All Cats Go to Heaven

"Cats are like potato chips," reads a sign in Bruce and Terry Jenkins’s home. "You can’t just have one!"

In fact, the Jenkinses have dozens—the couple, both of whom are retired, have devoted their lives to caring for a plethora of elderly cats. “It’s kind of a big family,” says Terry Jenkins in Jonathan Napolitano’s short documentary. “It gives me the opportunity to be with more cats than I possibly could ever have imagined.”

But the Jenkins’ felines are not simply pets; they are rescues, often having been abandoned due to the death or sickness of a previous owner. Napolitano, a filmmaker who himself has three cats, decided to make a film about the couple when he heard about their makeshift senior sanctuary on the radio. The result is by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking.

"Cats Cradle" is directed by Jonathan Napolitano. It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic.