About Us

Tiny Paws and Whiskers™ is a non-profit animal rescue organization founded by friends and fosters Sherrie Dennehy and Teresa Ramos based in Orange County, CA, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire.


With millions of cats living on the streets in the United States, and shelters overrun with high cat populations, hundreds of thousands of kittens are born each year with no safe place to call home. According to the Humane Society, up to 75% may die.


TPW's mission is to:

  • Improve the health and survival rate of orphaned kittens through careful and skilled fostering,

  • Aid in the reduction of the community cat population by ensuring that all cats coming through our rescue are spayed/neutered,

  • Help reduce the spread of feline diseases such as FIV, FeLV, and other transmittable diseases through vaccination and testing, and encouraging all cat owners to keep cats indoors, and

  • Bring rescued cats together with their forever families to live happy, healthy and long lives!


Tiny Paws and Whiskers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. EIN 85-4137301

Where do our cats come from?

Usually, either high kill shelters or the streets. We try to focus on kittens most in need - this means kittens that are imminently scheduled to be euthanized at shelters, kittens that have been orphaned and can't survive on their own, or kittens born outside in dangerous circumstances. Unfortunately the volume of kittens in need far exceeds our capacity as a rescue.

Where do our kittens live?

We foster from our homes. We don't have a rescue facility, shelter or kennel for our cats. All our kittens live with their foster and are kept 100% indoors. This helps our kittens become well socialized and since they've never been "outside cats" they don't expect that to be a part of their lives.

What is the adoption process?

We try to keep it simple while also making sure our kittens are going to good homes! The basic process is:

  1. Submit an application

  2. Video chat interview and virtual home tour

  3. Meet and greet / adopt

Who will we adopt to?

The health (physical and mental) and safety of our cats is our first priority. We look for adopters who commit to:

  • Adopt in pairs, or have another young cat at home (check out this page for more info about why this is important)

  • Keep cats indoors only

  • Will never declaw

  • Live within driving distance of Southern California

If you have questions about this, please feel free to contact us!