Tails of the City: Fostering Kittens at the Women’s Community Correctional Center

It’s hard to tell who benefits more from a new pilot program that pairs inmates at the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua with orphaned kittens.

“I got to take care of something other than myself, to learn how to love something besides myself,” says inmate Sherri Johnston, one of the first participants in a 12-month pet foster program run in partnership with the Hawai‘i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Hawaiian Humane Society. “I learned responsibility, I found a compassion I never knew I had, and I learned how to care for and listen to others. The experience was amazing.”

Inmate Sherri Johnston with kittens she helped care for as part of the pet foster program. Photo: Olivier Koning

The program started in October 2025 with two inmates, Johnston and Paulette Paulich, who cared for more than 30 orphaned kittens for six months. Most of the kittens they fostered have been adopted, some by prison staff.

The women, both minimum custody inmates, live at Ho‘okipa Cottage, a residential facility for prerelease inmates. The kittens resided with them in their room, which was fitted with play structures, litter boxes, blankets and toys. With the help of HHS staff, the two women did everything from bottle-feed​ing​ the kittens to administering medication.

“It’s saving these kittens’ lives and getting them out of shelters, but they’re also getting socialized and ready for adoption,” says Brandy Shimabukuro, director of communications and marketing at HHS. “What’s been really fulfilling, though, is hearing how rewarding this program has been for [the inmates].”

In 2024, the state Legislature appropriated $50,000 in general funds for the pet foster program, which was slated to run for a year.

To give more women the opportunity to take part in the program, two new inmates took up Johnston and Paulich’s cat-fostering duties in May 2026. The program, recently approved for a one-year extension, will continue at least through June 2027.

Johnston, who grew up with dogs, not cats, says the program has inspired her to enroll in the veterinary technology program at Windward Community College after she’s released to a furlough program. “I couldn’t fathom the idea that somebody like me, who’s been in prison, could get an opportunity like this. Today, I know I’m worth it,” she says. “This has really been life-changing for me.”

SEE ALSO: Tails of the City: Meet Super Foster Darlene Ogoshi

Catherine Toth Fox is the former food and dining editor of HONOLULU Magazine and now a contributor.