Fans of the SB Mowing TikTok page have raised over $275,000 to save thousands of cats
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Back in February, while filming himself mowing a lawn in Corpus Christi, Spencer, from the popular YouTube and TikTok channel SB Mowing, came across an injured cat.
He called shelters all over Corpus Christi, and only one would take her in – Edgar and Ivy’s Cat Sanctuary. Spencer documented his interaction with the cat and sanctuary and posted it to his YouTube channel that has over two million subscribers.
What came next is something that Anissa Beal, the director of the sanctuary could’ve only ever dreamed of.
“He knows he’s famous. There’s no doubt about it. He is in charge. I tell the girls, I’m like, ‘He’s paying your salary,'” Beal said.
It’s safe to say that Esbee is doing much better than he was when Spencer from SB Mowing first found him in an overgrown lawn in Corpus Christi.
He’s bigger, better and staff would say he’s the boss.
“He knows that he runs this place. He knows that he funds anything. He knows he’s the richest cat here. It shows so much in his attitude,” vet tech Alyssa Paschalis said.
Since the world heard about Edgar and Ivy’s for the first time 10 months ago, close to $257,000 has been raised to continue Edgar and Ivy’s mission, some of that money being used to expand what is now called the SB Mowing Community Wellness Center.
It includes a medical, maternity, and quarantine section.
“We were able to quadruple the size of our medical ward,” Beal said.
Before Esbee, the sanctuary only had enough to pay eight employees. Today, 25 employees are part of the team, including five vet techs.
“The craziest time was when all those packages. We had like three Amazon trucks come up at the same time with all these gifts for us. It was just a really awesome feeling to know people wanted to help out,” assistant director Paige Parrish said.
Beal says the place is in a much different position than it was a year ago when she was on the verge of closing the sanctuary because of the lack of funds.
“I was having animal controls tell me, ‘If you quit, this will be devastating for the entire county,'” Beal said. “Esbee has probably saved 3,000 cat lives. We’re able to say yes when it’s cruelty, a severe injury, amputations, eye removals, terrible viruses. I don’t have to turn them away for finances because of Esbee,” Beal said.
The sanctuary has plenty of cats and kittens up for adoption and available to be fostered. For more information, you can visit their website.
