Jackie, It sounds as though you a woman who's heart is bigger than her pocket. I can relate. 24 cats alone is tough, but add Felv and you're in for a rough ride.
This is difficult situation. I know there are a number of felv+ sanctuaries out there but some of them are questionable places. There are quite a few people in this group that have worked with different places - some with good success. How much time do you have? There is a shelter I know of north of Chicago that has two felv+ cats and may take another one or two. I will check. I have two Felv+ right now and am also financially burdened so I don't think I can help but I will see what shelters around here have available. Don't give up, miracles happen every day. I will pray for you. Jenny On 9/9/09, Jacalyn Moffat <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm new to this list and I need some advice. Here is my brief story: we > were > a farm family and people always dumped their cats on our farm, and I would > always take them in and feed and care for them, and add them to our barn > kitties. We vaccinated and wormed our cats and spayed and neutered them. > Then it all fell apart and we lost our farm and pretty much everything and > moved to a much smaller place on just 2 acres. I couldn't abandon all of > the > kitties so I brought them with us and six of them we turned into house > cats. > I would get them homes as I could. But life being what it is, our finances > continued to worsen and we spayed and neutered as we could get some money > together but of course, despite our best efforts, cats became pregnant, and > other feral cats showed up. Long story short, but default, I became sort of > a cat sanctuary for FELV positive cats. I have 24 right now and I love them > all. They are beautiful, loved, well-fed; and they are all so affectionate. > > Financially things have worsened and my husband has been out of a job since > last November. Our income is now less than $150/week. I can't keep up > anymore with buying medications for them and spaying and neutering. There > is > a clinic here that will spay and neuter for $20 and I'm embarassed to say > that we can't even afford that. I have a degree in Medical Technology and a > wonderful, old vet (when we were on the farm) taught me some basic > doctoring > with otc antibiotics. They are still well-fed but it is getting hard. > > We are going to lose our home and I'm in a panic. It's hard to find homes > for some many felv cats. We are going to keep our 6 indoor cats but how do > I > find homes for the others? How do I find out if there is a felv+ sanctuary > in Oklahoma? I tried Google but had no luck. > > These beautiful cats deserve so much more than I can give them all right > now. I'm really tired. I'm 54 and their care had gotten to be almost more > than I can handle. I have lovingly nursed and held many very sick kitties > in > their final days, and I cry terribly with each one that doesn't make it. > I'm the one with a college degree so I have to go out and try to find a > full > time job, and taking care of these kitties has been a full-time job for me- > doctoring, administering medications,worming, treating fleas, syringe > feeding some of them etc.. My husband built a nice cattery outside so I > could put the outdoor kitties up at night and try to keep the queens > separated from the toms (which despite our best effort fails sometimes). > And > of course they all deserve love, affection and attention, and I give them > all some of that. I'm laying awake at night crying trying to figure out > what > to do and worried about what is going to happen to them if we lose our > home. > > > Does anyone have any advice on how to find homes for them or find a > sanctuary? We think if we can get it down to just 6 (from the 24) we can > realistically give those the care they deserve if we sacrifice. I love them > all but I dearly love these 6 and would really grieve if I couldn't keep > them. > > Thank you for listening. Jackie > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
