How do you do it?

lunaleopard

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I recently found a young stray cat living outside a nearby church. She is living under a school portable building in the field next to the church. She is super friendly and I just want to find her a home. I've reached out to several animal rescue sites and none of them have replied! I am so mad! The cat rescue where I adopted one of my cats from ignores my messages. I want to get this kitty spayed but after that how can I just return her to live under the building where she is now? How do you all who care for strays stand it? I just feel so upset that I have to return her! I will continue to do my best to find her a home but if I can't what choice do I have? It just makes me so upset.
 

shadowsrescue

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This story is how so many of us end up with so many cats! No one wants them, no one is available to help, rescues are full, etc... So we end up keeping the cat ourselves hoping to eventually find a home for it.

It makes me so upset too. This is a human problem. Oh, lets get a cute kitty, but not spay/neuter. Then sweet little kitty grows up and either goes into heat or yowls and howls to get outside if it's a male. Owners don't know what to do and end up putting kitty outside. Kitty gets pregnant or kitty impregnants others. Lots and lots of kittens are born. Repeat over and over. A very very sad story.

We all do the best we can. I do hope you can find a home or make a shelter for this kitty. Spaying is key!
 
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lunaleopard

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I would definitely take this cat in if I could! So yes, I can see that I would end up with many cats! But I currently have 3 in my apartment. I am just so glad this site is here so that I can talk to fellow cat lovers who truly understand ❤
 

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Maybe you can appeal to the church to let you set up a shelter for her and have them adopt her as their “Church Rescue Kitty!” She would keep pests away and , hopefully, the members would get attached. If you were around after meetin or during any social times you could demonstrate how wonderful she is. Sometimes we have to think outside the box to get adoptions. Also, try not to get too upset with rescue groups. They are maxed out at normal times and right now dumping of pets is huge. I have had three dumped here lately. I caught humans attempting to dump another. Obviously thier pet which they were holding but claimed it was feral. Nope! I already knew this was their pet. I called them on it, gave them contact info for help snd warned them that dumping is a crime here. Since I knew where they live, I would be checking! It is maddening. I understand and we all get furious over that. Just keep contacting rescue groups! Years back I learned that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Keep calling, texting, emailing and making sound so they hear you. Become a regular noise and they will hear you. Humane societies usually offer spay help along with immunizations. Nextdoor is a place you might want to join to search for adoption possibilities. Ask people you personally know well too. Tell the story because you never know who nay have been thinking about getting a kitty. Google is a good place for info. BestFriends is a great resource. Alley cat allies too. Just never give up. If you are a kitty guardian, you are a kitty hero. I am glad this site is here too! :alright::grouphug2:
 

tabbytom

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I recently found a young stray cat living outside a nearby church. She is living under a school portable building in the field next to the church. She is super friendly and I just want to find her a home.
Thank you for your interest of finding a home for this kitty. I'm all for finding a home for kitties but sometimes it is best if the kitties are left where they are as they are comfortable and kind of safe from dangers and cat haters. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean not to save this kitty. I've seen many kitties that were strays or ferals around my area and some were adopted and some still hang around where they are.

As the above posters mentioned, get her spayed first, continue to care for her after that, approach the church or school and explain the situation to them. I'm sure besides you, someone from the school or church have been feeding her.

I think if a home is not found yet, a joint effort to have this kitten spayed and be fed and looked after is a good idea. You can volunteer to get her spayed, the church or school take part in the feeding regime with you. If they don't want any part of this, discuss with the school to let the kitty stay where she is since she's been living there for awhile and the school doesn't mind, let her stay as long as she can till a home is found for her. At the same time, ask the church or school to past the message around to see anyone from their establishment would like to adopt a cat.

I say all this is because I experience with the cats around my area and this were not adopted seems to be happy where they are and they are friendly to hoomans and they are well taken care of but of course we hope they live a long life as strays. I also know of a school that took in 2 cats as they hang around the school compounds and they made he school their home.

We have a few cats that roam around our area and where I stay, a story is given love by the people who feeds her and has gotten her a cat house with scratch board and she stays at a peaceful corner of our building. I can tell that the kitty was so comfortable and felt safe in the way she sleeps and laze around and often times I walk past her, she blink eyes with me.

So, I guess a loving home would be best, if not the her present place is good till a good home is found and I do hope you can find her a good loving home.
 
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lunaleopard

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One of the rescue groups called me but of course they don't have any room. They did recommend either our city shelter which has a high adoption rate or the animal humane society which they also said gave her a good chance. What are your opinions on this? I am reluctant to take her there because that means I'll never really know what happened to her, but I suppose it's better than leaving her? What do you think?
 

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For me, it would first depend on making 100% sure the shelters are no-kill. I would then try to determine if they have a good reputation, maybe there are even online reviews that you can read. I totally understand wanting to know what happens to her! I know you can't keep her, but can you find her a home with a friend, relative, neighbor, co-worker, etc? If not, I think that you should consider letting one of the rescue groups take over and find her a home. I think that would be better than leaving her to live outside where there are so many dangers. She is a friendly stray cat and sounds very sweet so I'll bet she will be scooped up pretty quickly!
 

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I don’t know if this is possible but can you foster her and get her on a waiting list with a rescue group? That works sometimes. Some shelters are very good and some, not as much. I would suggest that you follow the info given above to check the shelter out snd maybe visit them in person too. Get a feel for how the place looks and works. Maybe you can make a friend in the staff and they can give you a follow up on her? I managed to go that. Volunteering there might be an option if you can manage. Explore all possibilities. My first hope would be that you find a home with someone you know. If you are getting her spayed, maybe someone on the vet staff can suggest someone or someplace too.
 
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lunaleopard

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I don’t know if this is possible but can you foster her and get her on a waiting list with a rescue group? That works sometimes. Some shelters are very good and some, not as much. I would suggest that you follow the info given above to check the shelter out snd maybe visit them in person too. Get a feel for how the place looks and works. Maybe you can make a friend in the staff and they can give you a follow up on her? I managed to go that. Volunteering there might be an option if you can manage. Explore all possibilities. My first hope would be that you find a home with someone you know. If you are getting her spayed, maybe someone on the vet staff can suggest someone or someplace too.
Only the one group I reached out to returned my call and they said they have 50 cats right now so they can't accept her. The other group still hasn't responded at all, so I don't think there's much hope there. I'll see what the church says tomorrow and see if they will help or be ok with her staying there for a while.
 

Jcatbird

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Be persistent in contacting rescue groups. Often they don’t answer because the few staff are busy or they are not open. With the one with 50 cats, ask to be put on a waiting list. If a spot opens, you may be glad you did that. Keep trying. :goldstar:
 
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lunaleopard

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I think I found a home for the kitty. One of my coworkers told me to go ask another coworker who I didn't know very well. The first coworker said that this lady liked cats. I showed her the picture and video and she said yes she'd take her. I asked about whether or not she had cats she said yes, she has a 13 year old and a 5 month old cat. She said they live indoors and she doesn't declaw. Even though she seems like a good person, I still feel soooo nervous giving her the cat. Perhaps I am just a control freak and I feel like no one could possibly take as good care of this cat than me. What can I do to ease my mind and make sure she is a good adopter?
 

tabbytom

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I think I found a home for the kitty. .......................................Even though she seems like a good person, I still feel soooo nervous giving her the cat. Perhaps I am just a control freak and I feel like no one could possibly take as good care of this cat than me. What can I do to ease my mind and make sure she is a good adopter?
How was her response to it. How was her tone? If you feel that her tone is sincere, I think you don't have to worry that much. You can be good friends with her after she adopts the cat and ask her to send you photos of the kitty with the rest of her kitty.

You can also in the meantime, before she gets the cat, chat her up and find out more about her and her cats. Ask cordially on how she cope with two cats with age so far apart and how is she going too introduce this new kitty to them? This are just little things to ask just to find out more about the person which give you time to assess her.
 
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lunaleopard

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After my last post, I tried to talk to my coworker more. She's not a very open person and so it was difficult to get much from her. But I asked her if she had pictures of her cats, and she did show me two pictures. After that I did feel better and its been a week since she took the kitty. She was smiling and happy and said she would let me know in two weeks how she was doing. The next day I asked how the kitty was, she said she meowed all night and didn'tet her sleep, but her other 5 month old, Autumn was ready to play with her. They were thinking of naming this one Winter. So now I'm just patiently waiting to see if she will give me an update. We do talk a bit more now so thats good! I think that when I know the kitty has adjusted and doing ok ill finally feel like this was the right thing to do. I know we can't keep them all, but I wish I could!
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