Posted on 11/25/2022 11:18:13 AM PST by bassmaner
Last year, my aunt-in-law passed away after a long battle with cancer. She had 4 relatively old (13-15 y/o) cats at the time, and unfortunately she did not have a will. She was renting at the time from friends who are now being forced to sell the house, and she had no other living family. The cats are all relatively healthy: they're all spayed/neutered, they're not declawed, and are very well socialized indoor cats. Since the house is nearby, my wife and I have been taking care of the cats: feeding, changing litter, etc (we can't bring them to our house due to allergies and dogs: our dogs are extremely territorial and would not adjust to having feline housemates).
Starting last spring, we have attempted to find homes for the kitties, with the absolute requirement that they be allowed to live out their lives and not be euthanized.
Unfortunately, we have hit a brick wall with this: every single so-called 'rescue' or 'no-kill shelter' has been unable or unwilling to help. In every case, we get the 'it's kitten season' or 'we just don't have space' excuse. This is putting us in an untenable position: we don't want to end up taking them to the local SPCA, where they would waste no time putting them to sleep despite their relatively good health and sweet disposition.
ASPCA
I think the local SPCA will be where you end up going, knowing you did your best and move on with your life with no shame. Sorry that this is not more what you and we all would like to hear.
Definitely take them to the humane society. That’s their best bet to find a home
My experience with cat rescues is very poor. My only advice is to try a PetSmart store with an adoption section and try finding a Veterinarian that places kitties.
Let them roam the neighborhood...probably better odds of living freely, longer
Here's one called "Philly Cat Rescuers"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/phillycatrescuers
Build them a shelter near you, maybe..and let them roam...hate to say it, but probably not going to find homes at their age
You might want to try looking for cat ‘sanctuaries’ where cats are not adopted out, but live out their lives. If you could find such a place and donate for their care, that might help them accept your cats. The other thing is that the cats are elderly and won’t be living as long as a young cat.
There’s a sanctuary in NJ called Tabby’s Place - they generally don’t take cats from the public; however, it appears they might be helpful in providing you with resources/help for ‘your’ four cats.
https://www.tabbysplace.org/about/
From their website (intake policy):
Although we wish we could help every cat in need, we unfortunately cannot generally take cats from the public. But, if you’re seeking a home for a cat, we can help you in one of three ways:
Our Help Form will connect you with advice, resources, and a list of organizations that may be able to assist you.
The Guardian Angel Program enables you to plan ahead for your cats to come to Tabby’s Place if you should predecease them.
The Exceptional Circumstances Program is for folks who are seeking to place a cat at Tabby’s Place immediately, and prepared to make an extremely large donation that can help many other cats.
If the cat you need help with was adopted from Tabby’s Place, please see our Return Policy.
Whether or not we can take your cat at Tabby’s Place, we can help point you in the right direction. You’re not alone, and there is hope.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I know there are other cat sanctuaries, but finding one is going to be the trick - most are very well populated.
It can be hard to find places at no-kill shelters during tough economic times when many people are forced to give up their pets.
I used to find homes for stray kitties by advertising them in the local newspaper and charging an adoption fee (the fee was partly to keep away trash, those who would resell them to research labs, etc., and partly because you actually get more good prospects than when advertising them for free — I donated the fees to a no-kill shelter).
Nowadays, I think that people use Facebook and Craig’s List and those Neighbor social networking sites to advertise pets in need of adoption. Craig’s list can be dodgy, but can be okay if you are careful, best I understand.
You might also try putting up flyers at local stores and/or eateries (some have bulletin boards where people post such things, along with lost and found pets). Some churches have such bulletin boards in their parish halls, too, where members gather for coffee or meals or Bible study, etc.
Other Freepers will likely chime in with other, better suggestions. I wish you all the best finding good homes for the dear kitties.
Yes, many vet’s offices have notice boards where you can post lost/found pets and pets in need of a home. Very good suggestion.
Put them on craigslist and fakebook . Spayed/neutered cats are not hard to find homes for . If you were close I’d take them all.
We even have Vet offices who have kitties in cages in the waiting room. My son and his wife got 2 from their Vet. Usually the kitties are from clients.
I’m with the let them roam crowd. Get an old cooler big enough for all of them and cut a hole in the lid and put it on its side. It will keep them warm on the back porch. They will be fine, and no more litter box too.
Senior cats that age that have spent their entire lives indoors would die a slow, torturous death of fear and starvation if sent outside to fend for themselves.
Brother’s vet put kittens for sale but the payment goes for first yr of services.
They will be dead within 3 months or sooner. Older cats do not know how to hunt, they have been pampered all their lives. Not the best choice here.
They are relatively old INDOOR cats......how long you think they’re gonna last outside....with winter coming on??
They’d be better off euthanized than having to endure that.
With all due respect please think about your comments before posting.
We have a rescue dog and two rescue cats. We prefer older animals, rather than dealing with puppies and kittens this stage in life.
My wife takes care of the details, but I think the organization we dealt with was “Old Dogs New Digs” for the dog, and a shelter for the cats.
They appreciate people that will do senior adoptions, so just keep trying.
That’s just dumping the problem on neighbors.
Many years ago, a wonderful, sweet cat started appearing at windows in my parents’ neighborhood. Some people would feed him. Everyone thought he was just a neighborhood cat who liked to mooch, but had a home. Then he appeared with infected wounds, and we found out his owners had just moved off and left him. He had become rather wild by then, and by the time he could be caught and taken to a vet, he was too far gone to save. The kind neighbor who tried to help him got stuck with a hefty vet bill.
Cats left to fend for themselves pick up nasty diseases, get in fights, starve. It’s cruel. Don’t do it.
I have spent time and money finding homes for pets that were dumped. I guess the person doing the dumping thought, “hey, nice neighborhood, maybe someone will take him in or find him a good home”. Well, we did both (took some in, found homes for others). But really, the person could have done what we did and found the poor animal a home instead of dumping that task on us.
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