Need help finding new home for my cats

I have had my 2 male cats for almost 7 years but unfortunately I need to find them a new home.

Reason is that 1 of the cats nipped at my daughter's head a couple of months ago while she sat in a bouncy seat (she was 8 months at the time).

She was ok as he only seemed to get her hair.

The cats have never really been around young children, but when they have it hasn't gone well.  I am afraid that something worse will happen to my daughter.

I really have be distraught over this decision since I am worried about finding them a good home.

I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago and have done a bit of research on shelters, but I would love to just find a good home for them (no kids or older kids).

Can anyone help me!?

Thank you.

Where are you located?  Can you share more information about your cats?  Indoor only?

I am sorry for your kitties and this situation....

I live in that area but that is really tough especially right now with kitten season in full swing and all of these stray mom cats needing new homes too after birthing kittens. SO many. But I would suggest that you keep calling local shelters. PAWS in Chicago would be a good start. There is also Animal House Shelter in Huntley, IL.http://www.animalhouseshelter.com/ Not sure they have room, but Jane is the Feline Director and is one of the most generous, compassionate people I have ever met. We do have a large foster network so that is a possibility. :cross:

Good evening and thanks for the replies.

I am in the Lake Zurich area.  

The cats are pretty friendly with adults.  They don't usually like to be held, but love sitting on laps or if you are stretched out down on your legs.  

Their names are Luciano and Napoleon.  I would consider them short hairs. They have been indoor cats only.

Feralvr thank you for the ideas.  I am familiar with PAWs and was considering giving them a call but wanted to see if there are closer options. 

I will add some pics when I can find a few good ones.

Thank you.

On the left is Luciano and the right is Napoleon.  Such fun cats I am surely going to miss them but need to find them a good home.

Any other ideas than PAWs or AHS?

Thank you!

I'm also in the NW suburbs of Chicago and unfortunately I have to give you some bad news - you are not going to be able to find a shelter, other than a high kill city pound, to take your cats. PAWS doesn't have any space and if they do they take in cats that are about to be euthanized or are in some other bad or dangerous situation. Most area shelters are the same way. Owner surrenders are far down on the priority list.  It's kitten season right now which makes it even worse. Shelters all over the place are overflowing with kittens. I just got an email the other day from a downstate rescue looking for placement for 12 kittens and a few adults who are scheduled to be put down this week. Most likely most of them have already been put down.

In a situation as desperate as this your cats unfortunately don't have a good chance to get in anywhere. The fact that they are 7-years old and gray tabbies doesn't help either as they are not considered to be very adoptable since most people want young, exotic looking cats. There are of course shelters that will accept any cat but because they get so many coming in they have to euthanize a lot of them to make space. Some, like The Anti-Cruelty Society, will accept any pet but then put them in a van and take them over the the city shelter where the majority are put down.

I don't mean to sound negative but I've been in the cat rescue business for a while now and the sad truth is that it's extremely hard to find a good shelter or a good new home for an adult domestic shorthair. There are about six thousand cats in the Chicago area available for adoption so the competition is fierce.

It doesn't hurt to try to get them into a good no-kill shelter and advertise them to try to find them a new home but please prepare for the possibility that there may not be any good options. I have foster cats that I've tried to find homes for for two years with nobody interested in them. If I were you I would try to find a way to keep them. If you don't believe they are safe around your baby you can separate them and have the cats live in a separate room where they would have no contact with her. Cats can do just fine living in just one room. A bedroom would work well. It may not be ideal but it's a whole lot better than a little cage in a shelter for months and months or being separated in new homes where they may not be well cared for or worse. If there is a will to keep them there is a way and I'm sure you love your cats and want the best for them and of course the best for them is to get to stay together in their own home. Anything else would be very, very traumatic for them and I'm sure you don't want that. What do you think? Is there a way to keep them?
 

AWW they are really pretty - Luciano and Napoleon :heart3: I feel really bad for them and this situation. I do agree with Ziggy'smom in that it will be a challenge to find them a shelter situation. Makes me sad for them because even is let's say Sav-a-Pet in Grayslake has an opening OR even Animal House Shelter in Huntley - they both have main cat rooms where the cats roam free. Yes - they can live out their lives there - but it is a highly stressful environment and they will be living with at least 80 other cats. Ideally, it would be best for you to try to find a family member, a friend, or friend of a friend to take them together. I would want them to stay together. Could you possibly keep them in a separate room, as Ziggysmom suggested, at least until you can find them a loving home yourself? What about going to the local vet's, groomer's and pet stores in the area and posting a flyer. I would try anything else like that first before resorting to a shelter environment. They are both beautiful cats.... wish I could help more.

I agree in trying to keep them separate from your daughter for now.  Once she is a bit older, it may be easier. 

As a child, my aunt had a calico cat who did not like little kids.  The cat pretty much lived in their bedroom while the little kids were awake, and when the little kids went to bed, they shut the door to the kids rooms to let the cat venture out and explore.  We were older than our cousins and when we visited, we just knew to not bother the cat, she did not like to be petted.  Not a big deal for us, we just called her 'grouchy cat' and left hear alone.  Come to think of it, I had a great aunt with a similar cat.  A big tuxedo cat who was a senior cat.  She also did not like petted.  It really was not an issue for us kids.