My Very First Rescue...looking for shelters

Last night I got a call from a friend at church. She said a kitten showed up on her doorstep yesterday morning. They didn't really think anything of it at first, just figured it was wandering through the neighborhood. But it was still there when they got home from school/work, and it was getting very cold. She put out a blanket for it, but since she is allergic she didn't want to take it inside. So, she was calling everybody she could think of that has cats. But nobody wanted to take it in, until she called me. I just couldn't think of going to sleep at night knowing there was a little kitten freezing out there, and I could do something to help it! So, my husband graciously said we could bring it home, but only for the night. So, we drove into town and picked up the poor little guy. And I'm so glad we did. He really wouldn't have lasted much longer out there, as it was dropping below freezing last night.

When I first held him, I almost wanted to cry. He is nothing but skin and bones, and he can't be much more than 7 or 8 weeks old. He is rather dirty, and just as hungry as can be. I fed him some watered-down canned Iams kitten food last night, and he gobbled it all up. He used the litter box once last night, and his stool was very yucky looking...part solid, party runny. I'm sure it's mostly because he was starving. He is almost completely black, with a few white hairs here and there, and sad little green eyes. I have him enclosed in the guest bathroom right now, and my three cats are not sure what to think about the mewing and scratching they hear on the other side of the door! I feel bad that he has to be in there all alone, but I know that's what is best because he may have a disease, parasites, fleas...who knows! And I don't want to stress out my kitties anyway.

So now I'm looking for local no-kill shelters to take him. I've only found two that are close enough so far, and they aren't answering the phone. The humane society in my town is full, so they won't take him. And the second nearest humane society is not a no-kill shelter. I will take him there if I have to, but I would rather find someplace that I know will care for him until they find him a forever home. He really deserves someone to love him. He is such a sweet baby, already wanting tummy rubbin's and crawling all over me like I'm his mamma. He has the cutest way of wagging his tail really fast whenever we come in to pet him. I just want to find a good home for him!

Anybody in Southern Illinois wanting another kitten?

Here are some pics:
Wagging his cute little tail!

Chowing down on breakfast...yum!

What a sweet little face!

Is there any way you can foster him until a group can find placement for him?

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Is there any way you can foster him until a group can find placement for him?

Click to expand...

Well, DH and I haven't even discussed that possibility, but I'm guessing he'd really rather not go that route. He wants me to find a shelter or other rescue organization that can take care of him, so that's what I'm trying to do. It's just that we don't have many in the area, and I haven't been able to reach anyone at the places I have called so far. Plus, we're going out of town a couple of times over the holidays, so it wouldn't be feasible for us to take in a foster right now. We already have to have a friend come care for our other 3 cats while we're gone as it is. If it were entirely up to me, and we weren't going to be gone so much, I'd be more than willing to foster...but I'm not the only one who lives here...so I have to think of what's best for everyone involved.

What really annoys me, working at a shelter, is that the "no kill" shelters control their population at the front door, instead of the back door. If you tell someone that you can't take an animal, and it's some sort of stray or cast-off, you are killing it almost as surely as if you took it in, tried for a while to get it adopted, and then euthanized it. Neither is good. I argue with myself all the time which one is really better.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

What really annoys me, working at a shelter, is that the "no kill" shelters control their population at the front door, instead of the back door. If you tell someone that you can't take an animal, and it's some sort of stray or cast-off, you are killing it almost as surely as if you took it in, tried for a while to get it adopted, and then euthanized it. Neither is good. I argue with myself all the time which one is really better.

Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying. But I don't think I could live with myself helping an organization - knowing that they put down a perfectly healthy animal because they couldn't find it a home, or it had been there "too long."

The solution is getting animals fixed and having more responsible pet owners. Sigh... good luck with that... right?

Well, I think I did one of the hardest things I've ever done in my whole life today. I called every last shelter in our area, and every last one said "Sorry, but we are not taking any cats right now." I wanted to say, "Come on, people...he's one tiny little kitten who is starving. Don't you have room for just one?" But I knew that wouldn't help. I talked to my husband again and again, but there was no alternative. So, tearfully, I had to take this sweet little kitten to the only place left, knowing that there is a 90% chance he will be euthanized. I pray that because he is a kitten and is so tame that they will at least test him for any diseases and give him a chance to be adopted if he is healthy. But there was nothing else we could do this time around. My comfort is that God knows when even one sparrow falls to the ground, so I'm sure he is watching over this little baby as well. And I also take comfort in the fact that for at least one night he was well-fed, warm and loved. But I am still crying as I type this. What a difficult decision to make. I don't know how people do this on a regular basis.

I sympathize with the decision that you had to make, I am sorry for you. And I believe as you do that God knows when a sparrow falls and I believe you found that little kitten for a reason. Despite the fact that shelters are full, isn't that what they are there for? To take in homeless animals and give them shelter? It is certainly in his favor that he is a kitten, and a cute one to boot, and as long as he checks out health wise there is a good chance he will make it to the adoption floor.

As a sidenote, and maybe this will cheer you up, this summer I found a stray while I was feeding my feral. He ran right up to me-he was desperate to be rescued-so he came home with me-and he is still here. Within 10 days, 2 more showed up and about 6 weeks ago, yet another. All 4 cats were most probably from the same litter-part Persian and about 2 years old. I took the first one and also had 3 fosters in addition to my own. I felt horrible to send the others to the shelter especially right in the middle of kitten season, but all three were spayed/neutered and all adopted out within a week of their arrival. We left a "donation" for their care and kept calling about them. At least he is not cold or hungry or in danger, and prayerfully will find a forever home.

Sending mega TCS prayers and vibes that your little find has the great fortune of being adopted out from the shelter Maybe if you tell the others at your church what has happened, they will go down and get him.
I recently felt overwhelmed & discouraged, and when I happened across a sad cat story, I wondered out loud why God lets these things go on. and with a Mysterious Wisdom, my brain-damaged daughter replied that it's not God's fault, that He is wondering why the people here on Earth are letting these things happen to His cats.

If this black kitten was a little boy, can you offer to pay for neutering in order to give him a better chance? I do one every month at our shelter, and almost all of them eventually got adopted (one went to barn rescue). It's only $25 at our vet's office.