Calico Hearts Foster & Rescue

Small Lives.
Big Second Chances.

We're a foster-based rescue giving vulnerable kittens the time, love, and medical care they need to heal — and helping them find families who'll cherish them forever.

A calico kitten sleeping peacefully on a cream blanket in warm sunlight

Every kitten deserves a soft place to land. We provide the shelter, the vet care, and the patience — until the right home finds them.

Founded and operated by Ashley Schausten, Calico Hearts Foster & Rescue is a community of foster homes, volunteers, and adopters working together to save lives, one kitten at a time.

Meet the little ones

Featured Kittens

Black kitten named Spooks
available

Spooks

13 weeks

Spooks — 27 days waiting for her person.

A dainty little shadow who would like to be held like a baby, thank you very much

Spooks is a stunning 13-week-old black kitten with a soft, velvety coat and eyes like little moons — and she is a baby in every sense of the word. She came to us thoroughly babied by her mama and would very much like to keep it that way, thank you. Her brother has already found his forever home, so now it's Spooks's turn. Her favorite thing in the entire world is being cradled in your arms like an infant, and she'll stay there as long as you'll let her. She's still getting used to having other kittens around — she had mama all to herself — so a quiet home where she can be the center of your world suits her best. One important note: Spooks startles easily if she's snuck up on, so soft voices and slow movements are her dream. Give her that and she'll give you a lifetime of the sweetest, most devoted companionship. If you've been looking for a kitten to spoil absolutely rotten, Spooks is already packed.

Dark charcoal & brown tabby kitten named Cooper
available

Cooper

Young Adult

Cooper — 38 days waiting for his person.

Sweet, striking, and quietly independent — with the most gorgeous green eyes

Meet Cooper — a handsome, sweet, very striking boy with a dark charcoal tabby coat and the most gorgeous light green eyes. He's spent most of his life outdoors, and it shows: he's confident, observant, and full of quiet character. Cooper isn't faring well with the other cats where he is right now, so he'd do best as the one and only. Because of his outdoor history, his ideal home would still let him enjoy safe, occasional outdoor access once he's had plenty of time to acclimate indoors first — a catio would be absolute perfection for Mister Cooper. He'll need to be neutered (already on the schedule). If you have a calm home, a soft spot for a soulful, striking boy, and maybe a porch in your future, Cooper would love to meet you.

Light orange tabby (dreamsicle) kitten named Garth
available

Garth

Kitten

Garth — 44 days waiting for his person.

A shy dreamsicle with a bottomless appetite and permanent bedhead

Garth — sometimes still answering to "Lil Messy" — came to us with an eye injury that's fast on its way to healing. He always looks like he just rolled out of bed after sleeping in his hair, and honestly, it's part of his charm. He's a shy boy with newcomers, but give him time — or better yet, offer him a bite of whatever you're snacking on, and he snaps right out of it. This boy is a food-driven little munchkin. He's come a long way since day one, when he wouldn't let anyone close — "don't even look at me," his body language said, always hiding. Since his eye was deemed non-contagious and he's been integrated with the other babies, he's become much easier to socialize and handle, and he's been getting solo cuddle time at night, curling up in a cozy spot while I sleep. He's a gorgeous light-orange dreamsicle of a kitten, and he's going to grow into quite the model boy.

Why fostering matters

A foster home is a lifeline.

Shelters are full, and kittens are the most vulnerable. A foster home gives a kitten the quiet, safe space to grow, heal, and learn to trust — often the difference between life and death. You provide the love; we cover the vet care, food, and supplies.

Start Your Foster Application

40

Cats rescued & counting

How it began

It started with a cat who wasn't supposed to make it.

Scooter, a black and white cat, resting peacefully

Scooter — the one who started it all

On Horizon Drive in the Grand Valley, in the middle of an ordinary day, Scooter was found in a parking lot — barely alive. He was weak, fading, and overlooked by the world around him. But one person stopped. Crystal Whitlatch saw him, chose him, and refused to let his story end there. She fought for him, nursed him, and quite literally brought him back from the edge.

And somehow, through that moment, he found his way to me.

Holding Scooter, relaxed and content
Scooter, learning to trust

Scooter wasn't just my first rescue — he became my best friend, my shadow, and the reason everything changed. There's something about saving a life that was almost lost… it rewires you. It makes you see every overlooked, unwanted, struggling animal differently. Scooter wasn't just a cat. He was proof that even the most fragile beginnings can turn into something strong, loyal, and full of love.

He is the reason Calico Hearts exists.

Scooter stretched out on the carpet
Scooter, comfortable at home
Scooter snuggled with his calico sister Quigley
Scooter & Quigley

Since Scooter, my home — and my heart — has grown. I welcomed Penny, my orange and white tabby (yes, a boy with a big personality), and Quigley, his beautiful diluted calico sister. Each brings their own kind of joy, chaos, and comfort into my life. They're not just pets — they're family, daily reminders of why this work matters.

Penny, Quigley, and Scooter resting together
Penny, Quigley & Scooter — the family that started it all

What started with one nearly lost cat has turned into something much bigger. To date, I've fostered and helped place 19 cats into loving homes — 19 second chances, 19 new beginnings, 19 stories that didn't end the way they could have.

Where a life starts does not determine where it ends.

Our Mission

Every animal that comes through Calico Hearts deserves the absolute best chance at a full, safe, and deeply loved life. Not just survival — but comfort, trust, and belonging.

Because every Scooter deserves someone who stops. And every heart, no matter how broken it starts, deserves a chance to be whole again.

19

Cats fostered & placed

100%

Vet-checked & vaccinated

∞

Second chances given

What we stand for

Our Values

Compassion First

We meet every animal where they are — frightened, sick, or shy — and give them the patience to heal at their own pace.

Foster-Based Care

Our kittens live in homes, not cages. Foster families provide the daily love and socialization that shape happy, confident cats.

Responsible Rescue

Every kitten is vet-checked, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and matched thoughtfully to adopters prepared for a lifetime commitment.

Want to be part of the story?

Foster a kitten in need, or give one a forever home.

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