How it all began.

It started quite by accident… a twist of fate even. And the rest is history. In November 2010, The Grannie Project’s founders journeyed to a very high-kill shelter to rescue a blind, 15-year-old cat they had seen posted on Facebook. Neither of them had ever been to a kill shelter and had no idea what they would find.

This is where the twist of fate came in. When they arrived at the shelter, they discovered the blind cat had already been adopted. But they were aware of other needy senior cats there that day, and ended up rescuing the two 20-year-old cats that would become the inspiration for The Grannie Project.

Juliet and Kate were those 20-year-olds, and though tiny grannie kitties, their influence and legacy has been huge, including an international social media reach. We never could have imagined people all over the world would care so much about two little old cats in Southeastern, PA. But they did, and that love is what The Grannie Project was built on.

The story… in Kate and Juliet’s words.

We're a pair of 21-year-old sisters. Yup, you read that right… 21 years old. We were just tiny kittens when MC Hammer was cool (thankfully). Being from NYC, we watched the towers crumble and felt the sadness of the world. But every New Years, we felt hope born anew with a really big party in Times Square!

Juliet and KateJuliet was always more protective of Kate and would curl herself around her sister. But in this photo it's as if Kate is saying, "You are not playing with my sister today!"

But all of that was before our owner suddenly died. We kept trying to wake him up but we couldn't, no matter how loud we purred. We were so sad and lonely... and hungry! We couldn't get to our food and no one was there to care for us. We spent each day getting hungrier and hungrier.

Just when we thought we couldn't get hungrier, someone found us! And then next thing we knew, we had food, but it was in a small, cold, metal box. And we were alone! We missed each other terribly and though we could feel each other nearby, we couldn't see each other.

The place we were in was super scary. We saw a man with a red cage come and get cats and disappear with them. They screamed and cried when they went in the red cage. And they never came back. I heard someone say it was a “kill shelter.”

A couple of days later, we heard that we were on "The List.” We didn't know what "The List" was, but we just knew it wasn't good. We just layed at the back of our cold cages… waiting for "The List" or the red cage or whatever fate was to befall us.

But then a nice lady came into the room where our cages were. She smelled different, not like the shelter workers… like a friend. We tried our best to make our emaciated bodies look pretty and young but we didn't need to. As soon as the lady saw how old we were, she started crying and told the shelter worker she'd take us.

Well, fast forward a week and we're living in the lap of luxury! There's fresh water all the time, as much yummy food as we can eat, soft beds to sleep in, and a lap to lie on. It would only be better if our owner was here. We loved him a lot. But our mommy said she would care for us as if we had lived with her always, and we could live out our golden years with care and comfort.

Thanks for reading our story! We just want to get the word out that senior pets, though short on remaining years, have much wisdom, love, and peace to share!

Love,
~Grannies Kate & Juliet

Going forward with The Grannie Project.

This letter from Kate and Juliet was posted on The Grannies Facebook page and documented their experience so people would understand what many senior cats go through at a time in life when they should be loved and nurtured unconditionally.

Kate passed to the Rainbow Bridge not long after being rescued, in March 2011. But those few months she had in her new home were good for her. She knew love again. The Grannie Project was started the very next day as a way to honor the girls and save others like them.

Juliet continued to thrive until March 2012, when she too passed away, a year to the day after her sister. The hole that was left in our hearts from this tiny kitty is still huge. But it only encourages us to go on each and every day, and remember why we started it all… for the love of senior pets. Love really never grows old. Adopt a senior pet and see it for yourself.


You can help

The donations of generous individuals like you make all the difference in the life of senior pets. We can’t do what we do, without your help. Thank you.

Further Reading

The Grannie Project would like to thank our special friends for their kind support.


Metropolitan Veterinary Associates logo


Lucie's Barkingham Palace


Minnie "The Moocher"


Great Atlantic Printing logo


Sean Coleman Graphic Designer logo


Colleen Fishter