Young Female Cat Rescues Refuse to Help

KavKit

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I am posting on behalf of my friend, as she doesn't use the website.

Despite her severe allergy to cats, she has been caring for a small female she found outside her condo one morning a couple years ago. The cat was pregnant. She cared for the cat and our other friend actually adopted the two kittens.

Not knowing the future consequence she called the local animal shelter and they spayed her and clipped her ear and released her back into the condo complex. She was now classified as a feral.

However my friend has been caring for this sweet girl these last few years. She is probably only 3 or 4 years old. She is spayed. She has all her vaccines, has a clean bill of health, is on heart worm and tick and flea prevention. She lives in my friends garage and my friend feeds her and cares as best she can without being able to handle her much due to her allergies. The cat loves affection though. Whenever I visit she loves up on me and lets me pick her up and hold her. She is friendly and comes running when you call her name. She gets along with all people and all cats, and older less hyper dogs.

The rescues refuse to take her because she is "feral" but she really is not. She is a domesticated sweetheart who just happens to live outside. The shelters keep saying if she is brought in they will just put her down.

My friend is desperate and heart broken that she cant find anyone to take her. She is moving and she is afraid that the new tenants will not take care of the cat. She cannot take the cat with her because again her allergies, and because moving an outside cat to a new neighborhood without bringing it indoor is dangerous. She also has a hyper puppy now that scares the cat.

She lives in Orlando Florida. If anyone knows any rescue that will help her or knows anyone that wants her, she is desperate. She thinks by moving she is essentially signing this poor sweet girls death certificate.

Please help.
 

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FeebysOwner

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Hi. I am including a link to a multitude of rescue groups/shelters in the Orlando area - perhaps, calling around to as many as is needed will yield some contacts that might be able to help. Most of the rescue groups have volunteers to aid with fostering, etc. and maybe one or more of them might step up and offer to foster this cat in order to vet it and confirm it is not feral - better enabling this cat a chance for a new home.

Call the rescue groups as opposed to the shelters, as that will likely reap better results. One contact in particular to try would be:
Welcome to Pet Rescue By Judy - I've heard really good things about this group.

63 rescue groups and animal shelters in the greater Orlando area – Orlando Sentinel
 

Astragal14

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Please don't worry yet, there are still several paths to investigate first!

First, and most importantly - this cat is NOT feral! This link describes when a cat is a feral or a stray.
Feral and Stray Cats—An Important Difference
The Cat Socialization Continuum: A Guide to Interactions Between Cats and Humans

The fact this cat can be handled and has been socialized by people means she is at a minimum not a feral. My guess is the shelter who spayed and clipped her ear thought she would be returned to the outdoors without human care, but this ended up not happening. She is at least a stray cat, and depending on the level of routine veterinary care provided she may be considered someone's house cat who lives outside due to owner allergies. The details you mentioned are very important - she comes when called, seeks affection, is friendly with other cats, and it sounds like she is loving even with people she hardly knows (I am basing this on your statement about your visits).

Second, it will take a lot of persistence on your friend's part to find a no-kill rescue that will take her cat (and it is essential to find one that is no-kill). It's kitten season, many rescues and fosters are near capacity right now - which is why your friend needs to be very proactive in calling and emailing as many groups as she can! FeebysOwner FeebysOwner has some great recommendations, so I'll just add that you can use Petfinder to search for rescue groups. A rescue's no-kill status may not be listed on Petfinder, so be sure to ask when you contact them.
Search for Animal Shelters & Rescue Groups | Petfinder

Third, I'll finish by tossing out random ideas because you never know what could work!
- Is there any way to bring the cat with them? Could they set up a cat fence at their new home so she can stay outside? A cat fence is specific and completely different from regular fencing, Purrfect Fence is one example.
- Would your friend's allergies manage having the cat inside but not in the bedroom? I know people with cat allergies who have a no bedroom/no couch policy. And the puppy won't be hyper forever.
- What about outside Orlando - are there any friends or family out of the area who would like to adopt the cat?

I wish your friend and her cat the best of luck. Please don't give up - it will take time and effort, but there is a place for her somewhere!
 

FeebysOwner

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Is there any way to bring the cat with them? Could they set up a cat fence at their new home so she can stay outside? A cat fence is specific and completely different from regular fencing, Purrfect Fence is one example.
The other thing to consider would be a catio/cat enclosure.
 

Mamanyt1953

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