I need a shoulder to cry on. And a little help, if possible.

[Prairie Purrs]

First of all, your shy and elderly cats are not going to end up at a shelter. I would lose my mind if I was threatened with this so I can imagine how you are feeling. Between us all we can shoe-horn in another one or two here or there, we just have to get our rears in gear on how to transport. Both B.F. and 911Rescue, and lots of Yahoo groups, have tons of experience in long-distance transport (cheaply).

You are going to be miserable in your neighborhood from now on, not knowing who is spying on you and when, knowing how your neighbors feel about other forms of sentient life. Can you move to a place outside the city limits where you can have more animals and still do your job?

I know what it feels like to be spied on although the neighbor who was the greatest threat to me sold up her house last year - relief! However, the people living next to me are the kind to judge first and ask questions later. I try to make sure that only one front window is available for cat sitting at any time.

I hope the rescue can help you with the ferals because it's going to be unendurable to you to simply stop feeding them, or move away from them and leave them to their miserable fate.

Do you belong to the Best Friends Network? They have a Colorado community that you can post to and it may make you feel less alone.

Thank you! I haven't given up on finding a solution that will let my feline family stay together, but the worst thought of all is the idea of surrendering them to a shelter. I'll do anything to avoid that.

I certainly am feeling like I'm under the microscope. It's horrid. To have lived here for as long as I have and to suddenly have the neighbors turn on me is heartbreaking.

One of the few bright spots is that my job is done entirely via computer. I can work from anywhere in the U.S. (except Alaska or Hawaii), as long as I can hook up the computer to a high-speed Internet connection. So I think I'll be looking for a cat-friendly place that I can afford.

I will check out the Best Friends Network. Thanks!

[Anikaca77]

Hi I really wish I could be of some help to you.

This situation however has opened my eyes to my own situation. I have been feeding ferals for well over 1 year and a 1/2 now and just last night I had a few cats (cat fighting) over the food. I have two bowls but it made me think about your situation and how I couldn't afford to move anywhere else right now and plus they let me have 5 cats and haven't said crap to me about it. Of course I keep things very well clean so they shouldn't say anything about it but it made me realize that what if my neighbors would turn me in..... I really hope something like that won't happen because it would be heartbreaking to stop feeding the ferals especially in the dead of winter right now.

My prays are with you and your cats.

Melissa