Hi everyone. This is my story, and it's kind of long, so I apologize... I stumbled upon this forum a few months ago shortly after I found a cat that wandered into my back yard. Actually, it was a pair of cats that had been howling for days and I thought they were hungry, so I put food out for them. The moment I opened the door to greet them, one ran off in terror while the other one just stared at me for a minute and then continued eating. From then on, this cat, whom I've named Gollum, has been regularly showing up on my back porch.
This is when I found this community and started learning about building a cat shelter and TNR. I had no idea that people were spaying and neutering stray and feral cats. After researching more on the subject, I went ahead and got in touch with an organization that provided me with a trap. I caught Gollum, got him neutered and tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV. My heart broke when I found out he tested positive for FIV, but the lady who helped me out said that it could be a false positive and he could still live a full and happy life regardless. I wanted to keep him so badly, but my mom hates cats and is highly allergic, and no one else would take him in... so I had to release him back into our yard. I feel horrible about it. He is very friendly and affectionate and sweet and still sleeps everyday in the shelter I built for him. I worry that other cats will attack him and drive him out of my yard... or he will bite another cat and infect them with FIV too.... I'm literally losing sleep over this. I'm not sure what steps to take to try to find him a good home. The local no kill shelter will not take him because they are at full capacity for FIV cats, and told me to call animal control. That is not an option for me. I guess I'm here because I wanted to share Gollum's story and seek advice about what I can do for him.
This is when I found this community and started learning about building a cat shelter and TNR. I had no idea that people were spaying and neutering stray and feral cats. After researching more on the subject, I went ahead and got in touch with an organization that provided me with a trap. I caught Gollum, got him neutered and tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV. My heart broke when I found out he tested positive for FIV, but the lady who helped me out said that it could be a false positive and he could still live a full and happy life regardless. I wanted to keep him so badly, but my mom hates cats and is highly allergic, and no one else would take him in... so I had to release him back into our yard. I feel horrible about it. He is very friendly and affectionate and sweet and still sleeps everyday in the shelter I built for him. I worry that other cats will attack him and drive him out of my yard... or he will bite another cat and infect them with FIV too.... I'm literally losing sleep over this. I'm not sure what steps to take to try to find him a good home. The local no kill shelter will not take him because they are at full capacity for FIV cats, and told me to call animal control. That is not an option for me. I guess I'm here because I wanted to share Gollum's story and seek advice about what I can do for him.
