Now this is the kind of video I want to pop up on my news feed! It's nice to have a break from the doom and gloom of the daily news, right?
A group of rescue kittens in Minnesota got the field trip of a lifetime when they visited SEA LIFE at the Mall of America, and honestly, I'm jealous. Instead of spending the day staring out of a tiny cage or batting around the same three toys, these teeny tiny felines got front row seats to an entire underwater world. Judging by the video, they were locked in.
Well, except for one of them, who decided that the low lighting and aquatic atmosphere made for the purrfect time to take a quick catnap. Can't blame him, it looked mighty cozy in there.
There is something almost painfully cute about watching a kitten stare up at a fish that's 40x its size. Their little ears picking up faint underwater sounds and eyes big. Their instincts must be telling them "Wow, look at this giant meal just a few feet away" and also "Could this thing actually eat me?" It seems like the equivalent of taking a five-year-old to Disney World.
But I also want to take a second to look past all the cuteness pressed against the aquarium glass, there is something bigger happening here: rescue animals spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for foster homes. Waiting for medical care. Waiting for potential adopters to notice them. Waiting for the day when someone finally chooses them.
While we tend to focus on the final adoption photo, there is entire life happening before that moment. And that life deserves to be good, too!
Trips like this are obviously focused on making adorable content, but they also remind us that rescue animals are not just sad stories waiting for happy endings. They are living, curious little kittens and puppies, senior doggos and cats who deserve to play, enjoy new experiences, and have meowments that are simply fun.