MILTON, Wis. – A homegrown cat rescue has saved hundreds of animals, many of them ill or injured. 

Joelle Thorne has always been a cat person. It’s in her blood.

“Growing up, usually I’d be sleeping with like six cats,” she laughed. “That’s how many we had.”

Thorne had worked with rescues before and loved it. She realized how many animals were slipping through the cracks.

She hated seeing them be euthanized for treatable medical problems, or because they had behavior issues in the shelter environment.

“I really like the strange cases,” Thorne said. “The animals that have something wrong, maybe they’re missing eyes, or limbs.”

There’s Levi, a kitten who nearly starved to death on the street. Bingo needed his legs pinned. Scruffy suffered frostbite, and the injury to his ears and his fluffy fur makes him look like a lion. Playful brothers Muffin and Sparky are each missing an eye.

A veterinarian gave Thorne the name of her rescue.

“They mentioned that it was like I was the house of misfit felines, instead of the island of misfit toys,” she laughed.

Misfit Felines officially began in 2022. In 2023, the rescue took in more than 500 cats. Hundreds found adoptive families.

Argyle, a young black cat, just had surgery. Thorne named a fundraising effort after him, calling it #OperationArgyle. They’ve spent nearly $10,000 on his care.

“That’s probably our most expensive case so far,” Thorne said.

Misfit Felines doesn’t have a physical shelter. Instead, they have a vast foster network. Some families have fostered over 100 animals.

Hundreds of cats are currently in the care of Misfit Felines, recovering or waiting for their perfect families.

While many of their animals have special needs, not all of them do. Most of their adoptable cats are healthy.

“I never imagined that we would grow this big this quickly or have that many lives that we saved in one year,” she said. “It’s a little overwhelming and rewarding at the same time.”

For more information about Misfit Felines, click here.