A five-year-old boy is a superhero on a mission. Helping cats on the streets of Philadelphia, Shon Griffin has a gift for connecting with animals in need.
"We call him 'Catman,'" his aunt Kris Papiernik said. She and her fiancee Kia Griffin have been involved in cat rescue and fosters for over a decade and that instant gave their young nephew a connection.
Shon has been connecting with rescue cats since he was only three years old.
When Shon comes to visit his aunts, he only wants to do one thing- go outside and take care of the street cats.
"We've been a big part of his life ever since he was born," Papiernik said. "If he was with us, he was around cats. He follows our lead."
At first they were hesitant to let the young child help out with the cats.
"We were a little hesitant at first because they're feral cats, and we thought they're going to run from a rambunctious 3-year-old," Papiernik said.
But one day something changed their minds.
Their concerns were completely unfounded.
"It was the total opposite "” they just gravitated to him," Papiernik said. "He'd scratch their bellies and scratch their heads. It was amazing to see these cats who wouldn't even allow us to touch them, but immediately took to him. He must have this magical effect that the cats can pick up."
The day that he showed he had a real connection to the stray cats left his aunts speechless.
"It all started when we spotted two feral kittens we named Lady and Bug behind a row of houses in a driveway," Griffin told ABC News.
"We started feeding them and [were] able to trap Lady with no problem. We had her spayed, [gave her] shots and released her back outside to her home," Griffin explained. "Bug eluded the trap and any close contact with us for two years. Other cats showed up and started hanging out with Lady and Bug. We had all of the cats spayed [or] neutered, given shots and ear tipped, except for Bug."
"Nothing we tried worked," Papiernik said "” nothing except, Catman.
That's when his aunts decided to let Shon help out.
"[The cats] took to him right away," Griffin said. "Bug came right over to Shon, rubbed against his legs and allowed him to pet him."
Shon visits his aunts often and helps to look after the 45 cats under their care at four locations across the city. They have dubbed the different cat colonies as the Kolony Kats, Backyard Boys, Stray Kitty Crew, Meow Squad, Gas Station Kitties and Indoor Kitties.
While Shon is too young to help with the canned food, or give out medicine, he knows exactly how to feed them dry food, fill water dishes and of course give out treats.
"His favorite thing to do is give them treats. He knows how to dish out the dry food, fill up the water bowls without any directions from us," Papiernik said.
That's when Shon started to switch up his wardrobe when he is helping out the kitties.
"Sometimes he likes to dress up," Papiernik said. "He said it makes him feel like a superhero for animals."
"When he is home with us, the indoor kitties get lots of love, affection and playtime from Shon. They sleep with him and wake him up with kisses. He truly loves them, and they love him back just as much," Griffin said.
This 5-year-old is doing an incredible good deed! Share with everything to inspire them to do the same.
Source: ABC News /
