How to Help
Suggestions on how to help FFUR and how to help stray, homeless, or feral cats in your neighborhood.
How You Can Help FFUR
We are trying to save feline lives, but we can’t do it alone: We need your help.
- $5 buys a 25 pound bag of cat litter
- $10 buys a 20 pound bag of dry cat food or 40 cans of cat food
- $50 buys a test for FLV/FIV or fecal parasites or treats all parasites with Revolution
- $100 pays for all vaccinations
- $150 pays for a neuter
- $250 pays for a spay
- $300 feeds 100 cats for a week
We are currently unable to accept donations via Paypal.
To pay by check or money order, please send to:
FFUR
311 W. Seymour
Philadelphia PA 19144
You will be mailed a receipt for tax purposes.
If you find a stray cat…
We have received many calls and emails lately from people wanting to turn in cats. Unfortunately, like most shelters we are full to capacity and as a private shelter we have very limited resources.
Should you find a stray or have a cat of your own that you want to place, please take those cats to PAACA or PAWS. They have a fairly good record on adoptions and do make every effort to place cats.
If you think a cat would be better living on the street than being taken to a shelter and possibly euthanized, think again. The average life-span for a stray cat on the street is three years, maximum. During that period of time they starve, are riddled with illness, get hit by cars, are tortured by teenagers.
It is far kinder to take a cat to a shelter than to leave it on the street. We urge you to help take responsibility for the over-population of domestic pets which would not be on the streets if not for people. Sometimes saving a cat means saving them from a fate worse than a painless euthanasia.
---Victoria Brownworth
Other links you may find helpful:
Cats that are FLV or FIV Positive
Many of you have called and contacted us regarding cats/kittens that are FLV or FIV (feline leukemia and feline AIDS) positive. While cats with these diseases can live for many years in a safe indoor environment, some people do not feel able to care for them. There is a hospice/no kill shelter for these cats in Harrisburg, about 90 miles outside of Philadelphia. You can contact them through their website at www.thebestlittlecathouseinpa.com.
To read more about FIV visit www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html.
How to Help Neighborhood Strays
In addition to rescuing cats and running our shelter, FFUR maintains several feral cat colonies in Philadelphia.
Many people contact us about homeless cats in their neighborhoods. Regrettably, the number of homeless cats and kittens in Philadelphia is epidemic. PACCA is forced to euthanize close to 50,000 cats each year.
If you see homeless cats or kittens in your neighborhood and want to know what to do, here are some suggestions:
There is nothing more important than getting these animals OFF the streets. It is better for a cat or kitten to be humanely euthanized than continue to live on the streets where they are subject to starvation, dying of thirst, abuse (cats are targets of children and teens as well as dogs), car accidents (many of the cats we have rescued have had broken bones from being hit by cars), disease, and constant pregnancies.
Whenever possible, capture these animals and take them to the nearest shelter. Don’t feel guilty--in taking the cat off the street you are saving it from a horrible existence. Cats are domestic animals, not wild animals. They have no means of sustaining themselves in an urban environment. Most street cats die of a combination of starvation and disease. The life expectancy of a cat living on the street is only two years. The average healthy housecat lives to be fifteen or more.
PACCA has have-a-heart traps for trapping animals. You should always use gloves when capturing a stray animal. If you do not have a trap, a pillow case is an excellent way to capture a cat and keep it until you can get it to a shelter. The cat cannot injure itself in the pillowcase, can breathe easily through the fabric, and cannot escape (as long as you don’t let go of the pillowcase). It also cannot scratch or bite you. It is easiest to get a cat into a pillowcase when it is eating.
If you decide to feed cats that live on the street, understand you must continue to feed those cats. It becomes a full-time commitment. If you cannot do that, don’t start. Don’t feed cats you don’t have neutered/spayed.
Most low-income neighborhoods like the one FFUR operates from have large numbers of homeless animals. Our best recommendation is to take as many of these animals as possible off the streets. Creating a feral colony that you are committed to caring for is another option, but it requires a large investment of time and money.
Please help homeless cats and kittens in Philadelphia by getting your own pets neutered/spayed, keeping them indoors, and encouraging others to do so.
Thanks for your help in caring for the homeless cats and kittens of Philadelphia. Your donation to FFUR will help further that cause.
--Victoria Brownworth, CEO, FFUR
Use the page navigation below to see more!
Page 1 of 1 pages