Delighted to have found this forum

[JAL57]

Hi everyone. So glad to see this forum is pro-spay/neuter and anti-declawing. I have two cats who are basically frenemies right now. I hope someday they will be full friends. Pictures below.

I never thought of myself as a cat person until a family member suggested she might get a cat and keep it at my house. (Her partner hates cats.) But when the kitten in question charged out of the carrier and pranced around my room mewing and purring, it was love at first sight. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Just wondering how you all deal with the knowledge that shelters are overflowing and lots of people are surrendering cats. I have two cats because two is all I can handle, ethically, financially and spatially. But I get a constant stream of emails about cats who need homes. (And it drives me crazy when people give away cats for free on Nextdoor!) How do you maintain healthy boundaries without feeling guilty?

Here are my fur babies. Three and a half and nearly two years old, respectively; both adopted from shelters; and together one and a half years now.

 

[catapault]

Welcome! And thank you for the pictures of your two beautiful fur babies.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, welcome and we're happy you're here!

How do you maintain healthy boundaries without feeling guilty?

You could consider volunteering.

See if you can block or unsubscribe from those emails, because you need to be able to pick your battles rather than having your emotional chain, and heartstrings, pulled at all the time.

Regarding Nextdoor, you can comment on those free kitten and cat (and any other pet) posts that ND suggests a rehoming fee of at least $50 per animal, that screening potential adopters is absolutely necessary for the animals' safety, and you can copy/paste the article from here or something similar to help educate people;

"Kittens To Good Homes" - How To Find A Good Forever Home For Your Kittens - TheCatSite

 

[Margot Lane]

Adorable! Names?

 

[tabbytom]

JAL57 and kitties and on behalf of The Catsite community, a warm

to all of you.


So glad that you’ve joined this wonderful site and you are in the right place for all things cat and this site is loaded with tons of rich resources and you’ll find friendly and helpful cats around and many of our cats are very knowledgeable in cat related stuffs.



Lovely kitties you've got here! Do post more photos of them and we have a special thread here just for them here in Show Me Your Stripes And Spots! Tabby Cats Only ;) and many fun thread here in Fur Pictures and Videos Only! to showcase what your kitties are up to.



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Enjoy your stay and see ya around

 

[JAL57]

Adorable! Names?

Thank you! Amelia and Leia.

 

[tiggerwillow]

Welcome

 

[DeesCats]

Welcome to TCS JAL57 and Amelia & Leia! Such sweet looking cats and thank you for giving them a home.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Amelia and Leia are both beauties.

Just wondering how you all deal with the knowledge that shelters are overflowing and lots of people are surrendering cats. I have two cats because two is all I can handle, ethically, financially and spatially. But I get a constant stream of emails about cats who need homes. (And it drives me crazy when people give away cats for free on Nextdoor!) How do you maintain healthy boundaries without feeling guilty?

It can be heart breaking when you think about all the cats that need homes, but you can only do what's right for your home, and the cats you already have. And as your two are still frenemies, bringing another cat into the mix probably wouldn't help things.

See if you can block or unsubscribe from those emails, because you need to be able to pick your battles rather than having your emotional chain, and heartstrings, pulled at all the time.

I agree, if you can unsubscribe from those emails, or just delete them when you get them.

 

[GemsGem]

Welcome to you and your beautiful kitties

 

[margecat]

Welcome to TCS!

 

[Alldara]

Hello and welcome
I agree re: unsubscribed to those emails.

Sometimes the best you can do is build your own cat's confidence and trust in you..then, those who meet your cats will fall in love. They might even consider getting their own cats as well! I've been blessed to have two people adopt cats because they met my now late cats, Lily and Nobel. And in total, including my Calcifer, 3 black cats have been adopted in Lily's honour. She started as hiding in the closet to cat ambassador.

You can also volunteer or donate to spay and neuter clinics. Or at your local TNR (trap-neuter-return).

 

[amethyst]

I know e-mails and social media can get overwhelming when you see all those in need, if you don't want to stop seeing it completely just set a limit, say once a week or once a month that you look at that stuff. One thing you can do to feel less guilty is focus on doing what you CAN do to help. Depending on your ablity and finances, things like donate to shelters, for example some pet stores have the option to donate money or items at the checkout, even a few dollars or a cat or two of cat food can help. If you are able a lot of shelters have sponsor programs where you give a certain amount per month. Some shelters also use things like cardboard boxes as disposable flooring for example, which many stores give away for free on stock days but the shelter workers may not have time to go get, if you can pick it up and bring it to the shelter that can really help (obviously ask the shelter if it's something they want first). Depending on if and where you work or go to school you can see if you can set up a donation drop off or donation drive from time to time for the shelter. Or even if you have a local pet store you regularly go to you can see if they would be willing to put up a donation drop box that you can bring to the shelter when full.

If you have free time you can volunteer to help the shelters either directly or even just keeping up on their local events and spread the word letting friends and family know about them. Even if people you know aren't currently looking for a new pet they may be able to donate, or might even know a friend or friend of a friend looking. Especially help spread the word when you hear about spay/neuter clinics or discount spay/neuter months that some vets do, not everyone knows about them and assume they can't afford it based on the regular price.

 

[JAL57]

That would never have occurred to me about the cardboard boxes as disposable flooring. Great suggestions, everyone, thank you!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Welcome, welcome, welcome, to you and the lovely Amelia and Leia! SUCH gorgeous cats! Yes, delete without reading, or unsubscribe. Volunteer if you are able. Realize that you cannot change the whole world, but for TWO cats, you did! THEIR worlds are forever changed for the good. BTW, "Rescue" is my favorite breed of all!

 

[aliceneko]

Welcome to you and beautiful Amelia and Leia!

 

[Stormy accepts you]

Dear God, they’re gorgeous

 

[Tik cat's mum]

to you and your gorgeous girls. Like others have said you can only do what you can do. I don't get upset about kittens being given away for free because my last 2 boy's were free. One was from a neighbour who was over run with kittens after two female cats of his had kittens. He had a lot of problems but we would never treat him differently from any cat we'd paid for. He's now fit and well. My most recent kitten was surrendered to my vet's with a broken elbow. I had taken my 2 boy's in for thier shots and yearly check. I had said we was thinking of adding another cat and had been looking at rescues.The vet mentioned that he was upstairs so I went to have a look at him. Fostered him first and as soon as we could he became part of the family the 3 musketeers. So as long as house/people are vetted most will end up in loving home's. I understand why you should charge for kittens to deter anyone who wouldn't have good intentions, but I like to believe most people have good intentions. As for those emails send straight to spam or block. I'm at my limit now with 3.