We cannot afford to help them anymore...

I never saod you had a lavish lifestyle. I was making a point that a lot of us are suffering. And you cant assume that no one will want the cats...you can put them on craigslist and at least try. And im sure that if you really explained the the rescues the situation and that the shelters are going to kill a very young cat they would drive and hour and keep them. I cant see them turning away young cats to be killed. Sorry but i dont believe it. I see rescues driving 4-5 hours and making "rescue trains" to transport animals to other STATES to get animals out of shelters.

Are those your cats in your pictures?

Well going through your posts and talking about "binky" and then going through your pictures and the names of the cat i got my answer. I find it funny that you say you have no furniture besides a bed but yet...."so apparently Cookie is able to get up onto the "big cat bed" (aka The Couch) on his own. Found him and his momma like this last night." so obviously you also own a couch. Now...owning a couch doesnt make you rich by no means but LYING about the extent of how hard you have it makes me skeptical about the other things you saym especially since you seems to have an answer for EVERYTHING, EVERYONE is suggesting to you. If youre asking for "advice" and "help" yet your shooting down everything...im wondering...WHAT exactly are you looking for?

KushMama89 said:

Well going through your posts and talking about "binky" and then going through your pictures and the names of the cat i got my answer. I find it funny that you say you have no furniture besides a bed but yet...."so apparently Cookie is able to get up onto the "big cat bed" (aka The Couch) on his own. Found him and his momma like this last night." so obviously you also own a couch. Now...owning a couch doesnt make you rich by no means but LYING about the extent of how hard you have it makes me skeptical about the other things you saym especially since you seems to have an answer for EVERYTHING, EVERYONE is suggesting to you. If youre asking for "advice" and "help" yet your shooting down everything...im wondering...WHAT exactly are you looking for?

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That is a bit harsh, IMO. So what if she didn't list every single thing in their home? Please don't judge. It's hard when you have very little money, limited transportation, and in an area that feels that a dead cat is a good cat. Feeling hopeless and helpless is not a good feeling. I've been there, so I speak from experience.

Revenwyn, here is a link to no kill shelters in Arkansas (note that not all are kitty related). Hopefully one of those would be accommodating. Also, here's a site with a lot of info and links for low income families and their pets: Rose's Fund for Animals.

In Arkansas there is also a food pantry for pets:

Jonesboro, AR
Animeals - NAFA's Animal Food Pantry
There are qualifications to meet. Also, offering low cost vaccination clinics once a month. Locals can call and leave a message. Someone will call back within 24-48 hours.
Phone: 870-932-1955

My heart goes out to you guys and the babies. You are in my prayers big time! If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

WhollyCat said:

That is a bit harsh, IMO. So what if she didn't list every single thing in their home? Please don't judge. It's hard when you have very little money, limited transportation, and in an area that feels that a dead cat is a good cat. Feeling hopeless and helpless is not a good feeling. I've been there, so I speak from experience.

Revenwyn, here is a link to no kill shelters in Arkansas (note that not all are kitty related). Hopefully one of those would be accommodating. Also, here's a site with a lot of info and links for low income families and their pets: Rose's Fund for Animals.

In Arkansas there is also a food pantry for pets:

Jonesboro, AR
Animeals - NAFA's Animal Food Pantry
There are qualifications to meet. Also, offering low cost vaccination clinics once a month. Locals can call and leave a message. Someone will call back within 24-48 hours.
Phone: 870-932-1955

My heart goes out to you guys and the babies. You are in my prayers big time! If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

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I do not have transportation. Unfortunately  we don't live in the areas those places service. I had already called our closest no kill shelter and they are full and cannot take any more. The nearest cat rescue is also full, especially for kittens. And people do horrible things to animals here. Where I live, it is legal to get a permit to shoot cats for sport. And people do. And if they won't do that most people around here want to declaw indoor cats. I will not give the kittens to anyone who will declaw them. I can explain to them what declawing is until I am blue in the face and it won't change their opinion. Most people who have cats here have outdoor cats, as they don't want fur in the house and scratched up furniture. Those who do have indoor cats declaw.

We have four stores in walking distance. Walmart is too far to even bike, at 5 miles away (that would be 10 miles round trip, which I have not worked up to yet.). Nearest fast food restaurant is also too far to bike for me yet (although I am trying to go farther each time, we live 3 miles from the nearest fast food restaurant that is not on campus, and the campus ones are student work-study. I am not a student, so I am not eligible.)  I have put in applications to those places regardless. I have not had an interview. I'm not surprised. I have no work history. Fortunately I have gotten friendly with one of the store managers in my area and she seems willing to give me a try. But she has to follow protocol too and at least offer interviews to other people. She's still collecting applications but she does have an opening. I hope something comes my way.

I'm going to add this so you can see WHY it's been so hard for me to find work. I am not lying when I say this, and I'm not trying to create "drama" on the forum. But you need to understand.

I was kept in a home where my family pretended to the government to be educating me but really, I had no schooling past 8th grade. They were not required to show actual schoolwork or even standardized testing grades. So past 8th grade all my education was home ec, music, and art, though I did get my GED. I grew up in a cult. I went homeless to escape the cult, escape being sold to the highest bidder (quite literally- my family believed in a "bride price" and they were quite angered when I slipped away and they could not get the $30,000 off of me that the highest bidder promised... the highest bidder was 45 and I was 26...)  I was locked in my room so that I could not go out except to church (eventually it was this bad, but at first I was allowed to pursue a music degree at college so that I could bring in some income from home as a piano teacher, though I was never allowed to finish the program.) I was forced to dress like it was the 1800s. I grew up without radio, computer, tv, movies, or anything. I was supposed to just grow up, get married, and be pregnant at all times and be a stay at home mom. I was never allowed to get a job, not even during the summer. When I escaped 4 years ago, I had nothing and nowhere to turn. I am nearly 30 and have not had a job. I. But without being able to get an interview I cannot explain that I am not a bum but that I was PREVENTED from getting one. Unfortunately in this economy the jobs are pretty much only going to those with experience.

Oh, and about the couch. We used to have one. But four other people had it before us, and it finally broke, soon after that picture in fact. Some bit of good news is that at least our church was willing and able to take care of our electricity bill, so that is off of our shoulders at least for this month.

If you're near any pet stores or grocery stores within walking distance, wander around at different hours of the day/night to see when they throw away broken bags and dented cans.  Might score some dry cat food at least.  (I fed a feral cat colony and asked a big box store if they had any outdated cat food I could have for cheap.  They said because of the threat/possibility of law suits and the then-recent recalls of cat food, the store had no choice but to throw away the food.)  If you fed Raw (as I do for differing reasons), then same principle.  (There are more feral cats around that I don't see/feed; they dumpster dive for food.)

I would love to continue being able to feed raw. We have a pretty cheap store brand of canned cat food that I have looked into, the ingredients are not bad and it's made in the USA. The cats will eat it, it's working to about 75 cents a day right now, but will probably be like $1 once all of them are grown. Currently we're feeding about half canned and half dry, mostly because we're gone from the house for long stretches and we want the cats to have something to nibble on. We're home all morning but gone all afternoon and evening most days.

My husband is high functioning autistic and the cats help him a LOT. That is the main reason we want to do whatever we can to keep them rather than just rehome them. We will rehome them if there is absolutely no other way we can provide for them, but we are not quite there just yet. And hopefully we won't get there.

Revenwyn said:

I would love to continue being able to feed raw. We have a pretty cheap store brand of canned cat food that I have looked into, the ingredients are not bad and it's made in the USA. The cats will eat it, it's working to about 75 cents a day right now, but will probably be like $1 once all of them are grown. Currently we're feeding about half canned and half dry, mostly because we're gone from the house for long stretches and we want the cats to have something to nibble on. We're home all morning but gone all afternoon and evening most days.

My husband is high functioning autistic and the cats help him a LOT. That is the main reason we want to do whatever we can to keep them rather than just rehome them. We will rehome them if there is absolutely no other way we can provide for them, but we are not quite there just yet. And hopefully we won't get there.

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You have a lot of people pulling for you, hun. I am trying to come up with a way to help you, somehow. All of us are. You love your cats and I wish someone in the community would reach out to you and assist you in some small way with the kitties.

I'm glad some others on this forum have been able to offer some help to you, some useful advice, and that you have been able to get a little outside assistance.  I've been reading this subject for some weeks but know I'm in no position to offer real help.

I have some idea of what things are like where you are living. Several years ago, I saw a posting about a couple of deaf cats at a small shelter in rural Ohio. I called the shelter and had a long and shockingly educational talk with the shelter manager. She was a very decent person, doing her best for the dogs and cats in her care, but when she described the shelter (8 cats to a cage and all the cages stacked in the reception area, being the only covered space at the shelter, and all dogs outside all the time) and the negligible number of adoptions, I was horrified.  She was trained to perform euthanasia, which she did every day. Black kittens and cats were euthanized on the day they were brought in because they were never adopted. Only one kitten of each color (except black) was kept for a few days just in case someone came looking for one, then euthanized. Adult cats stayed only a few days before euthanasia also. The numbers were heart-breaking. I think it's wonderful that you are able to face all that in the area where you live and still fight for your cats, making sure they have the best lives you can give them.

Please keep us posted. Even though most of us can only send you our best wishes, we want to know how things are progressing.

By the way, another member of the forum I was on adopted the two deaf cats.
 

Sending along my goodwill vibes to you and the kitties tonight!!! How are you???

We're doing okay for now. Still no job. With my lack of a work history it's hard to get one (did any of you read why I have never had a job?) Fortunately Walmart seems to think we're creditworthy and they keep increasing my husband's credit limit. I just hope I can get a job before it's maxed out. We've got about 25 pounds of dry kibble for now; it was something like $14 at Walmart. Not the best diet for kitties I know, but it is food and it will keep them alive until we can afford to feed them better food. Together, they're eating almost a pound and a half a day. Actually a pound and 5 ounces. So pretty close to what four adults should be eating.

Our vet wants $90 to neuter Cookie and we don't have $90. The closest low cost clinic is in Little Rock, which is an hour away. We're not even sure we have $25 to do that, unless we pull it out from our Walmart credit card. And of course it all depends on if we can find someone willing to drive us to Little Rock to do it. Carly is probably big enough to get spayed, too. She is 3 months old but is probably 3 pounds. Simon is her brother, but doesn't weigh quite 2 pounds yet. I'd rather wait just a little longer to see if Simon can get to 2 pounds and get them all fixed at once, if we can get the help for that, because transportation is limited.

I am at least glad to hear that Walmart is stretching the credit limit for you both. I know times are tough and I pray that you can get through this time. It doesn't matter what the kitties eat, they are loved and very happy. I hope things will work out and that someone will soon offer to help you with getting them spayed and neutered.

Please do not post "free kittens" on Craigslist.  I have heard horror stories of them being used for dog fight practice, gun target practice, food for pet snakes, etc.

Best of luck to you in finding a job.  Try volunteering a few hours a week somewhere you would like to work (if possible).  Once you've proven yourself, apply for the first opening for which you qualify.

Any entry level job is a good way to get your foot in the door to better opportunities.  Waitress, stock shelves, etc.

How are things going this week? Anything yet? 

tjcarst, That's a great idea!    Here's another one, are there any schools close by?  Maybe they could use a volunteer in the office, etc..??

Also, you probably have already done this, as you said before, your church helped you a little, but I would put the word out at church. Just in case. You never know. Maybe someone can let you know if their work is hiring. Also if anyone at church has their own business, if they can't hire you, maybe you can volunteer there until an opening comes up, as suggested by tjarst.  ???    Just trying to help think of ideas.

Continued prayers for you!

Revenwyn - sent you a PM.
 

Yes I have been applying for entry level work, but haven't had any calls for interviews at all. I have heard the horror stories about Craigslist as well and that is one reason I am so adamant against putting them up there, especially here where you can get a permit to shoot cats if you want to.  What we need help with the most (other than a job of course) is affording spay/neuter. All the vets in the area want about $80-90 per cat, and we have three that need fixed. There is no low cost clinic in my area and the "humane society" only offers it for dogs. They are pretty anti-cat around here; cats are rodent control here and not much else. The shelter said our cats would be lucky to be held for three days. Most cats that come in are given half that time before they're put down.
 

I just joined this site because i happened to see this post. I feel very bad for you and your family, including your babies.(cats). I am struggling in this economy too, and have resorted to dancing when i need the money.. your story has touched me and i feel very badly. i know you obviously feel there is no one who will help, and this is not true... you need to look deeper.. you need to try harder. Believe me, there is always someone willing to help. If you send me an email address so we can talk further, i would absolutely be willing to send you cat food, litter, things that would help you.. im new to this site and not sure how to check personal messages, but if you leave your email here or tell me how to check the inbox, hopefully we can talk in detail.

Have you considered posting a message at the local college asking for a ride to the nearest city that offers low cost spay/neuter? 

There must be students that travel to/from the larger cities that might consider offering you a ride.

If I lived nearby, I would drive you myself.

Have you checked the 'rideshare' section of Craigslist?

http://littlerock.craigslist.org/rid/

Can your Mom help you out any?  Or any other family in area willing to drive you as a xmas gift?

I got a few cats off Craigslist and both my dogs.  Not every person on there wants to torture the cat...Oddly enough I never got any questions when adopting.  One lady showed me 2 litters of kittens and said take em all if you want.  I still say post up a few ads.

iLOVEmyLEO said:

I just joined this site because i happened to see this post. I feel very bad for you and your family, including your babies.(cats). I am struggling in this economy too, and have resorted to dancing when i need the money.. your story has touched me and i feel very badly. i know you obviously feel there is no one who will help, and this is not true... you need to look deeper.. you need to try harder. Believe me, there is always someone willing to help. If you send me an email address so we can talk further, i would absolutely be willing to send you cat food, litter, things that would help you.. im new to this site and not sure how to check personal messages, but if you leave your email here or tell me how to check the inbox, hopefully we can talk in detail.

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It's wonderful that there are people in the cat community who want to help. However, you do need to be careful about giving your personal information to someone you do not know. For your own safety, please to not post email addresses or phone numbers in the public forum.

When you're logged in you'll see several links at the top of every TCS page, under the banner on the right.

Click on "new messages" and it will take you to your own PMs.

I understand we all need to be careful about giving information. if Revenwyn wants to send me a personal message and give me the name of the post office closest to her, I could always send supplies there and inform the post office that it is for that person to pick it up.. You do not have to accept my help, I just thought it would be a nice thing to do to help someone who is struggling and has animals to take care of... this is something I feel that would help someone directly, as opposed to some charities where you don't exactly know where every dollar is going...Let me know