Recently widowed Senior Citizen needs help with pets

I know this is a long shot but here goes... An older lady who lives in my area desperately needs help with her pet care.Her husband of 45 years just passed away from lung cancer ( Navy veteran) She has never drove. Now I have been delivering all the groceries and pet food. 4 dogs and many cats, nobody is fixed to top it off.I have found a shelter who's willing to spay and neuter a few at a time no charge, but she needs help to get them there. If anybody who is in the n.e. Florida area and willing to help please let me know. I'm sure the mama cat is pregnant again, and the fleas are getting out ta hand.I have convinced her to stop using the hartz flea crap, but I can only afford to treat my own pets.Saying prayers, thank you.

Hi @ShelbynKatie  Welcome to The Cat Site.

Thank you for trying to help this lady, I can imagine how awful the situation is. Does she want to keep all the cats and dogs or is she willing to re-home some of them? As you said, getting them all fixed is the first step.

Here are some links you could check.

http://cat.rescueshelter.com/Florida

http://www.humanesociety.org/assets...l?state=FL?referrer=https://www.google.co.jp/

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stfl.html

I'm not in the US, but hopefully someone in your state will be online soon.

Good luck.

 Sending mega prayers and vibes out from California that you and your special friend get the help you need!!! Bless you both.....I am so glad that you are there to help her out.  A local resource might be the churches....if the good people there are not as willing to help out in order to help the animals, they might be willing to help just to take care of the widow. Poor dear - sounds like she is really overwhelmed! 

I am so proud of you for being willing to help out - I hope that you don't get overwhelmed, too.  As a caregiver whom God often calls upon to help in random situations, I know first-hand how busy we can become.  again, my prayers that you find your hero(es) very, very soon!!! Take Care, Susan

Yes, a rescue group-- no kill shelter should be able to help.  

Does she have a Vet? Sometimes the Vet techs are also involved with stuff like this, or can refer you to someone who can help.

Does she have a lot of property for them to live in? or are they feral? That would be something to consider also. 

I hate to be blunt, but if the amount of animals is too much for her to handle alone, then she may have to surrender many of them. She would need to get them to a manageable amount.

As far as buying food. Chewy.com is great for buying in bulk. They deliver right to the house. The prices are pretty good also.

Yes, churches may be able to help--you never know. 

Or even a TNR organization. I know the humane society will be aware of these organizations. 

Bless you for helping out...with the animals and with her...((hugs))

You might hang fliers around, or get on your local radio station during those 'buy and sell' shows and have them get hold of you for donating food or money, or make a plea for new homes. She is too vulnerable right now to have people directly contact her unless it is a known organization, there are way too many scammers out there.  She sounds like she definitely needs to downsize to be able to manage what she has, spaying/neutering has got to be number one on the to do list. Bless you for helping her, you are an angel!

Di and Bob said:

 
You might hang fliers around, or get on your local radio station during those 'buy and sell' shows and have them get hold of you for donating food or money, or make a plea for new homes. She is too vulnerable right now to have people directly contact her unless it is a known organization, there are way too many scammers out there.  She sounds like she definitely needs to downsize to be able to manage what she has, spaying/neutering has got to be number one on the to do list. Bless you for helping her, you are an angel!

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I am not sure I would go the flier route. There are too many crazies out there now. Anyone could prey on her or the animals. 

Same thoughts about publicizing it with the radio station. 

Thank you for the encouraging words.Yes I have called everywhere that's how I found the vet that does free s/n.I have tried to talk about rehoming some of them and the the fence comes up. No Go.We live in a very rural low income area,so not any help from neighbors.I know only she can get near the cats, dogs are OK.

ShelbynKatie said:

Thank you for the encouraging words.Yes I have called everywhere that's how I found the vet that does free s/n.I have tried to talk about rehoming some of them and the the fence comes up. No Go.We live in a very rural low income area,so not any help from neighbors.I know only she can get near the cats, dogs are OK.

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There are several groups that help transport animals to rehome. I believe @Mamanyt1953  may be involved in one of them. Perhaps they'd be willing to organize rides to the vet. In turn they may be aware of other groups that can step up and help her.

ShelbynKatie said:

Thank you for the encouraging words.Yes I have called everywhere that's how I found the vet that does free s/n.I have tried to talk about rehoming some of them and the the fence comes up. No Go.We live in a very rural low income area,so not any help from neighbors.I know only she can get near the cats, dogs are OK.

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  I wish that I was closer, to help out! I know that we must be grateful for small blessings and that although rehoming is NOT an option with her, at least she is willing for s/n to occur. I had a close family member get dementia and was mistrustful of s/n, let alone rehoming. That is how I acquired a large feral colony and this is my first year since 2011 (with this particular colony) with no babies! It took the death of the family member for TNR to take place - so many kittens were born ill, it has been a heartbreaking journey.

And sadly, it is the poor who seem to suffer the most. If willing hearts would coincide with full wallets, this world would be so much better for everybody!

Is there a pet food chain nearby that would accept online orders that you could pick up? that is one way to get anonymous donations without divulging too much personal information.

Yes catsknowme your right on.I think only since the passing of her hubby is the s/n even a possibility now. I have spoken to Clay co. Humane society who will be doing the care its free to anyone no questions asked!! Problem is getting the pets a ride.The only thing her animals have ever ate is dry dollar's store food, occasionally I can afford to buy her a few cans but not too often as I have 3 young children and am low income myself. Being in Florida we have a huge flea problem I have tried to no end to find some sort of program that offers flea control, I even purchased a giant dog front line and dosed all the cats accordingly. At least they had a break from the itching for a bit. I would not feel comfortable asking anyone for $$ but I would love to get a few donations together. I've checked online with chewey and they seem to everything, it's just getting up enough to make an order.If anyone else has any ideas please let me know and if anybody needs help with pet neutering Google clay humane society.

It sounds as if she is caring for a semi-feral colony. (Nothing wrong with that, I care for a colony myself.)

Getting them all fixed is obviously the first step to getting things under control. She will be able to budget for better quality food if she doesn't have to worry about new kittens all the time. Cats with outdoor access usually supplement their own diets with whatever they can catch, so they won't be as unhealthy as indoor only cats who only get cheap dry food.

Regular flea treatment can be expensive, but it will make them all a lot happier. I guess she needs to have her house treated as well. Here are a few articles that might have some ideas for you.

 [article="29664"]Cat Fleas​[/article]  

 [article="31635"]How To Treat Fleas In Young Kittens​[/article]  

 [article="0"]Homemade Flea Remedies​[/article]  

 [article="31550"]The 4 Most Common Worms That Can Make Your Cat Sick​[/article]