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.
Lots of older people would like to have a pet but a kitten, that they would probably out live, is not necessarily a good option for them.
Not necessarily. The local fauna will take care of them. Hawks, coyotes, fisher cats and the like. It's a 'circle of life' sort of thing.
Advertise that they have their claws. Someone with a small acreage may take them for rodent control. We were going to adopt a spayed, fully clawed female and was going to back out because we thought it would be cruel to make her an outdoor cat & the lady at the Humane Society said it would be cruel to put her down if she wasn’t adopted. Had Calli for about 8 years.
Sounds like a great vet! Glad your son and wife found kitties to love who were in need of it.
There are people out there who would rather, or just as soon, adopt from an individual as a shelter and give the pets good homes. I was always able to find good homes for strays when I couldn’t take them in myself.
Nowadays, some of the rescues charge really high fees, even for senior pets, and erect a lot of hurdles (long intrusive questionnaires , letter of recommendation from vet, home inspection — often all three). Even the best prospective pet owner might balk at all that, and those who live some distance away cannot adopt from them because of the home inspection requirement , as the rescue’s inspectors will only consider travelling inside a very small area.
There used to be a SPCA on Ridge Pike in Plymouth Meeting. We donated to them for about 20 years thru United Way. I adopted several dogs from that facility. They are very good with placements. You might also try talking to the veterinarian she used when she was alive. See if they can help.
I have a friend that is very active in cat rescue. She is retired and it is what she does to stay active.
Thing is I am close to Macon Ga., so can’t really help. But you should definitely have active rescues near you. Thing is, many folks that do this are older and not very tech savvy, so good old fashion leg work is needed to find them.
Please do not do that. I cared for a feral stray in my neighborhood for 9 years. She had a secure location to live in my walled-in outdoor patio with a warm box, a filtered water fountain, and an automatic feeder. She was a very sweet cat who made it very clear she did not wish to live indoors. However, the last year of her life was pure hell. The feral colony nearby had picked her out as old and fragile. (She still had her claws, but had lost all of her fangs, mostly through cat fights, where she had formerly ruled the neighborhood.) She was coming home injured more and more often, and some of them were pretty bad. It eventually got to the point where she became afraid to leave the patio, but that didn’t stop the neighboring challengers from coming onto the patio after her. After one of them bit clear through her paw and broke it, I finally had to make the decision to have her humanely euthanized. If this was the end for a street smart cat, imagine what will happen to these older, pampered kitties turned out into the street. Not to mention what a nuisance that would be for the neighbors.
Did you not read they are elderly indoor cats?
That would be the same as putting your healthy but elderly aunt outside and let her fend for herself.
We get lots of animals dumped on us cuz we’re a farm but most of these critters get killed on the road, starve or predators get them.
Just because Meow Meow catches the odd mouse doesn’t mean she could sustain itself in the outdoors!
They can’t guarantee no euthanasia.
Why not keep them as outdoor cats?
No. No. No. No. No. NO.
A Very bad idea that would not end well. It would be very cruel for one thing.
Thanks for pointing this out. I was dumbstruck at the suggestion.
I’m stunned at some of the uniformed, cruel “advice” proffered. My cats have lived to 20 years; a friend’s cat thrived up to age 26. So, properly and lovingly cared for, they could have several more years of quality life. My daughter volunteers at the pet adoption section of her local PetSmart, so that might be a good place to start.
I hope your post has readers thinking about how their pets will be provided for should the pets outlive them.
OMG! That’s a horrible idea!! Outdoor cats live about half as long as indoor cats, and their deaths can be so cruel. Prey to other animals. If they have health issues, then long and painful deaths are almost guaranteed.
Too bad you’re so far away, I’d take them in. I’ve been fostering dogs, taking a break for the winter (Neuropathy, not advisable to walk on ice, so cats are preferable this time of year.)
Wish you the best of luck. Find a no-kill shelter!!
Contact Best Friends animal society. They are based in Utah, but have network partners.
Bestfriends.org
Do you have a Nextdoor forum near you? While the general banter on there leans left, I have had good luck with pet related things (lost pets, etc.) you might be able to find them a home there.
Excellent advice. We have a cat sanctuary in our. town run by a very nice woman. Two of my friends adopted adult cats from them. I buy them cat crunches in big bags once in awhile.
Also, vets will help . My cats’ only vet at “The Cats Meow” vet clinic was happy to place two cats, a bonded pair, for a friend. Posted pictures gave them shots,, made sure they were healthy before adoption. I feed an outside cat abandoned when her owner died and my vet will give her free shots and post her picture as “available”. I’ve already found a neighbor who will take her if we can get her into a crate. Big IF.
Great idea!
Well then have them euthanized. You wanted advice and you didn’t like it. Get off of me.
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