Since 2017

Tiny Tigers is a 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to saving cats, TNR (trap neuter/spay and release) and finding cats forever homes.

Our Story

Tiny Tigers Founder, Lydia Hall

I wanted to share the answer to a question that I often get from those who peek into the world of rescue and wonder “why do you do it?” I often struggled to find the words to answer that very legitimate question and I was fortunate enough to come across an “answer” that someone had already penned. As I read it I said (to myself), “wow, it is as if she wrote that for me.” And so now, I share it with you in hopes that you too understand “why I do it”. And for those of you who struggle to articulate that which you know to be true in your heart, it is my hope that you too can share this “answer”, or a variation of it, with those who ask a similar question of you. And maybe, just maybe, our passion will ignite a fire in another who can help us in our quest to “save them ALL.”

It all started around 2001. I was informed that someone was requesting that a mother cat and her kittens be euthanized, There was nothing wrong with them – they were healthy and super friendly, they just did not want them. This was a huge eye opener for me. I started learning that this was not an isolated incident but this was a common request at veterinarian offices. I also realized that when many elderly cat owners pass away, their families do not want to be bothered with their loved one’s cats, so instead of them going to a shelter, I took them in. This made me realize there was a lot of different situations that required cats and kittens needing help. The mentioning a group of feral kitties at a local restaurant, made me realize there was and still are feral colonies where cats are very overpopulated. In order to make a difference in the colony, spaying and neutering had to take place. Any cat or kitten that was able to be rehomed wasn’t released back out to the colony. My first colony had around 30+ cats and kittens. After a few years I was able to finally get the first colony down to 7 adults that were altered. With everything together I realized there was a very high demand for people to care and be educated about the unwanted cats and kitties of Surry County, North Carolina.

I have people always asking me “Why do you put yourself through the stress, the heartache of rescuing cats when so many die anyway?” Some people even have gone as far as to say rescuers just concentrate on death. They ask “why don’t you just focus on the nicer subjects of cats like the weird, cute and funny things you see in the videos online!” I would love nothing more than to promote the fun things with cats. Believe me, I would REALLY, REALLY LOVE to do that.

I rescue. I spend all my money, my valuable time with my own cats, everything on rescue. Rescue is hard. Rescue is sad more times than happy. Rescue is tiring. Rescue is not pretty. Rescue is expensive. Rescue is physically, mentally, emotionally, financially draining. Rescue will shorten my life. But sometimes, it’s not how long you live, but what you do with the time you have that matters.