animal rescuers - resources - support

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by softness

the cat ladies society in Youngstown ohio have taken on cats from kill shelters across the nation. They keep every cat until it has found a home. You could call them and they could tell you who in your area might be a good solution for you to turn to, if they themselves might not take them on. Google them.

Also, check out petsmart and petco and etc...if they have pet adoptions in their store, they would know who are no kill agencies.

contact activity depts in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Sometimes they are seeking pets. Or you can bring them in during family visit time and see if just by chance, while people are enjoying petting them, someone might want one

post on craigs list under the pets category, the same information you posted here, asking for resources. There ARE private people in your area who are rescuers..you just dont know them yet. And they will tell you how to screen and what to do to get them homes

Contact vets and have them post about the kittens

make sure you ask for a rehoming fee. People who use animals for dog fight trainings seek free pets. Ask at least $25 if unvetted. $50 if vetted.

Thanks.

I -think- I -may- have found a home for Momma cat (Little Edie). My girlfriend from work's boyfriend (mouthful!) has had to put his cat down in the last week and apparently he's considering getting another cat soonish because his apartment is "wrong" without a cat in it. She's going to talk to him for me about Little Edie. Of course, she stays with me for another two months due to the babies.

God I hope he takes her. I want badly to know exactly who she ends up with.

[FeminineAllure]

https://secure.humanesociety.org/sit...moballot091010

""This November, Missourians will have the opportunity to vote on a citizen initiative to save tens of thousands of dogs from suffering in puppy mills.

Unbelievably, large-scale puppy mills in Missouri are allowed to keep dogs in small wire cages, stacked on top of each other, for their entire lives. They often don't get exercise, sunlight, companionship, or human interaction -- they live in filth and excrement and suffer discomfort and injuries from standing on wire for years on end.

I just pledged to help save these puppy mill dogs and join Missourians for the Protection of Dogs / YES! on Prop B, the campaign backing the Missouri ballot initiative, and which includes The Humane Society of the United States.

I hope you'll join me and sign the pledge as well -- and participate in the campaign that will save thousands of dogs languishing in Missouri's puppy mills."

[violaine]

http://www.community-paper.com/Archives/AnnYoung.html

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by violaine

http://www.community-paper.com/Archives/AnnYoung.html

any amazing woman. Thank you for sharing this

[AtLast]

The other night, a little pooch was abandoned at the dog park I go to. An older, pug et. al., mix. Another regular park visitor found her and took her home and posted flyers which made me happy.

There has been an increase of abandoned pooches at our park during the recession. It seems people leave dogs here because they figure there are many people that will try and do something for the critters. It makes me mad on one hand, but then, this logic does indicate some caring from these people.

I saw the woman that took this little sweetie home with her and her own dog yesterday at the park. my guess is the little pooch has a new home! Everyone looked OK with this. Such a sweet little dog, she is. I'm glad she didn't spend one night in a shelter.

[betenoire]

I've found a home for Mamma! A friend of mine is taking her and one of the babies. They're only 5.5 weeks old, so it'll be another 3 weeks until I can rehome them - but I feel a thousand times better knowing that Mamma (who I anticipated having a great deal of difficulty rehoming) is going to be safe AND with someone I have known for years and trust.

I've gotten quite a few calls and emails since I posted the kittens online last night, and one person sounds very promising for the one female kitten. She called from her workplace (which is a pharmacy) and she sounds trustworthy. She likes the female kitten because apparently she looks a great deal like the cat that she had for 18 years who passed away recently and who she is missing. She told me a bunch of stories about her old cat...and I figure anybody who tells total strangers "kitty stories" is probably a good pet-parent.

I haven't returned any of the other calls or emails yet, but will be doing that this evening.

I wish that there were (or if they do exist that I knew how to access them) services in my area that could have made this process cheaper for me. Total vet bills between Mom's initial visit when she was pregnant, and getting the kittens checked out, and first sets of shots and deworming for everybody is going to total to nearly $400. Add on top of that all the extra kitten food and litter and the trip I'm going to be taking to Toronto to bring Mamma and the spotted belly kitten to their new Daddy....oy.

Not that I am complaining. I am glad I did it - it needed to be done. And if I had to do it all over again I would - except maybe next time I wouldn't burst into tears at the vets office when she tells me that Mamma is pregnant. (Seriously, I was a sniveling mess.)

I seriously tip my hat to people who do this frequently. To foster families and people who do rescue work on a volunteer basis and pay for so much petcare out of their own pockets and with their own time.

Much love to you all. <3

Pictures of Mamma and Babies

[lipstixgal]

Originally Posted by betenoire

I've found a home for Mamma! A friend of mine is taking her and one of the babies. They're only 5.5 weeks old, so it'll be another 3 weeks until I can rehome them - but I feel a thousand times better knowing that Mamma (who I anticipated having a great deal of difficulty rehoming) is going to be safe AND with someone I have known for years and trust.

I've gotten quite a few calls and emails since I posted the kittens online last night, and one person sounds very promising for the one female kitten. She called from her workplace (which is a pharmacy) and she sounds trustworthy. She likes the female kitten because apparently she looks a great deal like the cat that she had for 18 years who passed away recently and who she is missing. She told me a bunch of stories about her old cat...and I figure anybody who tells total strangers "kitty stories" is probably a good pet-parent.

I haven't returned any of the other calls or emails yet, but will be doing that this evening.

I wish that there were (or if they do exist that I knew how to access them) services in my area that could have made this process cheaper for me. Total vet bills between Mom's initial visit when she was pregnant, and getting the kittens checked out, and first sets of shots and deworming for everybody is going to total to nearly $400. Add on top of that all the extra kitten food and litter and the trip I'm going to be taking to Toronto to bring Mamma and the spotted belly kitten to their new Daddy....oy.

Not that I am complaining. I am glad I did it - it needed to be done. And if I had to do it all over again I would - except maybe next time I wouldn't burst into tears at the vets office when she tells me that Mamma is pregnant. (Seriously, I was a sniveling mess.)

I seriously tip my hat to people who do this frequently. To foster families and people who do rescue work on a volunteer basis and pay for so much petcare out of their own pockets and with their own time.

Much love to you all. <3

Pictures of Mamma and Babies

The cats are adorable!!

[Kenna]

Sadly,
I need to find homes for 2 adorable kittens and their playful, sweet Momma calico... (I'm so sorry Abby!! I wish it would have worked out about your landlord's pet policy. .... I'll do everything I can to make sure Harley is taken care of, promise.)

We rescued these babies and their very skinny Momma after a big rain storm...the kittens were so tiny and Harley was so sick. But they have THRIVED and have outgrown their indoor create.

I'm finding the shelters here are VERY different than in Pennsylvania. I've been told they would automatically put them down. Thank goodness winter isn't so bad here, since I had to make them an outdoor kennel and play area. I can't afford to get them "fixed" yet, and don't want a barn-yard full of feral kittens.

I'm really frustrated at the people who've been dumping off their pregnant Momma cats.... leaving the helpless kittens to fend for themselves against wild animals and other feral male cats.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Sweet

I'm finding the shelters here are VERY different than in Pennsylvania. I've been told they would automatically put them down. Thank goodness winter isn't so bad here, since I had to make them an outdoor kennel and play area. I can't afford to get them "fixed" yet, and don't want a barn-yard full of feral kittens.

I'm really frustrated at the people who've been dumping off their pregnant Momma cats.... leaving the helpless kittens to fend for themselves against wild animals and other feral male cats.

Best of luck to you, Sweet. You're doing a good thing.

I also found that the big shelters ("humane" society and the spca) were incredibly unhelpful. I get that they are overcrowded - but jesus!

What I found worked for me was I got everybody their first set of shots and THEN looked for homes for them. I advertised them on a local free classified site here and highlighted the fact that they had had their first set of shots, costing me $40 per kitten, and that I was asking for $20 for each kitten. My catchphrase was "It's a savings for you since you would have had to have gotten the kittens their shots anyway, and peace of mind for me knowing that they are going to live with someone who cares about them!"

The reason I did it that way is that it was stressed to me by both my vet and local rescue people that I spoke with that you NEVER offer up free kittens to strangers. Ever. People who take free kittens often treat them like free kittens. Having to hand over even $20 is a deterrent for anybody who has bad intentions (dog fighters, etc).

I just rehomed the last of the five who I was looking for homes for this morning (Mamma and four babies). It's absolutely doable, I promise.

EDIT - I just wanted to add that what I also found to be a smart move on my part was that I never let anybody come over right away. People would often call me and want to come over to see the kittens that very second - but I wouldn't let them. I always said that I was on my way out the door and made an appointment to have them come over the next day.

I ended up getting stood up a lot - but that was a good thing. I didn't want anybody to take one of my kittens on an impulse. I wanted them to be sure that this is what they wanted to do. If anybody still wanted a kitten after a day or two they would show up - the people who didn't end up showing up I know had thoughts things through overnight and had decided that they weren't really serious anyway. The woman who took the little girl kitten I actually started speaking with two weeks before she brought the kitten home (I had started advertising them before they were old enough to move out) and I felt VERY good about her because I had gotten to know her some and it was clear when she came to pick the kitten up that she was just as excited about it then as she was the first time she had called me.

People who impulse adopt animals are a big reason that we have the problems with unwanted animals that we do have. I didn't want to feed into that at all.

[Diavolo]

Originally Posted by Sweet

Sadly,
I need to find homes for 2 adorable kittens and their playful, sweet Momma calico... (I'm so sorry Abby!! I wish it would have worked out about your landlord's pet policy. .... I'll do everything I can to make sure Harley is taken care of, promise.)

We rescued these babies and their very skinny Momma after a big rain storm...the kittens were so tiny and Harley was so sick. But they have THRIVED and have outgrown their indoor create.

I'm finding the shelters here are VERY different than in Pennsylvania. I've been told they would automatically put them down. Thank goodness winter isn't so bad here, since I had to make them an outdoor kennel and play area. I can't afford to get them "fixed" yet, and don't want a barn-yard full of feral kittens.

I'm really frustrated at the people who've been dumping off their pregnant Momma cats.... leaving the helpless kittens to fend for themselves against wild animals and other feral male cats.

Try talking to Alley Cats they might be able to point you in the right direction. It's a good organization. I worked with them to Save Private Hammer. I'm the volunteer who met PFC Hammer in San Francisco, ran his little cat butt through Customs and handed him off to the volunteer who went to Denver with him.

[suebee]

Anybody have any suggestions how to encourage kittens to suckle? Have four new charges, two weeks old - mother died this morning. They really aren't showing much of a suckling instinct. Maybe it's just the rubber nipple on the bottle, but haven't had this much trouble actually getting kittens to suck before. Suggestions? Resources?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Sue

[FeminineAllure]

Originally Posted by suebee

Anybody have any suggestions how to encourage kittens to suckle? Have four new charges, two weeks old - mother died this morning. They really aren't showing much of a suckling instinct. Maybe it's just the rubber nipple on the bottle, but haven't had this much trouble actually getting kittens to suck before. Suggestions? Resources?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Sue

Hi Sue.

I hope this helps some.
http://www.hdw-inc.com/tinykitten.htm

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

First try finding a foster feline mother; breeders, veterinarians and animal shelters may know of nursing cats in your area. Try calling any "cat people" that you know for leads as well. Cats will very often feed kittens other than their own.