How to Help Homeless Cats

By Sarah Borroum

Even when you do everything that you can for cats (adopting several, donating money to local shelters, etc.) you still wonder if there's more that you can do to help. Thinking of all the homeless, stray cats and kittens out there makes you sad: what more, though, can you do?

Here are a few ideas to get you started. You can go with these or come up with your own, unique things to do. The more each person does to help the cats in this world, the healthier and happier that population will be.

- Adopt a cat from a shelter instead of going to breeders. Sure, that purebred Siamese is gorgeous, but she has a nice place to stay with the breeder and a line of people who want to buy her. Find your new fur baby at a shelter instead: all of the cats there can definitely use a loving home.

- Find out what local animal shelters and other groups that help animals need. Shelters and low-cost spay/neuter clinics, for example, probably need loads of paper towels and newspapers. Contact the volunteers to see what their groups can use and donate what you can. You might be surprised at some of the things that they need from gently used kitchen towels, old printer cartridges and other things which can be very useful.

- Make room in your schedule to volunteer your time. You donít have to scrub the shelter's cages to help out. Groups often need somebody to hand out fliers, which you can do when you happen to be out running errands anyway. You might also be able to help by making telephone calls, creating newsletters or even just delivering lunch to the volunteers one day a week.

- Report any acts of cruelty to cats that you see or suspect. Some people might think that this is bad for the shelters because there will be more cats coming in, but thatís hardly the case. It's better for the abused cats to have a chance to recuperate and find good homes than it is for you to silently turn your head and ignore the situation.

- If you feed stray cats, you need to have them spayed or neutered. Otherwise, they'll only create more homeless cats for somebody to feed and or for the dangerous outdoors to injure or kill. See if there is a feral cat organization in your area that spays and neuters the feral population. Some of these groups even set up shelters and feeders in safe places so that the now sterile cats can enjoy long, relatively safe lives even though theyíll never be tame enough to live the indoor life.

- Be informed. Know the local and state laws regarding animal shelters, animal cruelty and anything else that might pertain to cats. If thereís a law (or bill that could become a law) that isnít cat friendly, start rallying your fellow cat lovers. Write to your representatives, collect signatures on petitions and spread the word.

- Make sure that your own fur babies don't become lost or homeless. Even if your kitties are always indoors, have them microchipped. This safe, inexpensive procedure ensures that any animal shelter or veterinarian who scans your cat for the chip will be able to find you.

- Teach your children (and any other children you happen to meet) about the importance of being good pet owners. Educating the next generation of cat lovers is the best way to give future cats better lives.

There is always something else that you can do in addition to what you're already doing for these cats, but don't allow discouragement to take over. When you begin feeling guilty because you donít think that you're doing enough, stop for a moment and think of all that you're doing. Even if you can't see a miraculous improvement in your neighborhood, your efforts arenít in vain.

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