Hi, I’m Karen Samuel (Karen S on slack).   I feel like I’m starting a kitten bio for an adoption fair, but no, this one’s about me.  I grew up in and around Chicago, and moved west in the early 90’s.  I arrived in Colorado Springs in ‘93.   This is my home now.  I can’t imagine living anywhere else, though when I’m on vacation, I sometimes think about what it would be like to live on a tropical island.

When I was 9, my Dad married his second wife, and I got a family with a cat for the first time.  Spooky slept with me most nights, and then spent her days roaming our neighborhood and bullying the neighbor’s dogs.  As an adult, I wouldn’t even consider letting one of my cats outdoors, but back then, it was the norm.  She lived to be 22 years old, by that time with one ear notched from a fight and missing most of her teeth.  I loved that cat so much.

Over the years, I’ve had many cats, and have adored them all.

I adopted my beautiful gray girl, Azure, from Wild Blue in October 2020, and took her home to be a playmate for a kitten my sister-in-law had brought me from Hawaii the month before, a tortie named Lilikoi.  They’re my loves.  That same sister-in-law has been rescuing for many years in Honolulu, and started urging me to become a foster after she brought Lili here.  I didn’t think I’d have time for it, but I changed my mind after visiting Hawaii last spring.  I was there to take care of the 9 cats that were a combo of my brother and sister in law’s resident cats and their fosters, while they went on vacation.  I worked from there, took care of those cats, and still had time to go to the beach.  So, I got home and made my decision. Then it was a matter of taking the time to rearrange some rooms in my house to create a foster room.  I signed up as a foster in December 2023, and took in my first foster litter for Wild Blue in March of 2024.  Volunteering for the rescue has made me very happy.  So far, I’ve taken care of 3 litters of foster kittens, and sometimes their mamas.  I’ve volunteered at adoption fairs, and I’ve been the runner for the spay and neuter clinics.  At the end of July, I’ll try my hand at TNR with the colony who lives in my neighborhood. Just this morning, on 6-27 while I write this, I’ve decided that 2 of my foster kittens will be permanent residents. I’ve thought about adding 2 boy cats to the family for a couple years, and my house has plenty of space.  They fit in really well with my grown up cats and are so precious.

I’m ready to save more cats from the mean streets and find them their best homes.

Happy Rescuing!