trying to rehome a cat and having a horrible time

I live in the northeast, in a very small state with no big city. Our Humane Society is small but very nice. The animals are very well cared for and kept for a very long time. The have special needs cats that they absolutely do not kill. They advertise these kitties on the early morning news and in the newspaper. The place is always clean with plenty of volunteers to take care of and play with all the kitties there. No, not all shelters are the same, but there are good ones out there and lots and lots of cats do get adopted.

As a side note; I had to put the best cat in the world to sleep last summer. She had cancer and got to the point where she was not able to eat. It broke my heart to do such a thing. I was absolutely devastated at her passing. I miss her every single day. I would never, ever do such a thing unless I had no choice, as in my cat suffering as she was. It's a horrible thing to go through. I would never tell anyone to do that.

Jeh, let us know how you're doing.

Originally Posted by Jeh

It's a six room house and the landlord comes around once a month. The other housemates are also not ok with the cat roaming the house.

I don't know if a feliway diffuser is needed. I think the only reason she urinated in her carrier is because she was so afraid.

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The diffuser could help keep her calm do she doesn't destroy things.

Originally Posted by bastetservant

Willowy, I'm sorry your experience with shelters has been so bad. But really they are not all so terrible. At the shelter where I am involved, and others I know alot about, owner surrendered cats are taken in every day. At times the shelter is very full, however cats are abandoned there, found on the doorstep at 6 a.m. (in cardboard boxes or carriers) very, very often. So even if the shelter is not accepting adult cats at the time because of space, some people find a way. And, again, all the cats are cared for for the rest of their natural lives, if they aren't adopted.

To condemn this poor cat to death, at the prime of life, for no reason, but just because the owner's circumstances have changed, and not give her a chance for a new life in a home with love, well, I don't believe you mean that. You can't.

And shelters I know of that are "truly" no-kill are located in northern Illinois farm country, 50 miles or more from a big city. So even rural areas can have such places.

Robin

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I second Robin's post. I also live about an hour or more from a big city and we have quite a few no-kill shelters (rural areas) to choose from. The one I volunteer for TRULY takes excellent care of all cats, no matter what the circumstances of them being abandoned at the shelter, no matter how sick they are (they treat, even for ringworm whereas some shelters euthanize for ringworm ), no matter how old they are, no matter how bad their temperaments might be, they are cared for and get medical attention until they get new homes or for life if needed.

If you can find a shelter like the ones near me, your cat WILL have a chance. Please don't listen to someone telling you are giving your cat a death sentence if you do this. Your girl has a chance at life that way, and she deserves that. I am hoping you can find a home for her on your own though and just sending you more vibes for that to come true!!

Well, it certainly is nice that so many of you live in places where the cat overpopulation problem is so firmly under control! Must be lovely. However, that's definitely not the case in most areas. Even if there are some no-kill shelters in a given area, usually if you average the cat kill rate of ALL the shelters in that area (because, of course, the cats the limited-intake shelters turn away are just taken to the other shelters), it's almost always very high, 60% at least.

So while individual shelters might be very good at getting adult cats with not-so-adoptable personalities adopted out--and if the owner can find a place like that with an opening to take their cat it could work out favorably for the cat--in general being taken to a shelter is a death sentence for an adult cat, and I will never be comfortable telling anyone it would be fine to take their cat to a shelter, giving them false hope.

If someone were doing research trying to find their options, they would do well to ask for a shelter census from the shelter they're considering, to see the real kill stats (even if the shelter calls itself "no-kill")..

I for one never said the overpopulation problem was under control.
As for the "must be lovely" remark; it was "catty".

No, the cat overpopulation problem is not solved. But what does that have to do with anything we are talking about here? The OP came here to try to get help for the specific problem affecting this specific cat. This cat deserves a chance - as they all do. But we are not talking statistics here. We are talking about this person's long time pet. Seems awfully cold and heartless to tell s/he to kill the cat, under these circumstances.

If the OP can find a good shelter, then that's a much better choice than having the cat killed. Why shouldn't that happen? Because finding a good shelter is too much work?

I hope that society evolves enough so that high kill shelters disappear. Until then, I'll do what I can to save one cat at a time, as so many here do.

The OP did start a new thread asking about how to keep this cat content in one room. I hope s/he is going to try that. That's the best thing for the innocent feline, and for the cat parent, who obviously cares for the cat.

Robin

Originally Posted by bastetservant

If the OP can find a good shelter, then that's a much better choice than having the cat killed. Why shouldn't that happen? Because finding a good shelter is too much work?

Robin

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t

No, not because it's too much work. It's because for the most part finding a good, no-kill shelter to take in your 7-year old tabby is not possible. It simply isn't. It's not that there aren't great shelters out there that adopt out adult cats. There are many. But the problem is that they are all full and don't take in new cats, especially not owner surrenders. Like the OP found out the local shelter don't take in cats at all. When they do it will be the most needy cats that get a spot.
This is not a unique situation. It's extremely common and in any area at any given time there will probably be hundreds or thousands of people wanting to get their cat into a shelter because they are moving. The shelters and rescues get calls and emails every day and they just can't help them all. You may think that this is not about statistics and is just about helping one cat. But all the millions of cats euthanized in the US every year is just one cat that nobody could help. There are so many of them and so few places that will take them so thinking that you can find a good shelter for your cat is not realistic. It may sound mean and cold to recommend euthanasia but with the way reality is it is the most humane option. In my opinion putting a 7-year old cat that has lived in a home her whole life in a shelter is cruel. The majority of shelters keep their cats in small cages and the cat will sit there terrified and miserable until his time is up. That is the reality for the vast majority of cats that come to shelters.
Yes, there are people that adopt adult cats but there aren't four million of them each year and that's what's needed to get all cats adopted.

The cats that are in good, cageless, no-kill shelters or rescues are the very lucky ones. They are a small percentage of the number of cats needing new homes. It bothers me that people don't understand how dire the situation is and that there is no help out there. People really believe that if you just call a shelter and tell them that you have no other options they will help because that's what they are there for. Don't you realize that they get hundreds of calls like that every week? Do you really think these good, no-kill shelters can accept all these hundreds of cats? If they did they would soon have over a thousand cats and there aren't space for that many. There are open intake shelters that do take in every cat that comes to them but to avoid having several thousand cats they have to euthanize and in many areas the euthanasia rate of cats is over 90%. In areas with less of a problem it's 50-60%.

I think if people truly understood how dire the situation is and that if you can't keep your cat there are no other options maybe they would make more of an effort to keep their cats. There are so many people giving up their pets because they are moving. In the majority of situations it really is not necessary. You just have to be proactive in finding a place where you can bring your pets. It's possible even if you don't have a lot of money and not much time. It takes work though but people believe that their cat can just go to one of those nice shelters and everything will be fine. In real life it doesn't work like that.

If you don't believe me why don't you help me find a place to take Goliath, a black and white stray that needs rescue asap. Help me make some phone calls and send some emails to shelters and rescues in your area and see if you can find one to take this one cat that is in desperate need to get off the street. We can arrange transportation if rescue is found for him in another part of the country. So far I've been looking for weeks for a place to take Goliath and most never even respond to my emails. Maybe others would be more lucky in their parts of the country.

Frankly, Ziggy's mom, I didn't read your whole post, but I got the gist after the first paragraph or two. I know all about the whole issue. I'm not misinformed or niave, and I spend 3-6 hours of my life every week giving love and attention to shelter cats, getting them out of cages, playing with them, and generally improving their lives. Many people do this, including members here. It's discouraging at times, but so very worthwhile. I also help get a lot of cats adopted.

If you or others are living someplace where the shelters are so bad that you think death is better than a stay there, then maybe you should take an active role in improving your shelters. There are dozens of shelters in my area where cats are living in clean, healthy environments, with excellent medical care, lots of attention, and stimulating environments.

I'm just appalled that euthanasia is being advised over placement in a decent shelter. I've already addressed the "shelter is full" issue.

Really this is supposed to be a forum to help cats and their owners. You just want to give up on them.

Robin

I didn't see the OP's other post. I'm so glad she is willing to give it a try. I hate the thought of any pet kitty going to a shelter. Worse than that is the thought of any pet kitty being put to sleep. I think there are good shelters and bad shelters. Every cat is not miserable in a shelter. The only cats in cages at our shelter are sick cats so to say they are caged for the rest of their lives is just wrong.

Every cat should have the chance to have a home. Every cat. This person's cat is not sick and does not have behaviors that would prevent her from being adopted. I can't imagine anyone thinking death would be better than life at a shelter. Cats spent thousands of years living together without the help or interference from people. They are not people and I think we need to remember that they have their own set of standards that are not the same as ours.

I got my last kitty Tess from a shelter across the lake in another state. I went there because the place was small and over crowded. Much more so that the shelter near me. Though there was hardly room to walk in that place, they did have an outside enclosure they could go to and every cat was well cared for and loved by the people working there. I doubt very much that you would find a person who gives their time to a shelter to agree that death is the way to go.

Your "solution to the shelter being full" is to abandon the cat outside the shelter without permission? That's illegal (you can be charged with abandonment), and most no-kill shelters will not accept the animals left outside and will just take them to the local kill shelter, otherwise they would be overrun by illegally-left animals once the word spread. I wouldn't consider that "addresssing" the issue at all.

Yes, cats have lived for thousands of years without humans interference, and will continue to do so, but that isn't really relevant here. If they lived without human interference, they didn't live in shelters or cages, and I doubt they would choose to do so. But this is a pet housecat, not a feral, so living in the wild without human interference isn't an option.

I do not think death is the best option here. I think the OP keeping the cat, or finding an appropriate new home for her, would be the best option. I also think that taking the cat to a shelter MEANS death, so if death is inevitable it's better she dies with people she knows. It is not about the conditions at the shelter. . .if they kill her it doesn't really matter how nicely they kept her before she was killed. Maybe living at the shelter is better than death with people she knows, but dying at the shelter, alone and terrified among strangers, is NOT.

I also think that if people knew the kill stats for their local shelters, they would try harder to keep their pets or find them new homes instead of merrily dumping their pets at the shelter for other people to kill, going on their way feeling fine that their kitty will get a nice new home, when it's just not true. Many city Animal Control shelters have close to 100% kill rates for cats (and remember, if the cat is dropped at a full no-kill shelter without permission, the city shelter is the probable end location).

PS: if shelters in a particular area are no longer killing cats and are able to adopt them out easily, this does mean that there is no longer an overpopulation problem in that area.

*waving the white flag*

Originally Posted by bastetservant

Frankly, Ziggy's mom, I didn't read your whole post, but I got the gist after the first paragraph or two....I'm just appalled that euthanasia is being advised over placement in a decent shelter. I've already addressed the "shelter is full" issue.

Really this is supposed to be a forum to help cats and their owners. You just want to give up on them.

Robin

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Actually, I think reading the whole post was important, in this case.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

...I think if people truly understood how dire the situation is and that if you can't keep your cat there are no other options maybe they would make more of an effort to keep their cats. There are so many people giving up their pets because they are moving. In the majority of situations it really is not necessary....

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I do understand both points of view here. There are some excellent shelters and foster networks out our way - not a lot, but they exist. There are two no-kill that I know of. Sadly, many are high-volume, cage-oriented, high turnover shelters. It REALLY depends upon the community and funding, however.

Thankfully, TNR is becoming more and more accepted out this way, so shelter admission rates are dropping in a lot of places in NJ.

But especially during kitten season, an owner surrender is nearly impossible. So is placing strays or kittens unless you're early in the season. In fact, that's why Gary and I got involved in TNR on our own in the first place. Shelters and rescue groups wouldn't help and many were outright rude.

I'm going to go look for the thread about how to make a kitty happy in one room. With 8 cats and two people in an RV (38 x 8), I've got some tips.

Originally Posted by Willowy

PS: if shelters in a particular area are no longer killing cats and are able to adopt them out easily, this does mean that there is no longer an overpopulation problem in that area.

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I'm not so sure I agree with this. It may just mean TNR is lowering admission rates.

"I'm just appalled that euthanasia is being advised over placement in a decent shelter"

Nobody is advising to euthanize a cat over putting him in a decent shelter. What I'm saying is that it's really hard to get a cat into a decent shelter and that leaves only open intake shelters. When that's the only option, which is usually is, it is kinder to euthanize a cat. The good shelters are full. You don't seem to understand that.

I live in the same area you do - near Chicago. There are several good shelters around here but if you check with them you'll find that they are not accepting new cats. The ones that do are places like Chicago animal care and control or the Anti-Cruelty Society where the majority of cats are put down. Have you ever been to CACC? If so do you really think it's kind to put a 7-year old cat who has always lived in a home as a pet in a cage at that shelter? These cats sit there terrified, depressed, bored, sick. If he's "lucky" enough not to be euthanized he will sit in that little cage for probably over a year. That's a horrible way to live, especially for a cat who is used to being loved and cared for. The owner surrenders always do the worst. If he is not "lucky" enough to be kept alive he will sit there terrified, depressed, bored and sick until some staff members hold him down on a table and give him a shot to stop his heart. All the while he's probably panic stricken. Putting your cat through that is cruel.

If you can find one of the great shelters you volunteer at for a cat needing a new home then that's great. But tell me, how many cats have you managed to place in such a shelter? I personally haven't been able to place a single one. I have gotten a few purebred cats into rescues but for a regular domestic shorthair I have only been that lucky once and that's among dozens of homeless cats and cat's about to be euthanized that I've sought rescue for.

I'm a part owner of a cat rescue. I have my house full of cats that nobody else would take. I wish I could take in more but I can't. I get emails all the time about found strays and cats that people want to give up. I got a call a couple of weeks ago from a lady who had 25 cats with several sick ones and others dying. A couple had had to have their eyes removed due to eye infections. I really do want to help them all. To say that I want to give up on them is ridiculous. But I'm realistic and I know what resources are out there. It's not the rosy way you think. Every cat don't get a chance even though they deserve it.

Originally Posted by LDG

I'm not so sure I agree with this. It may just mean TNR is lowering admission rates.

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TNR helps lower admission rates, and kill rates, since in places without TNR ferals are always killed in shelters. But the definition of "overpopulation" is "more cats than demand calls for". If cats are being adopted out easily, then obviously demand is keeping up with the cat population, ergo, no overpopulation.

I don't think there is any place in the U.S. where cat overpopulation is not a problem, but since people were raving about how every shelter in their area is excellent and cats are never killed there I thought it needed saying.

If I were in any way able to find a good no-kill shelter that wasn't full, I wouldn't have 20 cats in my house, that's for sure. Not like I haven't tried.

Originally Posted by Willowy

TNR helps lower admission rates, and kill rates, since in places without TNR ferals are always killed in shelters. But the definition of "overpopulation" is "more cats than demand calls for". If cats are being adopted out easily, then obviously demand is keeping up with the cat population, ergo, no overpopulation.

I don't think there is any place in the U.S. where cat overpopulation is not a problem, but since people were raving about how every shelter in their area is excellent and cats are never killed there I thought it needed saying.

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In my definition, overpopulation is more cats than there are homes for. TNR lowers admission and euthanasia rates, but there are still cats without homes.

I'm new here but not new to cats. First off to the OP my husband and two cats lived in a one room basement suite. We had a cat tree and toys. Yes, it wasn't ideal and I think them having each other definitely helped but we didn't want to get rid of our cats. Due to most places you rent not allowing cats we had already had other people taking care of them for a short time. I understand your pain.

As to the euthanasia it is definitely better than the "kind hearted people" who think leaving their cats at a farm spayed and declawed is better (yes happened perosnally to me and still fuming over it years later).

I hope it works out.

I must have missed the post about leaving a declawed and spayed cat on a farm, just as I missed my own "raving".

I highly doubt this thread is helpful to anyone any longer.

I think people here are making generalizations based on their own experience. Though I have visited alot of shelters, I only really know the details of how two work, the one where I volunteer, and one run by a friend in rural Illinois. Those two place in homes hundreds of cats each year. One doesn't hardly have cages. The other one is an older building, and it has alot of cats in cages. But about 30 are loose in the room. A cat will eventually be loose, unless they have to be on a special diet, or can't get along with other cats, or they are not well. The cats in cages are taken out alot, by volunteers. The longest cat residents at that shelter, are about 3 years. At the other shelter, less than 2 years.

Cats are abandoned, and they are all always taken in. If that is illegal, I never have heard that. No animals are EVER turned over to pounds or high kill shelters. In fact these shelters rescue cats and dogs from high kill shelters, when they have space. Adult cats are brought in all the time as strays, or more often by owners. The usual reasons are having to move to a place they can't have cats, or allergies.

I'm telling the truth, though some don't seem to believe me. I know there are bad shelters, and I don't need to be lectured about the whole issue. I know. I never said all shelters are good places. But some are. And in those places cats and dogs have a reasonably good quality of life. If your experience with shelters is different, I'm sorry, and I believe you. But that doesn't mean that northeastern Illinois is the only place with good, well functioning shelters (and I know about the bad ones in the area as well as a lot of others that seem to be good). These two shelter I know well have the mission of taking in homeless pets, taking good care of them, in every way, and moving them out as fast as possible. As animals go to homes, new ones have to come in - or they'd be out of business.

If owners aren't bringing in cats, where are they coming from? If a shelter is placing in homes 30 to 100 cats a month, as these shelters are, then there is room each month to take in that many more. And we do.

But my whole initial point was that stating that this cat, the one this thread was started about, would not be better off pts than given a chance for a new home by placing her in a good shelter, is not fair or true.

If you call a shelter and ask if they have space is a lot different than taking the cat in and explaining the situation.

And ferals are not disposed of either in these shelters. There are TNR organizations they work with.

Robin

Guys, she has other thread.... She tried to rehome, didn't work out, brought the kitty back... Now is considering taking her in with her - she needs opinions, ideas on how to make it work, and support: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=231384

Of course it's illegal to leave your animal somewhere without permission--that's the definition of abandonment, which is illegal, I think, in every state. If the shelter chooses not to prosecute, that's their choice, but it doesn't make it any more legal.

A lot of no-kill shelters do turn abandoned animals over to kill shelters when they're full . I don't know that they'd do with them otherwise--full means "no more room", after all. Nice that yours doesn't (what DO they do with them if there's no room?).

The homeless cat situation is grim. I don't think anyone should be given false hope or be lead to believe that leaving a pet cat at a shelter is a dandy idea, that's all.

When new strays show up, I'd be willing to drive to Chicago to place them in a nice shelter if it meant they wouldn't be killed and I wouldn't have to keep them. Are you REALLY telling me that if I showed up at your shelter with a few adult cats with unknown behavior, they'd take them, no problem? Fix their health issues and any behavioral issues, and somehow find enough people who want to adopt adult cats? Somehow I really doubt it.