I have too many cats and I need help .

 What are we supposed to do when we have too many cats but no one wants them ?  Okay I'm not a crazy cat hoarder. I have 9.  Actually 7 and two newborn kittens.   I had 6 spayed and neutered cats.  And then a little kitty ran up to me at the park and I took her home. Turned out she was pregnant. 

I know I shouldn't have taken her home !  I am a single mom and I can't afford to properly care for these cats.  I feed them and give them shelter . But I live in a 2 bedroom apartment .   How I have gotten this far without getting in trouble with the apartment office I don't know !  I  also have a pet door so they are inside and outside.  So far the neighbors have not complained.    I can't keep that many cats inside an apartment. 

I am trying to find homes for the kittens when they are old enough.   But my question is , What do you do when you have too many cats ( all my fault I know )  but no one wants them ? 

The shelters are full.   I don't want to take them to Animal Control ( ours is really bad and they kill them within 72 hours)   I don't want them having to live in a cage.   

I would love to hear any suggestions or advice . 

Thanks !!! 

First of, thank you very much for helping these kitties be off the street!

My advice may not be what you want to hear but the answer is certainly not giving them up to a shelter that will kill them, rather surrendering them to a humane society near you or  to keep trying to find them homes. Post pictures online, give out flyers, etc. Do take into consideration the following link:
[article="0"]Kittens To Good Homes  [/article]
Do keep taking care of the lonely souls as best you can, I'm sure momma and babies are very happy to be off the streets and have food in their bellies. Thank you 

Can you reach out to friends or try social media?  A no kill shelter is also an option.  Do a search in your area.  Yes, most will be full this time of year as it is still kitten season.  Try friends at work.  I would just suggest that you ask a small fee for the cats and not offer them for free.  This will discourage the people who would want to use them as bait/food.  I also would try to meet with the potential adopters to be sure the cats will go to a good home.

I hope you are able to find a solution. 

 I'm sorry I don't know much about finding homes for the cats, and I know other TCS members can provide great info for you like @MagiksGirl  and @ShadowsRescue  have done, but I wanted to say that you are great to provide such loving  care for them and look to get them a good home!   You are planning for them and looking for contacts, but I do not think you should feel it is your fault.  Things happen fast and get hard to keep up with, (this I know very well).  Maybe the homes will be found one at a time, but I just want to say you should feel good about what you are doing for these kitties!   

You could try writing a letter to your neighbors asking if anyone could take a cat.  Let them have their pick?

I don't know if you have a major pet retailer in your area, but near me it is Petsmart.  My Petsmart partners with an excellent area rescue non-profit organization for cats.  This cat organization  rescues cats off the streets, takes surrenders, etc., does TNR.   They have an area in the store where the public can view the cats and let you know their background, they are also there hoping to be adopted to their forever home.  This is exactly where I met my Speedy.   She was a surrender and had some health issues before being surrendered.  The non-profit spayed her, gave her 2-3 health exams, sent her for treatment and fostered her, too.  

I think Petsmart does this all over US.  Does anyone know?  If you call your local major pet retailer, ask them if they partner with a cat organization like this and ask for their contact info.  At our store, the woman that runs the non-profit told me she has found forever homes for over 900 cats so far!  I couldn't believe it.  They run on donations.  Tonight, this idea just occurred to me and it might be something that may work for you.  

I am still sending best wishes your way      Marianne and Speedy 

I am having similar issues and feel your pain. Today, my roommate brought home another stray kitten, this one from the side of the road. Sigh. The poor baby is malnourished, dehydrated, and just infested with fleas. It's impossible to not help, but we absolutely cannot keep this kitten.

What I have been doing today is Googling rescues in my state, both cat and dog, and then sent each a nice email explaining the situation. I asked for referrals to cat rescues, fosters and to no-kill shelters. I also asked for suggestions as to what else I could do to help this kitty find a forever home. Also emailed the Humane Society for referrals and advice. I left a bunch of voice messages as well, for those that listed phone numbers. So far, I've gotten two responses with referrals, and I emailed those, too. Considering it is the weekend, I am impressed with two responses! Hopefully more will come in the next couple of days. That is the only thing I can think of to do in this situation and I hope it can help you, too. Maybe contacting local vets and asking for rescue referrals will produce some results (and I will try that on Monday).

I'll be thinking of you and your little ones and sending positive adoption vibes your way. And as a friend told me today, 'Just think of all the good karma you are collecting!'

I also have too many cats.  I had 4 for years then an abandoned pregnant cat appeared in my complex.  I was desperate, working against time, when someone on the TNR hotline said they would abort the fetuses at same time as spaying.  Now I still have her and my life is a nightmare.  She HATES other cats, she's living in a bdrm, my cats are spraying in my house and NOBODY - shelters included - will take any cats.  I feel for you immensely and I am also in need of help. 

Binks said:

 
I also have too many cats.  I had 4 for years then an abandoned pregnant cat appeared in my complex.  I was desperate, working against time, when someone on the TNR hotline said they would abort the fetuses at same time as spaying.  Now I still have her and my life is a nightmare.  She HATES other cats, she's living in a bdrm, my cats are spraying in my house and NOBODY - shelters included - will take any cats.  I feel for you immensely and I am also in need of help. 

Click to expand...

I am sorry you are having difficulties with your cats.  It can be very overwhelming especially when cats do not get along. 

First off, can you explain a little bit of how you went about acclimating the cats to one another?  What techniques did you use to try to introduce the newbie to the group?

Secondly, are all of the cats spayed/neutered?

Another random thought is how many litter boxes do you have?  Cats can resort to spraying not only for territorial and stress issues, but because of lack of litter boxes.

Have you tried any Feliway or calming treats/liquids. 

I hope that we can help you here.

- Try hanging flyers at the pet shops in your area

- Post pictures on Facebook

- On E-bay (or a site in your country) could also be a place to ask for people who want a cat

- Ask friends over who like cats and who knows, maybe one of them will take one from you

Good luck!

I live in Chengdu, China, and you'd think there would be a lot more stray kittens around. And there are, but none of them seem to be in any real need or danger, and I haven't seen or even really heard of an abandoned kitten yet. I speak Chinese alright, so even my Chinese friends haven't really seen such a thing, which I find passingly strange.

Good luck though, and thank you for taking care of the little ones. "He who helps the least of these", after all.

The thing is @Ivashanko  most kittens born in feral colonies live and die without anyone noticing them. If cats are sick or injured they hide themselves away to die. Those that die out in the open are quickly scavenged by birds or other animals.

There probably are a lot of abandoned kittens around, but unless you know where they are or do something to attract them, such as leaving out food, you won't see them.

Norachan said:

 
The thing is @Ivashanko  most kittens born in feral colonies live and die without anyone noticing them. If cats are sick or injured they hide themselves away to die. Those that die out in the open are quickly scavenged by birds or other animals.

There probably are a lot of abandoned kittens around, but unless you know where they are or do something to attract them, such as leaving out food, you won't see them.

Click to expand...

Yeah I have no doubt that many feral kittens die all the time. I've seen a younger cat's body once, it was really sad.

Most Chengdu people (and most foreigners living in Chengdu) don't seem to have cats, which might be one reason why I haven't run across any stray kittens yet. I really don't like the thought of abandoned kittens dying without anyone to love them though, is there anything I can do to attract any abandoned kitten nearby? Ideally without attracted strays who have successfully established themselves, but I realise that is probably impossible.

I think that would be very difficult.

Kittens would come to your house if you left food out, but so would every other stray animal in the area. It's really not a good idea to feed them unless you are planning to TNR because they breed so quickly. You would be over run with cats within a few months.

This article explains how you can help feral cats.

 [article="32879"]9 Practical Ways For You To Help Feral Cats​[/article]  

Can you share some pictures of your kitties??

Maybe some of us can help you with your ad/s.....presentation

seems to be everything these days     Good

kitties find homes.  Most people own 3 (here) or 2  then

feeding strays.   

*not intended to ignore tone of thread yes there is a serious world cat

over population.

I'm assuming that things are ok with the home life right now but that things just can't go on like this indefinitely.  Do you have any no-kill shelters anywhere nearby?  I volunteer with one near my house and we have a wait list so folks can sign up and get their cat in eventually when they have one they have to surrender.  We can only take in as many as we end up adopting out so never know exactly how long the wait will be but it does provide one way of safely getting them to a new home....eventually.  

Hi this is an update on my situation:  I finally got a reply from our AZ Animal Welfare League (part of SPCA) and they accepted precious little Peacock to be put up for adoption.   I wish she would have integrated into my family of four other cats, though it just wasn't meant to be.  I am at peace, although very sad, knowing she is in the best place to find her loving forever home.  I love her.  It was meant to work out like this and I am so grateful to AAWL.  When the time was right everything just flowed seamlessly in universal perfection.  Now that she is ok -- my 2 male cats are still spraying in my house, something they never did until just in the last maybe 6-8 weeks because of Peacock.  They have to sleep outside now, something I've never allowed.  Will they ever stop once her scent diminishes?  I worry sick but I will not have a home that stinks of spray.  

I'm glad you were able to find a home for Peacock, I hope her forever home comes along soon.

Are your male cats neutered?

Oh, yes, I am a firm believer in neutering.  That's why I am so surprised my males - both of them yet - are spraying suddenly after having them for 5 years!  And  I believe that saying "copy cat" is so true.  It seems like after one started marking he other one started.  Thank you about Peacock, it was very emotional leaving her there.  I will never get in a situation with having too many cats again. Hopefully.  As it is, four cats are a lot for me now!​​

One of my neutered males still sprays if anything "new" happens to upset him. I guess they are still reacting to Peacocks scent in the house. I suggest you try cleaning all the spots they've sprayed with an enzyme cleaner, this should get rid of the pee smell. Have you tries using a Feliway diffuser?

http://www.feliway.com/us/Feliway/Feliway-Diffuser

This helped a lot when I moved house a few years back, kept everyone calm. Now I just put lavender oil in my oil burner and the smell seems to keep everyone happy.