Mom says shelter, I say no

Depends. If you can get them spayed/neutered...vaccinated...tested...and rehomed keep them.

If you cannot adequately care for them, then it's not fair to keep them, either.

I suppose there's no chance a no-kill shelter in the area would take them?

If you can't get them fixed, they will find a way to get pregnant again. You need to try to find a place to take them in....either a no-kill shelter, rescue, whatever.

Have you tried contacting local vets to see if they can give you a cut rate/payment plan to get them fixed?

try posting some ads or flyers, show her you are making an honest effort and maybe she will lighten up.

I dont really know the answer to this, but has anyone ever brought a cat to the shelter and asked the workers if the cat had a chance at adoption? I mean would anyone evaluate the cat right there and tell you?

If they say no then you know not to give the cat up there.

The best chance for a shelter taking a cat (if they arent fixed) is a female, cause males spray and howl when not fixed and can be aggressive, so shelters usually dont like having non-neutered males they make a mess , females have a better chance though if kept away from males so they dont get pregnant.

That is what I heard from a shelter worker.

Is there anyway that you could do some babysitting, to start a "Sittin' For Kittens" fund??? does the low-cost vet have any suggestions as to who might help financially??? Maybe there is an organization that would help with the funding. You could contact the Stanford Cat Network - they seem to have nationwide contacts:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/CATNET/ and their website is really cool - all sorts of great ideas, including how to build a cheap catio, so the kits can have a bit of outside time.
Sending {{{{prayers and vibes}}}} that you remain encouraged, that your mom be more understanding, and that you get some constructive answers very soon!! Bless you for not giving up easily

There are some organizations you might try contacting....asking for funding help. Not sure of names, lemme send out some PM's to see if I can get some more help for you on that count!

Kristi - how many cats are you caring for? Are they friendly strays? Are they ferals you trapped? Approximately how old are they?

Here is a list of resources for you to contact:

To e-mail Alley Cat Allies to ask for the Feral Friends Network in your area write to them at: [email protected]. In the e-mail, explain the situation.

To e-mail the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Campaign to ask if there are any network members that may be able to help in your area, write to: [email protected] and explain the situation.

To search for TNR groups to contact (I always recommend contacting w/in 90 - 100 miles - you never know who they may have networked with - or that person that used to work with them but moved... )

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html
http://www.pets911.com/organizations/organizations.php - you can also search for shelters and vets here.
http://www.petfinder.com/ - this is to search for pets - but it lets you know what organizations or which people may be resources in the area
http://www.worldanimal.net/

Again - I would call these places and explain your situation to ask if they can help or know of anyone or an organization that may be able to help.

The local yellow pages are always best to search for vets - whether calling around to them or driving around to them. I understand you can't afford even low-cost spay/neuter right now, but again, I'd explain the situation and ask if they can work out a payment plan. If the vet says they don't provide discounts for ferals, we then ask if they know of a "crazy cat person" in the area who may be willing to help or have other information that may be helpful to you. We offer to leave our number and ask them to pass it on to the person - or we offer to call back the next day (or whenever) to check, rather than ask them to provide the name and number of a client with someone they don't know. If they know of someone to contact, make sure you get the name of the person you're speaking to so you know who to ask for if you have to call back.

In the meantime, to help rehome these kitties, here is a site chock full of excellent resources, including a flyer-maker and lots of suggestions on how to go about it: http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehom...tionsindex.cfm

If you want to search for low-cost spay/neuter groups to contact about your situation, you can also search here:

The same TNR group links as above,
and another list of links to help search are here: http://www.savesamoa.org/html/spay_neuter.html.

But some of the best links are:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html
http://www.angelfire.com/md2/mdpetrescu/spay.html
http://www.worldanimal.net/

I would call any places in your area to explain the situation. You never know what may turn up, and while it can be discouraging, the most important thing is to keep e-mailing or dialing - just keep going. Persistence often pays off.

There are also lots of Rescue links where more shelters and things can be searched for (including info on orphaned kitten rescue) at

http://www.savesamoa.org/html/rescue.html

I hope these resources will help you turn up something or someone!

for trying to help these kitties.

Laurie

How many litter boxes do you have set up for them? With that many kittens, you'll need a bunch - kittens especially may not be able to wait till someone else finishes.

You're doing a very kind thing.

Originally Posted by Brokenheart

How many litter boxes do you have set up for them? With that many kittens, you'll need a bunch - kittens especially may not be able to wait till someone else finishes.

You're doing a very kind thing.

Click to expand...

Good point!! You might try using a cheap, "under the bed" plastic storage box. Also, since litter is costly, you can try using chicken feed, the layer "Krackettes" -it's very similar to SwheatScoop and costs about $12 for 50 lbs. You might send PMs to KeithP and Trixter's Momma - both are real cat heroes who overcame similar situations on their own and they maybe have some tips or advice to share.
Please keep us updated!!

Forgot to add, that with the older kittens, you can mix in some Champion Breed (from Kmart) clumping - it costs about $8 for 40 lbs. and that will help form tighter clumps among the Krackettes. The tinier kittens shouldn't be around the clumping litter, though, in case they eat it
That said, you must really be entertained by all those kitties!! I'm sending {{{prayers and vibes}}} that your friends will help you out and take over caring for some of them

Yeah, the cats probably don't like it, either; that many cats get crowded and that's probably part of your litter box problem.

How much is your low-cost spay? Are there any luxuries you can cut out of your budget? Obvious ones--movies, meals out... but also the less obvious ones: Gas spent on car trips less than five miles (you can walk or use a bike); brand-name instead of generic food; Internet bill; cable TV; phone bill; turning the thermostat down so the heating bill's lower; not buying meat (eat beans instead)... How about selling something? Gold jewelry, the more expensive of the appliances like computers, TV sets, anything a burglar would go for. Are any of those options for you?

I know how frustrating this situation must be! But please, please try contacting any group or person you can find - I provided many places to look for help. Let everyone you call know the alternative is taking the cats to the shelter where they will most likely be put to sleep. Send e-mails to Alley Cat Allies and Best Friends (the e-mail addresses are in the post on page 1 of this thread), and call any place you can find listed in any of the links provided that is within 90 or so miles from you.

Maybe have your friend over and make an evening of it - take turns making calls. She should take some responsibility!



Laurie

Unfortunately the lady is right, she makes good points although being mean about it is totally unnecessary.

What I was doing if I couldn't afford to spay a cat I took in is this. Advertise all over the place and of course ask an adoption fee that includes the price of the spay or neuter at the low cost clinic. Then when someone is interested in adopting, you can take the cat in to get fixed knowing that the person is going to reimburse you with the adoption fee to cover it.

Are you advertising on petfinder.com and on craigslist.com?

Also, if you have all these cats unaltered in the same room, you do realize they can get each other pregnant right? Especially the 8 month olds, if the unspayed mother is in with them and they are males, they can get their own mom pregnant. They can get their own siblings pregnant, and the 12 week old ones can possibly start too when they get closer to the 4-5 month mark.