Vibes for 2 strays please!

My husband and I have a "cat house" outside that we had built for us, wooden with a top lid we can open to put food and water inside and a small heating lamp at the top for warmth. We have also modified our shed with straw & blankets and a heating lamp for strays. Throughout the winter we fed a revolving number of kitties who also snoozed in these accommodations. We unfortunately live near a busy highway and whenever a kitty is not seen for awhile, we assume the worst. For this reason we try to find homes for as many as possible. We have been able to place 5 cats with homes within the past 1.5 yrs, kept two of the cats we found and the rest (maybe 5 or 6) have disappeared sadly. Well in the past week, three more have shown up. One is a large grey feral who won't let us get close but definitely appreciates the food. We are working on a plan to trap & neuter if needed.
One is a small torti girl who is SO loving. She comes to our doorstep to meow for food, and anytime she sees us she runs up to us for attention. We are trying to find her a home but so far have not had luck.
The other is a little black male who we first noticed Saturday night. We were leaving to go out and he was asleep under my husbands car. He ran away immediatly. Sunday during the day we were feeding & petting the torti and I heard a loud cat wailing...went to the shed and the black kitty was sitting on the blanket meowing. We fed him two cans of food and the poor thing ate like he hadn't eaten in weeks. He is literally skin and bones....so tiny and skinny. We got him some water too and he let us pick him up and love on him for a few. The torti ran up, spooked him and he left. I was worried because we had not seen him again this week.
Today I was out feeding the torti and heard a loud meowing. The black kitty was sitting at the edge of our yard crying. When he saw me he ran right to me. I noticed he was walking funny and was still so so so skinny. I picked him up and we brought him into our guest room. He has been chowing down on some dry food and drinking a ton of water and getting a lot of love. He is neutered but my main concern is that he has a large slightly healing gash on his belly/crook of his leg. Also, all the hair is missing from the areas around it. We have him locked in our guest room right now so none of our cats can get near him, and I am calling in the morning to make a vet appt. We can't afford a lot of testing for him or anything until next week when we are paid but we at least want the gash checked out and to see if the vet can tell his age because we think he is older.
Please send vibes for this kitty, and for us to find homes for the torti soon, and the black one once he is healed more! Neither of them are typical outdoor kitties...as soon as they see people they want love and attention so I really think they would benefit from a loving home...I just hope I can find one for them! Any advice on caring for them until I can find a home, or ways to find homes is much appreciated. Right now I am just trying via word of mouth through friends!

I hope the black kitty can be healed quickly! I hope they both find good homes soon

AW What wonderful people you are. I will hope the black kitty will be alright. You are very kind to help this poor kitty. Lots of for black kitty and torti..

Awww....

As to finding homes for kitties.... you can run a "classified" at Petfinder. You can also call yourself something like "Joey's Kitty Rescue" and get a letter from your vet addressed to Petfinder saying... well, here are the guidelines: http://www.petfinder.com/register/index.html. To register as a Petfinder member, you also need an adoption contract. (You don't need this just to post a classified).

We worked with our vet office. I don't know how close you are to yours, but the staff there would keep our kitties in mind when people called them looking for cats. Also, most of the vet offices around here have bulletin boards and "adoption books," so you can make a brochure, print it out, and put it up on those boards and in their books. Also, a lot of local stores here have bulletin boards, or let people tape things on the inside of their windows.

And as to the word of mouth... the best thing is to just become "the crazy cat people." We just ask everyone - especially in the pet isle, or people checking out with cat food. But almost literally everyone. Someone standing in line next to us at the supermarket. The cashier. The lady who cuts my hair, the gas station attendant (found a great home for a kitty that way LOL, and we do check references and use an adoption contract)... anywhere you go to run your errands. Make sure you've got a stack of brochures in your car just in case someone says... you know, I might know someone.

Thanks for the vibes and info! We spoke to a rescue near us yesterday but they were not much help yet. Just suggested that we post them on Craigslist with pictures. They are full but said they can see about any barns or cat colonies that they know of...obviously we would rather have a home for the kitties. The good thing they said is if we send pictures they will post the cats on their website. We are moving in about a month, so we have a month to find these kitties a home. The rescue said if we don't find one within a month, they will take them and somehow find them a place even if it is in a barn.
We have both kitties inside in our guest room....we were nervous leaving them together but set up two hiding spaces for them within the room so they have their own space. They are doing really well in the room together, and love when we come in to freshen up food/water and sit with them for awhile. They both love being petted and purr like crazy.

You ask what you can do for them? You are doing it.....loving and caring for them.

What quality people you are. The world needs a few milliion more like you.

Oh that is WONDERFUL news! Sounds like a great shelter.

for you and the kitties!

So happy you are able to get some help from a rescue organization. Sounds like everything is working out for the kitties and what a wonderful new lease on life you are giving them , Good luck with them and also good luck with your upcoming move

We might have a home for torti! We believe she is fixed...mainly because she is a kinda chunky female...and the female cats we have had don't become chunky in the way she is unless they are fixed. However we are not sure...but we advertised her as "possibly spayed"
Anyway, a woman contacted us who is looking for a friendly loving cat for her mom. This woman works with a rescue in our town and has been looking through adoptable cats for her mom..I guess her mom had two cats that were close and one passed away. The remaining cat is nice and loving but not so much a lap cat, and is really missing the other cat. She saw the pictures of the torti and liked that the torti is really loving and craves attention. She gave us a vet to call for a reference for her mom and we are going to do a home visit but it sounds like this might work out! I really hope so...the torti isn't getting as much attention as we would like since the black kitty is having some issues, so we have been really hoping to find her a home asap.
lets hope this works out!!

I really hope the tortie finds her forever home

The vet should be able to shave a little part of the tortie's belly to see if there's a scar there.
How's the black kitty doing??

One great post after another lately!!!! This is fantastic for Miss torti and for you. Your wonderful efforts are paying off. Doing a home check is a great loving gesture for this kitty to make sure she will be well cared for. Sounds like the perfect home. Please keep the updates coming
for Miss torti and black kitty

Sad... Hubby checked his email this morning and the woman who we had set up a home visit with about adopting torti found a kitten they decided to get instead. So we are back to square 1 with getting torti a home. I feel so bad for these two kitties being stuck in our guest room all day. We stop in to see them first thing in the morning for a few, I go up and scoop the litter, freshen food & water and spend some time petting them...then after hubby is home from work we go up two times for saltwater flushes of black kitties wound, and spend some time petting them. But I feel like they are bored or lonely or missing affection...I mean, they are getting better care then they were when outside but it still is sad to me that they are just stuck in the room.
SO this update is a little crappy but we just need to start over finding her a home and will hopefully find one soon. Black kitty is doing okay...we are flushing his wound with a lukewarm saltwater solution 3-4 times a day. Last night we opened a can of food and he hopped off the futon where he has been sleeping, and ate like a little piggy which was the most energy he has had since Saturday so that is looking good! He is seeming to be in not as much pain and is letting us pick him up to get to his wound a lot easier so that helps a lot.

Aw sweetie, I'm sorry.

Continued !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really, they are alright in that room!!! Do not worry, they are safe, they are being cared for, they are being fed, they are being loved and they know you are there for them. Plus they have eachother too . Cats love a routine and will just look forward to the time you have to spend with them. I am sad to hear about those other people not wanting torti but then it was not meant to be. You will be able to find homes, and I bet maybe they could even be adopted together. More positive thoughts for you, you are doing a wonderful thing for these kitties, don't forget that, they would be so much worse off if not for you