recently lost our beloved cat, Azzy, to chronic kidney disease and were not eager to get on that ride again, we knew we had the resources, love, and experience to try to help Bop live his best life. And that is what we have tried to do every day since.

Unfortunately, Bop’s kidney disease is catching up with him, and we don’t know how much time we have left together, so we are celebrating every single day we have with him - especially today, the anniversary of the day he and Boop became ours.💛🐧

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https://www.instagram.com/pokeypotpie/?hl=en

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