Shelter Kitten 'Demanding' Attention From Volunteers Moves People to Tears

A shelter kitten has got animal lovers tearing up after she was caught on camera desperately trying to get a reaction from a volunteer.

Skittles the six-month-old kitten was filmed pawing at the door of her room, pleading for the person outside to open it up.

Footage of her efforts was posted to TikTok by Centre County PAWS, an animal rescue center based in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. A caption explained that she was "demanding pets from the volunteers."

There is some confusion over the video, though, as the onscreen caption identifies the cat as Sprinkles, another of the shelter's four-legged residents. It's perhaps understandable that Skittles would get lost in the shuffle, given that she arrived at the shelter with her five siblings and parents.

Their arrival there was sparked by personal tragedy. "Skittles is almost six months old," Lisa Bahr, from Centre County PAWS, told Newsweek. "She came to PAWS just about 10 days ago with five other kittens and two adult cats after their owner died unexpectedly. Her siblings are named Junior Mint, Raisinet, Sno Cap, Sweet Tart, and Twizzler. The adults from the home are Houdini and Popcorn."

In truth, cats like Skittles often don't stay at shelters for long. An analysis of data from Petfinder.com conducted by Priceonomics, found that 82 percent of kittens get adopted. The likelihood of finding a new home drops with age, with the percentage dropping to 60 percent by the time cats reach 18 months old. There have often been instances of pet owners abandoning older animals to buy younger ones.

Not that Skittles is aware of any of that of course. In new surroundings away from the familiarity of her home and previous owner, Skittles would be forgiven for feeling, well, a little skittish.

But the kitten's desperate pleas for attention and comfort evidently struck a chord with many on social media who were quick to comment on the heartrending footage.

One viewer demanded that they "pet that cat immediately," with another commenting: "That cat would come home with me." A third wrote: "This is exactly what led to me adopting my orange cat," with a fourth adding: "I would never stop petting him."

Elsewhere, one TikToker claimed they could never volunteer at this particular shelter as they "would never get anything done" because they would be too busy petting Skittles. Another, meanwhile, was clearly struggling to resist the urge to try and adopt Skittles, writing: "I don't need another cat. I don't need another cat. I don't need another cat."

Not everyone was laughing, however, with many users posting crying emoji faces to reflect on the sad fact Skittles was in a shelter to begin with. "I'm crying I wish I was close so I could take him I hope this sweet baby gets a home soon," they wrote.

Thankfully, that's exactly what happened with Skittles adopted into a new forever home off the back of her viral video fame. Some of her family are still at the shelter. "Both adults and just a couple of the kittens are still available for adoption," Bahr noted.

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, at an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, 24Petwatch's Shelter Watch Report found. Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs and with behavior rehabilitation.

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