How to Help Homeless/Stray Cats

I have been a rescuer of cats for many years. It always breaks my heart to see a cat living on their own outside, always searching for food, shelter, water, and yes, even love. In the many years that I have helped cats in need of a better life, I have learned a lot about more efficient and safe ways to give them what they need while also protecting yourself, your family and your own pets.

I believe the most important knowledge you need to have before you begin helping stray cats is to check around your area at shelters and rescue groups to see if they have a program that helps with spaying and neutering stray cats. If there is such a program, then ask whoever is in charge if they will take outside help in trapping or getting the cats and then when you take them to the vet where the work gets done at through the program that everything will be taken care of for the cat. A lot of times shelters and rescue groups who have such a program, which is usually termed "catch and release spay and neuter program", simply need help from people willing to volunteer their time to get these cats in to the vet. I think it is an enormous step in reducing the population of stray cats.

Once you have checked around your local area, if you find there is such a program, then you will most likely need to spend some of your time and gas to work on getting cats from the area you live. You will also probably need to provide an adequate "holding" area for the cat until the day you can get it to the vet. Most likely an appointment will need to be made. Then you will need to provide transportation to and from the vet, and follow up care for the cat for at least two days before releasing it back outside.

It is important to make sure that if you have children and/or other animals in your house, that you have a room to isolate the stray cat in. Even if it is friendly, you would be taking a chance that it might be sick with something that could be passed on to your other animals. It would also be a risk to have around children, no matter how friendly it may seem. You should always take precautions yourself, such as wearing thick gloves, keeping the cat away from your face, and carrying it in your arms as little as possible. It is also important to wash thoroughly with warm water and soap after each handling of it, even if it's a simple pat on the head. Provide the cat with a comfortable place to lay, and of course a litter box, food and water. If you plan to make this a continuing effort of helping strays, you will need to spray the room down good with disinfectant after you have released each cat back outside.

Sometimes if the program provided through your local shelter or rescue doesn't have enough funding, you might have to help with a little of the cost yourself for each cat. If you are serious about helping the stray cats in your area and have the money to spare, your help would be extremely important. There may be times that something more than the required spaying, neutering and shots may not be enough. For instance, you might have a cat that has ear mites, fleas, may need to be wormed, or a good bath and grooming. These are things that if you can offer assistance in, you could pay for yourself.

In the rare instance that there isn't a "catch and release" program in your area, if you have the time and money to help the homeless cats by doing everything previously mentioned in my article, it could end up being a very worthwhile cause. I know that not everyone is an animal lover, a cat lover, or has the time or money to help with this serious problem. I do know that there are way too many cats out there living unsafely and they need the help of a concerned person. Even if you can only offer your assistance for a short time, even if it's only for one cat, it is still help that is much needed.