Six Kittens Rescue
Tats4Cats 2.0 Flier
After the success of their first Tats4Cats fundraiser, Six Kittens Rescue has once again partnered with Arsenal Tattoo & Design to hold Tats4Cats 2.0 this November.
Six Kittens Rescue, established in 2018, is a nonprofit cat rescue in Bryan that specializes in neonatal kittens, kittens younger than eight weeks old and pregnant cats. Last November, they held their first ever Tats4Cats event, where they tattooed 64 people and raised just shy of $8,400. Founders of Six Kittens Rescue, Mallori and Jai Girard, say this year, they would really love to get at least 150 people tattooed and raise $20,000.
“Whenever we first met with the folks over at Arsenal, they asked how many people we thought were going to get tattooed, and we thought maybe 10,” Mallori says. “Then, they asked how much we wanted to raise, and we’re like, we would be happy to raise $1,000 because that would be a huge success for us. At the very end of the day, we were so excited to tell the Arsenal people how much we raised – it was because of them. We were pleasantly surprised at how great the turnout was.”
All of the tattoos at the event are predesigned by the tattoo artists and only cost $50, with all proceeds going to the rescue. This deal drew so many people to the event last year that Jai says they had a waitlist of 185 people who didn’t get tattooed. She says they will be contacting those on the waitlist to give them priority over others.
“We want to make sure that the people who showed up last year get tattooed,” Mallori says. “We want to show our appreciation for them and their support.”
The unique idea of Tats4Cats was inspired by a combination of Friday the 13th flash tattoos and how to generate more community support. Jai says Mallori came up with the idea one night when she couldn’t sleep.
“Friday the 13th tattoos are really big in tattoo culture,” Mallori says. “They do these flash sales where people can go in and choose to get cheap tattoos that are on a sheet. I was like, what if we do a Friday the 13th -esque, but cats, and then I just started reaching out to multiple tattoo artists.”
Tats4Cats offers fun for the whole family. For those who do not want a tattoo but want to attend the event, Raging Bull Tacos food truck will be there, and there will be temporary tattoos, a DJ, Six Kittens Rescue merchandise and there may even be rescue organizations set up to offer information to the public.
“The Brazos Valley Roller Derby is going to be back this year and help us do temporary tattoos for the kiddos and for the people who don’t want to commit to it,” Jai says. “I am envisioning this year we can have a table set up where kids can do arts and crafts that are cat specific that can be donated back to the kittens in the program.”
While the event is very similar to last year's Tats4Cats, there will be a few differences. Mallori says the biggest difference is the number of tattoo artists participating in the fundraiser.
“We have five confirmed artists and possibly a sixth, while last year we only had two,” Mallori says. “We are also extending the event by two hours, so instead of eight hours of tattooing, we are doing 10 hours. We are also working on implementing stations to help expedite the process and make it less stressful for the artists.”
While they would love for Tats4Cats to become an annual event, it is uncertain if it will. Mallori says it depends on the tattoo artists because they are donating their time and supplies to the event.
“We strongly encourage people to tip their artists because they are donating 100% of their time, supplies, and ink and all that stuff costs money,” Mallori says. “We are taking an entire day out of their books, a day away from their families, and taking money out of their pocket. We don’t want to take advantage of them but would love to do this event as much as we can.”
If you want to help support Six Kittens Rescue but don’t want to wait for Tats4Cats 2.0, they are hosting Painting with a Purpose at Painting with a Twist on July 30.
“For $60, you can send in a picture of your pet, and one of the artists at Painting with a Twist will sketch it out for you,” Mallori says. “During the class, they help you paint it – then when you’re done, you get to take the canvas home.”
Furthermore, if painting or tattoos are not your thing, there are more ways to support the rescue. Other ways to support their mission include: fostering, adopting, or donating money and supplies.
“We have Amazon and Chewy wishlists, and we have a way to be a regular donor where you can do either bi-weekly or monthly donations,” Mallori says. “There are lots of ways to give back to our program. We try to make it as easy to volunteer and give back as possible.”
Tats4Cats 2.0 will be held at Arsenal Tattoo & Design in Downtown Bryan. The event will take place from 12 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18. For updates and more information about this fundraiser, visit the Tats4Cats 2.0 Facebook event page. If you want to help out sooner, visit sixkittensrescue.org/get-involved/ for details about how you can support Six Kittens Rescue.
