When Cynthia Gutschenritter submitted a video of an orphaned kitten playing with Styrofoam packing peanuts in a video contest, she had no idea she would win a prize, let alone the Grand Prize.

Three years ago, Gutschenritter bottle-fed an orphaned litter of kittens and ended up adopting a little gray and white bundle of joy with a stubby tail she named Belle.

Gutschenritter soon discovered that Belle was fascinated with packing peanuts.  So Gutschenritter decided to record the frolicking feline at play.  Then, a friend sent her information about a national contest.

In October, the video was submitted to Del Monte’s 9lives contest.  The submissions were then judged based upon their entertainment value, quality and relevance to the promotion of rescuing cats.

After the judging was completed, Gutschenritter learned that she and Belle were the winners of the Grand Prize, which consisted of a year’s supply of cat food for Belle and $3,000 cash to be donated to the shelter of her choice.

As a 14-year volunteer at the North Platte Animal Shelter, the decision of who should receive the money was an easy one to make for Gutschenritter.  However, due to the contest rules and the shelter’s status as a municipal facility, the prize could not be awarded directly to the shelter.

Determined to get the funds to the shelter, Gutschenritter asked Paws-itive Partners, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, to accept the award on her behalf.  Now, Paws-itive Partners and the North Platte Animal Shelter are brainstorming ways to use the donation.

Gutschenritter says the only thing that’s important to her is that the funds are used to help cats and dogs staying at the shelter while they wait to be adopted.

Gutschenritter has a long history of caring for animals.  In 2000, she and her daughters started taking pictures, and later videos, at the North Platte Animal Shelter hoping it would help shelter animals find homes.

Gutschenritter has fostered pregnant cats and bottle-fed numerous kittens. At one time last summer, she and her husband, John, were home to 15 kittens from 4 different litters.

Over the years, Gutschenritter has fostered dogs and adopted a ferret, chickens, bunnies and ducks from the shelter.