🐾 A Gentle Shift: Realigning The Whisker Society’s Heart
Tiny paws. Gentle moments. A calm corner for anyone who needs it.
Hi friends,
Let’s take a breath together for a moment. I want to share a little bit about where The Whisker Society is headed and where my heart is with this work.
The Whisker Society started because cats have been my lifelong special interest. I’ve fostered hundreds of kittens and cats, specializing in pregnant and birthing moms, bottle babies, and medical cases of all ages. I foster through a wonderful local rescue, and I share their stories, their wobbly zoomies, their tiny purrs, and their wild whiskers with all of you.
But this project is more than kittens.
As some of you know, I’m an adult-diagnosed autistic person with ADHD. For many of us who are neurodivergent, the world can sometimes ask a lot. Cats bring a kind of steady comfort, and sharing them has become a way to build a small, reliable place where others can also find a moment of calm, joy, or grounding when they need it. That’s what The Whisker Society really is: a quiet corner of the internet for anyone who needs to pause and breathe for a while.
Outside of The Whisker Society, I’m a nurse, a college administrator, and the VP of a nonprofit animal rescue. This space has become one of my favorite ways to bring together everything I love — care, comfort, stories, and, of course, kitties. Lots of kitties.
If I’m totally honest, I have a soft spot for velvety grey cats… and lovely calicos… and practical brown tabbies… and opinionated tuxies… and silly orangies… and stately white cats… and…
Every foster brings their own kind of magic.
Over time, I experimented with some of the “standard” Substack models like paywalled posts, exclusive downloads, and perks for paid subscribers. And while that works beautifully for some creators, it never quite felt like me. I don’t want to put up barriers. I want everyone who finds this space, whether they can pay or not, to have full access to every kitten cam, every photo, every purr track (coming soon), and every quiet moment this space can offer.
So I’m making a shift. Starting now, The Whisker Society will stay completely free for everyone.
The work behind the scenes is still real: fostering and caring for the kittens, running the livestreams, capturing photos, editing, writing, managing software, maintaining equipment, and covering hosting costs — all the little and not-so-little things that keep The Whisker Society running. The rescue I foster for provides full medical care for the kittens, and I choose to personally cover much of the rest (food, supplies, equipment) both to support the rescue’s work and to make these moments possible.
If you love what I do and want to help me keep doing it, you now have two ways to support The Whisker Society:
1️⃣ Become a Paid Subscriber.
Paid subscriptions help cover the ongoing costs of running this space. It’s a way to join in, not because you have to, but because you want to.
2️⃣ Send a one-time tip.
If subscribing isn’t the right fit but you’d still like to chip in once in a while, you can toss a virtual cat toy into the playpen anytime.
But whether you support financially or not, you are fully welcome here.
Thank you for being part of this small, growing corner of calm, joy, and kitten-powered comfort. I'm grateful for every one of you who tunes in, leaves a comment, shares a photo, or simply sits quietly with us while the kittens nap. That’s the heart of The Whisker Society — and it always will be.
🐾 Meanwhile, in the foster room…
While the Whisker Cam is on a little hiatus for this reset week, big changes are happening behind the scenes. The babies are officially too big to contain — they’re spilling out of their enclosures, and it’s time for a full-family reunion!
We’re resetting the foster room and preparing to release the tiny crackens. 🐉✨ It’s about to get gloriously chaotic as the kitten hordes take over every square inch of their expanded space.
The Whisker Cam will be back soon — and so will your favorite weekly fluff! 🐾
👉 The Weekly Whisker returns next Monday with our Week 10 winner and a whole new batch of kitties to brighten up your life! 🐾🐈✨
💛 Love and Whiskers,
Julie and The Whisker Society
Julie. I love that you are a nurse. Me too. It sounds like you may have more cat experience than my vet. We are struggling with constipation over here. I am making progress. BM on the 12th accompanied by significant not happy sounds. As much as he usually loves his privacy he quit crying when I came over. BM today no crying so it's softer now I just need to get it back closer together. I stopped free feeding kibble. I'm home most of the time so frequent quality canned pate meals and seconds if necessary until we figure it all out. Petsmart sells pumpkin pouches and toppers that hopefully will keep him eating and not hurting through July 11th. As well as help wity my refrigeration issue. I'm hoping more spacious peaceful surroundings will reverse all this. I'm starting him in my new bedroom as Basecamp and he can wander from their to his hearts content. Thanks for "listening" Tails and I appreciate it. 😸
Thank you do much. I am old and on fixed income so I can't go beyond the pay wallet on substack. It is a great gift to keep your content accessible.
Every day I look for your posts. I only have one cat at this point. She is a bit special needs. As I am old but can't live without a cat companion, I think I will try to foster if something unexpected happens to Kiki.