sorry-not a piggie thread

[Arielle72]

I don't know the proper place to post this, so I'm putting it here for now. Feel free to move it to the proper place.

A stray cat has adopted me. It has been living on my front porch or in my garage for two weeks now. I have looked into the shelters nearby and this is what I have found so far:

1. ASPCA- they can only keep for 5 days. After that, they euthanize. Not acceptable to me.

2. Humane Association-- I had an appointment all set up to take the kitty in last Friday. They called on Thursday and said that they did not have room for the kitty and could I keep it for another 2 weeks.

3. Another local shelter that adopts out pets at one of the "Big NO NO stores". They have vet appointments on Tuesdays where they get the kitty ready for adoption and give it all the shots and grooming etc it needs. Then I would have to keep it inside for 2 weeks quarantine. After this period, it would go to the big pet store for adoption.

The main problems I'm having are these:

The kitty has fleas and ticks all over and I found a tick on my daughter yesterday.

Even if I could get it to the clinic for the shots and grooming, I have two inside kitties already and no place to quarantine another cat.

I don't want to send it to a "kill shelter".

It is a great cat. Very friendly and lovable. I just can't have a 3rd cat.

Any advice from anyone is greatly appreciated.

[ArtisticRainey]

You could ask around on Craigslist and see if there is anyone who does have room to foster the kitty. It's a very long shot, because the person would have to really love animals and be close by or willing to transport a flea/tick infested cat.

You'd just have to stress that it's not a pet aoption; the kitty needs care first.

[Newpiggiemom]

Flea and tick control is very easy and cheap. It doesn't require a vet visit, just get over the counter medicine from Wal-Mart. That would take care of that problem very quickly.

[Arielle72]

For anyone who is interested in how this is turning out, the kitty is going to SPCA this eveneing.

[krittercrazy]

Do not get the flea and tick products from Wal-Mart. They can make your cat/dog very sick or kill them. I know that people will say that they have used it on their pet with no problem but please Google Hartz Flea and Tick products and you will find many sites warning of the deadliness of these products. You can get Frontline at pet supply stores, some feed stores and on-line.

I am very sorry someone else has dropped their responsibility on you so that you now feel like the "bad guy" for taking the cat to the SPCA. That is what open access shelters like the SPCA are for. This time of year is tough on the cats. Shelters are flooded with kittens. This not SPCA's or your fault. You are being responsible in realizing and accepting that personally taking on the responsibilty of the stray cat is not possible for you at this time. You have a responsibilty to your other pets and family.

Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to get this cat off the street.