Desperately seeking cat & kitten lovers

[MsMagnificent]

I am overwhelmed with abandoned cats which we've rescued.
The latest abandon who 3 weeks ago gave birth to 5 kittens -- bringing the household total to fifteen!
In total, just since last September, our count has been increased by NINE ...I have no kennel or facilities, not even a barn, only my home.

In this area there is a dearth of shelters (especially no-kill!) for cats. Many of the county Humane Societies will take in dogs, but not cats.

On top of it, I am in constant worry that, once these my children go to another home, they will eventually be dumped at a shelter (who may or may not take them in), abandoned again, or outright killed. Even if I request the future adopter return the feline to me
I'll keep as many as I must and I do love them all, but My God! fifteen is simply too much!

Is there anyone interested in adopting a sweet kitten, or lovely more-grown cat?
All the cats except the newborns are neutered, litter trained, very well behaved; ALL are simply delightful. :)
The kittens are all grey striped, some with white feet, points, & some smatterings of white.

I'm a recent transplant to NE Ohio (10 miles from PA border). I'll drive 100 miles or more to ensure each gets a good, permanent home.

The kittens aren't named yet, the adults we've named some for their personalities and some for other characteristics such as their coat style &/or color;
there's Lovey, Harold Kissy-Face, Jeeves (a very proper & polite Tuxedo cat), Mo Cuishla (means "My Darling" from Million Dollar Baby), Dali (magnificent moustaches!), Lucas (he glows golden, simply gorgeous), Lily (SO sweet!), and Homer 'Doodle' Simpson.

If there is any interest I'll post pictures. I'd do it now but hubby has the digital camera & he's out of town for a week.


Are there any big-hearted DU'ers out there who would like to give a permanent home to a nice new striped baby or (pick color) lovely young-adult cat?


Even if anyone knows of any very reputable shelter that would be able to help -- one that would NOT kill them no matter what, and that would pass along my information to the adoptive families in case they ever need to get rid of their pet, could they please drop me a line?
Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Also, would anyone know if reposting this also in the Ohio, PA, NY forums is okay or inappropriate;
and if periodically self-bumping/kicking this is A-OK?

Thanks all, in advance! *fingers crossed*

[barb162]

1. Try this first one, you can put free classified ads in

http://www.petfinder.com/
check the top of the home page for classiffied ads and start completing them. Post them, I think, for Ohio and PA. Also, when you go to ohio or PA you will see the shelters described. Your ads last 2 weeks and then you will have to redo them. You can do that indefinitely and its free. Screen any people really well so they don't resell the animals for these sick pit pull baiting gambling bastards or for animal experiments.
Also:
http://muttcats.com/shelters/ohio.htm

Call your good shelters and ask if oyu can be put on their waiting lists even if they say they are full.

[MsMagnificent]

9. Thanks for the links barb

I'm on it! :hi:

[conflictgirl]

2. Oh man, I wish I were closer!

We are rapidly approaching the stage of the number of cats exceeding the number of people in our house. :P (4 cats, 5 people) We just adopted two sisters from the same litter about a month ago, and they're absolutely adorable. My 5-year-old says he wants "ten million cats". lol

Is there craigslist in your area? You could also try the local Freecycle list. I see kittens all the time on our freecycle list, and a lot of them get picked up.

[KitchenWitch]

3. Oh man

I am moving to California and would like two kitties. But I cannot get to Ohio.

[Dangerously Amused]

4. There are also "Pets" and "Animal Rights" forums where you could post.

I personally don't see any problem with kicking this thread, it's an important cause.


Bless your heart for taking care of the kitties, :hug: and best of luck, I'll keep my feelers out for you!

[hyphenate]

5. Anyone ever hear of a relay team pickup?

I don't know what the official name is, but a lot of cat and dog groups know of them. It's when volunteers set up a relay team to transport an animal from one part of the country to another. Each volunteer takes the pet and drives it as far as they are able to, and then they meet up with the next volunteer who takes it that much further. Along the way, people sometimes meet for the first time, or otherwise see each other often enough to be good friends.

If you read my thread on my Jessica, her time is coming to a close soon, and I'm going to miss her terribly. I'll still have 4 here (Jean-Luc, Oliver, Garibaldi and Delenn) but give me a little while and I will likely be able to open my heart again to another one. I don't want a kitten, though--I'd be more than happy to add an older, more settled cat, one that doesn't mind company.

But the relay team has worked for lots of others, and if you can get the volunteers, you can get the animal to someone a little farther away than you thought.

[MsMagnificent]

8. I'm on a list for a dog-related one

but they don't know of any cat-related one's & 'they don't do cats' :(

I'll research -- thanks for the post & if you hear of any, PLEASE let me know!

Thank you! :D

[radwriter0555]

6. Here's the reality check: You can't save every single one. You have to

go after this wondeful, kind endeavor with the knowledge that you're doing the very best you can and stay grounded in reality.

There is such a massive over-population of cats in the US that every single one simply cannot be saved. All you can do is the best you can without overwhelming or jeopardizing yourself and your family.

You simply must make use of the shelters to re-home these animals, especially since they will sterilize them and ensure the overpopulation problem doesn't continue. The biggest problem with re-homing them yourself is that you have no way to guarantee the new homes will alter the cats, thus perpetuating the problem and solving nothing.

You have to learn to give them all up to the fates and be secure in the knowledge that you've done the best you can, or else you'll end up like those cat ladies with dead cats in the freezer and 3 feet of cat poo.

Just do the best you can and try hard as you can to stay detached. You should even perhaps stop naming them such pretty names so that you can remove yourself from the emotional attachments of the situation.

I worked directly in this situation for more than 10 years and you simply much remove yourself emotionally and focus on the greater good. Do the best you can and let the shelters that are filled with people just like you do the best job they can do as well.

Big hugs, and good luck. You really cannot save every single one, sadly.

[MsMagnificent]

7. No, I cannot save every one

but the ones that, through fate, cross my path I certainly CAN do something about!
It's pure apathy to SAY 'oh, what a sad thing', turn away and let them die while rationalizing that 'the next person will do something'
when, of course, they WON'T -- they'll repeat the exact same cop-out.
THAT is reality. And I can, in a (semi) small way, try to improve this reality.

What you call detachment I call apathy, unconcern and perhaps even laziness.

You obviously did not note that in my post I mentioned each of these cats are neutered, except the kittens & their mom, of course (yet!) (the mom was abandoned here pregnant)-- even though I do not plan on keeping them if at all possible? With 10 adult-young adult cats in a house, just ONE litter would be a blessing ,
not to mention a MIRACLE. (I may be a Cat Lady, but not a CRAZY Cat Lady!)
No, no... to bemoan the number of unwanted animals in this world and to do NOTHING about it would be the height of hypocrisy!

If I didn't take these abandoned cats in and have them neutered, do you realize the vast number MORE unwanted (and now feral) cats and kittens would be in this area alone?

Rest assured, neither I nor my family are not in any kind of jeopardy. Whatsoever.
We are not knee-deep in cat feces. I have 2 very large litter boxes going & each are scooped at least 2x a day. (We also have 2 of those automatically self-scooping boxes, but they don't work very well -- a heads up to other cat parents that it may not be worth the expenditure).
When the kittens become mobile, another will go up
--but they cannot stay, hence this thread. ...and if some of the young adults can find homes too, that's freaking awesome!
And if I can't ensure their well-being in the future, sobeit, but that still doesn't mean I won't try.

Oh and BTW, my freezer contains ice, freezer-burnt chicken breasts and sundry other items; but nope, no frozen cats.

What do helping these creatures harm me? After the neutering (of which I've found a vet who, since I've rescued so many and he respects my efforts, performs the surgeries at a deeply discounted fee) all they cost me are kitty kibble and litter, and of course the effort to scoop the litter. The small expense and 20 minutes scooping-time a day is easily affordable, we're not suffering in the least because of them...
Really now, it is MY decision to DO something to try to help these creatures. This is based in my bedrock personal feelings of responsibility, compassion and doing what I think is right.
If it doesn't bother my husband, why should it bother you?

Kindly don't go stereotyping me into some Crazy Cat Lady of the Third Kind.
The fact that the count is now up to 15 may put me in the category of the First Kind, admittedly (that huge litter was quite a shock!) but I'm trying to DO something about that; as this thread is witness to.


Additionally, I reserve the right to name them whatever fits them, indeed whatever I damn well wish to -- "pretty" as these names may be.


Above all, is it not MY decision in MY household (in MY world) to do what I can and desire to do for the unfortunates that show up needing succor; not yours?

Perhaps I'll tell you how should live your life according to MY terms, eh? Somehow I don't get the feeling you'd welcome that :)

Look, I realize your post meant well -- but unless I live under your roof, kindly don't presume to tell me that I should adopt your attitudes nor how to live my life under your philosophy.
...and even then...