Question: Is the cat owned by an individual? Did a family pet cat give birth to a litter of kittens?

If you answered YES, to either of these, you fall into the category of finding a home for an owned cat or litter of kittens.

If the answer is NO, then you likely have a stray or feral cat. Please click here for more information.

Since LAST HOPE handles stray and feral cats and their offspring, we are not the right organization for you.  However,  other organizations and shelters will take in privately owned pets. There is usually a fee for this service which will vary. Municipal Town Shelters on Long Island also accept owned cats and kittens.  There will be a waiting list for intake which can be extremely long at certain times of the year.

Many No Kill shelters accept owned pets through a waiting list and required donation.

Because the shelters on Long Island are overflowing with cats and kittens, placement of your cat into one of the above facilities will be difficult. If you have a cat that has given birth to kittens, you need to be very careful placing them. It is not enough to find a home for a kitten, you must be sure the home you can care for the cat properly and can afford necessary veterinary care, especially vaccinations and spay or neuter at 4-5 months of age. 

If you have a pet cat that has given birth, please be a responsible pet owner and get your cat spayed as soon as your cat has weaned her kittens. There are low-cost spay neuter programs on Long Island. LAST HOPE offers FREE spay-neuter of owned cats and dogs for individuals on disability, public assistance, unemployment, social security, etc. Please click here for information about this program or other additional resources for low-cost spay-neuter of cats.

Question: Are you absolutely certain that you cannot keep this cat?

There is no guarantee that a cat will not be euthanized if it enters a town or city shelter, so it is important that you ask yourself that question and then examine the reason for wanting to relinquish your cat and see if you can somehow work something out. If you are having trouble making a decision, you should refer to the following sections, which address the most common “reasons” people report for giving up a cat:

• Moving
• Inappropriate behavior (urinating outside the litter box or spraying)
• Owner has died
• Can’t get along with other pets

If you insist on placing your cat, we suggest you get on the waiting list of all the No Kill Shelters on Long Island.  In addition, you should advertise for adoption by creating a flyer. Post it in your veterinarian’s office, local pet food stores, on the web (Petfinder), and local newspapers.

Any cat you place for adoption should be spayed or neutered and up-to date on vaccines and flea treatment, worming, etc.

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