Between 2023 and 2024, kittens Charlie and Mark spent nearly a year in the ASPCA’s care. Having been diagnosed with a host of medical issues as well as having some behavior concerns, our team in Los Angeles worked hard to get these kittens into a safe and loving home.

Charlie and Mark arrived at the Downey Animal Care Center (DACC), an ASPCA partner shelter, in July 2023 at just 6 weeks old. The brothers both showed signs of upper respiratory infections (URI), a common illness amongst kittens, and began treatment at DACC.

To help with their care, the pair were placed in a foster home through the ASPCA foster program in Los Angeles.

Charlie, left, and Mark in their foster home.

“Both Charlie and Mark’s URIs persisted once in foster care, and we treated them for chronic URIs from August through December 2023,” explained Ariel Collins, director of operations, LA Feline Programs. “They were also diagnosed with ringworm in early September. They were treated in foster care and cleared by October. In addition, both Charlie and Mark experienced vomiting beginning in January 2024. Both kittens were placed on a special diet, and it was determined Mark needed to stay on it due to long term persistent vomiting.”

On top of their medical issues, both Charlie and Mark had behavioral concerns that became apparent once in foster care. Mark would play rough and get overstimulated, while Charlie was fearful of new places, people and when approached. To assist both the foster caregiver and the kittens, our LA foster team connected with Marny Nofi, director of feline behavior on our Behavioral Sciences Team (BST), to seek help for their behaviors.

“The LA team and BST collaborate weekly on behavior cases for the LA program,” explained Hella Tyler, senior manager of foster care in LA. “BST is able to provide insights, recommendations, along with Zoom consults for our foster volunteers. This comprehensive approach improves our kittens’ adoptability and increases their chances for placement.”

Marny was able to talk to Charlie and Mark’s fosters directly and provide them with tips on how best to help the brothers. For Mark, she suggested things like increased enrichment and interactive playtime, using feeding toys and rotating his toys to add more variety. As for Charlie, Marny suggested desensitization and counterconditioning using a wand toy or his favorite treats as a reward, carrier training and rewarding relaxed behavior.

With help from Marny, the foster caregivers and other ASPCA staff members, the kittens made great progress behaviorally and were finally healthy enough to be made available for adoption at the end of January 2024. Though it took five months — and nearly an entire year in our care — Charlie and Mark finally found their home.

Part of the Family

Siblings Shayan and Ilma P. always wanted to adopt a family cat. Leading the charge in convincing their parents was Ilma.

“When my sister started looking into it seriously, she was so committed, she eventually convinced our mom to join in on the idea,” said Shayan.

After researching organizations for a while, their father sent Ilma a link to the ASPCA website, specifically to our page for adoptable cats in Los Angeles, and suggested she take a look.

“She did, and that’s when she came across Mark and Charlie ­­— and fell in love with them,” recalled Shayan. “There was something about the way they looked together — like a perfect, inseparable pair — that gave her a strong feeling that these were the right cats for us. She just knew they’d be a wonderful addition to our family. She contacted Ariel during class that day.”

Though they were initially only planning to adopt one cat, the family didn’t want to separate the brothers and decided to bring both of them home.

When first arriving at their new home, Mark and Charlie had their challenges.

“Mark was curious from the start,” Shayan told us. “He sniffed everything and was ready to play immediately. However, he had an upper respiratory infection, which we knew about, but it was a bit overwhelming for us as first-time cat owners. We quickly learned how to care for him and seeing his health improve has been rewarding!”

Charlie, whom they have since renamed Pumpkin, was scared on his first night home and stayed under Ilma’s bed for a few days, only coming out at night.

“Over time, Mark has remained playful, curious and affectionate,” said Shayan. “He even comes to my room in the morning to nap on top of me. Pumpkin has become much less fearful; he’s now a playful, loving cat. He’s still a bit shy around new people but will let them pet him.”

“It’s never a dull day with them!” Shayan added, “Mark is always running around, curious about everything, and he’s very interactive with everyone. Pumpkin has grown incredibly fond of us, especially of my mom and Ilma, and is so cuddly with them.”

The pair have become so comfortable in their new home that they’ve let their personalities — and quirks — shine.

“Mark makes any box or bag his ‘home’ and won’t let anyone move it,” explained Shayan. “When an Amazon box arrives, he jumps right in and guards it. Pumpkin, meanwhile, refuses to sleep without his little corn toy and carries it around everywhere.”

Since Shayan and Ilma convinced their parents to adopt the brothers, the family’s lives have all become a bit brighter.

“We can’t imagine life without Pumpkin and Mark,” said Shayan. “They bring so much joy and laughter, and we’re genuinely happier with them in our lives.”