Got the following email from a BJ reader:
my aunt was widowed six weeks ago. she has cared for cats all her life. she and her husband started rescuing ferals a few years ago, slowly taming them as much as possible, and taking them for neutering at an excellent program in raleigh.
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she doesn’t have the money any longer to care for all these cats. they brought 10 inside and i think there are 10 more outside. as a matter of fact, i may be moving my aunt to my daughter’s in texas soon as she is facing foreclosure. if you have any contacts in durham willing to take these kitties, please have them email me. the shelter there is a kill shelter so my aunt is refusing to call the shelter to come pick them up. her cat feeding bill is $350/mo and her social security check is $327/mo. yes, really!
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thank you so much for anything you can do. old age is being very cruel to her and she is one of the nicest people in the world. btw, she and her husband had never spent a night apart in 38 years. you can imagine the horrible place she is in; widowed and due to be foreclosed on and scared to death.
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sincerely, patty gann
Unfortunately, I don’t have any contacts in, or knowledge of, the cat-rescue community in the Durham area — but I’m hoping that some of you are better informed. Anyone who can help, send me an email at AnneLaurie @ verizon.net, or click on the link second from the top of the right-hand column, and I will forward it to Patty.
And if you’ve got an idea, please leave a comment!
cmorenc
@Anne Laurie:
My next-door neighbors down in Sunset Beach, NC are big-time cat rescuers themselves, taking care of even more feral and pet house-kitties than the lady in Durham. While Sunset Beach is in the far southeast corner of NC 3+ hours away from Durham and it’s doubtful they could take on this lady’s kitties themselves, it’s more likely than not they have some good contacts around the state. It might be worth giving them a shot for some information or passing along of useful contacts.
Contact: Brunswick Animal League (it’s my neighbors you’ll be speaking to if you try the phone contact). I would suggest approaching them simply asking if they would have any useful contact info rather than asking them if they can take on the cats themselves (almost certain they can’t).
Libby's Person
One place to try is Safe Haven, a no-kill shelter for cats in N. Raleigh.
http://www.safehavenforcats.org/
If they can’t take in that many cats, they should at least have some ideas about what can be done. Good luck to your aunt, and to the cats!
hamletta
About the foreclosure: Have your friend contact the local NACA office:
3109 Poplarwood Court, ste 110
Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: (919) 855-8484
They can often put the brakes on a foreclosure and negotiate with the lender to work out arrangements so the aunt can keep her home, or maybe sell it if she needs to.
You Don't Say
I have nothing NC-specifc, but just a suggestion that she look into groups that help people pay for their pets’ needs while she’s trying to figure everything else out. This is the kind of group I mean.
Best of luck to her!
Debbera Carson
You can try Independent Animal Rescue based in Durham. They are no-kill and have a system of foster homes while looking for permanent homes for animals.
http://www.animalrescue.net/
Linda Featheringill
@You Don’t Say:
?Maybe you could post that link again? Strange.
WaterGirl
@You Don’t Say: The link doesn’t work – http is in there twice.
Edit: I didn’t mean to ignore the content of the post. It’s a heartbreaking story. Your aunt must feel so terribly lost. I hope she is able to keep at least a kitty or two when she moves. No one should have to lose the person they spent their life with, their house, their town, and all their furry friends. Just heartbreaking.
dc
You can try Independent Animal Rescue based in Durham. They are no-kill and have a system of foster homes while looking for permanent homes for animals. I got my cat from them.
http://www.animalrescue.net/
Laura W.
I’ve had some dealings (meaning only that I’ve donated art to their fundraisers) with a great group in Cary, Independent Animal Rescue. Here is their Links We Like page from their site.
It would certainly be worth a phone call to them first, and then contacting some of their referrals from there, based upon their input. There are many rescue groups in the Triangle region and it’s likely they network and coordinate with each other in cases like this to see who is able to do what for how many.
Hopefully something in this thread will help!
You Don't Say
@Linda Featheringill: Sorry. It’s Shakespeare Animal Fund. They’re in Reno, NV, and specifically help seniors pay for their pets’ needs. They may know a similar group somewhere in NC.
SiubhanDuinne
I have a friend/colleague who lives in Raleigh but is in Durham several times a week. She and her husband are cat-lovers. I sent her the info and hope that if she herself can’t accommodate any more cats, she might at least have some ideas. Haven’t heard back from her yet but when I do I’ll get back directly tou you, AL, or will give my friend your ccoordinates. Good luck to everyone concerned — human and feline alike.
Existenz
Is her foreclosure related to the expenses of caring for dozens of these feral cats over the past few years? It’s one thing to love cats, another thing to ruin yourself financially over them.
Jenn
I’m afraid I have no helpful links, just that I am so sorry for you and your aunt. Please let her know she has lots of good wishes heading her way. I honestly can’t imagine having all of this hit me in such a short time. Best wishes to you all.
georg
Goathouse Refuge (in Pittsboro — not that far from Durham) might be able to help out.
http://www.goathouserefuge.org/
Jaralarr
@ Libby’s person
I concur, Safe Haven in N Raleigh is a great no kill shelter. The people there are animal lovers.
The link again http://www.safehavenforcats.org/
DarcyPennell
Another option is Second Chance Pet Adoptions in Raleigh: http://www.secondchancenc.org/
I fostered dogs for them a few years ago and they were great. Their website says they rescue cats too.
chaucer
thank you so much for all of the links and advice. i will talk to my aunt later today and share the info. my husband is in the military and we are currently living in germany; living so far away from my aunt is very hard right now. she is the last of my mom’s siblings left. over all the years she and her husband were always there for everyone else. they always took in stray people who needed a job, stray animals who needed a home, etc. they always worked hard; they owned a chain of waterbed stores but as they grew older their world became smaller and smaller when bad health came to stay.
they lost their son less than a year ago and now she is widowed and in bad health. another aunt’s motto used to be that if you have your health you have everything. when i was younger i used to think there were many things more important than that, but with age comes wisdom.
thank you so much anne!
john b
this is a little late, but we got one of our cats from independent animal rescue mentioned above when we used to live in durham. seemed like a quality organization.
satby
Anne Laurie, have you asked Evelyn from Charlie’s Angels? The rescue community is tight and she’s based in NC, so she may have good info too, or even a little room for a couple of them.