During the fall of 1994, Dave Amick, Terri Gary & Sandy Dorton recognized the problems confronting the stray cats in Pinellas County. These friends decided to form a non-profit, humane organization whose mission would be to shelter and re-home abandoned and homeless cats and kittens. Thus Save Our Strays was formed. Shortly afterwards, BC Kiefner joined & became President.

Save Our Strays became unique in Pinellas County as the only all volunteer organization which, as part of its mission, would accept every stray cat or kitten that needed help without prejudice to age, appearance, or health. The only reason an animal would be denied acceptance would be a lack of space and then the animal would be placed on a waiting list. Every animal taken into a Save Our Strays shelter home would be cared for until it was adopted. Euthanasia is not practiced for population control. It is a procedure that is performed ONLY under the advise and supervision of a veterinarian and only if in the best interest of the animal. Hard to place animals or those with special needs remain the ward of Save Our Strays if the proper adopter cannot be found. These animals do not live out their lives in cages. They live in the home of a loving foster parent who cares for that cat for the remainder of its life.

As soon as there is available space in a shelter home, the cat is picked up by one of the volunteers. It is then given a thorough veterinary exam which includes a feline leukemia and FIV test, a fecal and a distemper shot. The cat is spayed or neutered and given a rabies shot if it’s the appropriate age and weight. All necessary medical treatment, including surgery, is provided. Once the animal is determined to be healthy, it is ready for adoption and placed in one of our adoption outlets, pet stores that donate space, or is taken to the Petsmart Luv-A-Pet Adoption Center.

Save Our Strays also assists anyone who finds a stray cat and wants to give it a home. We offer a program, CAT (Care and Adopt Too), that allows the individual to use the services of one of our vets at a pre-determined fee.

Since January 1995, Save Our Strays has medically assisted and adopted out 3,800 (THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED) cats and kittens. This has been possible through the many volunteers who give their time and love to care for these animals. And to the generous contributors whose donations go directly to the medical treatment and care of the animals.

We are proud of our accomplishments over the past 3 and a half years and hope, with your support, to continue in our efforts to aid as many stray cats as possible. Thank you for helping us help the homeless and often forgotten strays that live among us.

Spotlight On A Shelter Home

It all started with a little starving tabby cat. She had been abandoned by a family who had moved. We named her Tina Marie because she was so tiny & scrawny. We fed her, and she hung out in our yard. Our two indoor cats, neurotic former strays, are inhospitable to other animals.

Because we felt she deserved a home, we contacted an organization that helps with strays (not Save Our Strays). Before they would attempt to place her for adoption they required that she be tested for feline leukemia. When the test came back positive, she received a death sentence. We put that procedure off for weeks while we desperately sought a home with no other cats. In the meantime Tina Marie’s frame filled out and she became a beautiful & loving cat. Unfortunately, no adoptive home materialized. We realized that having a feline leukemia positive cat in the neighborhood could be endangering other animals.

Holding Tina Marie while she received the lethal injection was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. We cried for days. And we promised that if we ever won the Lotto we would establish The Tina Marie Memorial Home for Indigent Cats.

Well, guess what. We didn’t win the Lotto, but we did move to a house with a big double garage. A home improvement loan helped us to add amenities such as air conditioning. We started bringing in some of the stray cats that we so often hear about . When the vet bills became more than we could handle, someone suggested we call Dave from Save Our Strays. How pleased we were to find that SOS has a no kill policy.

We now have 14 beautiful cats in our garage. There is a big black male named Panther; a gray & white mother cat, Trixie, with 4 gray and white half-grown kittens - Trini, Tammy, Tippy & Tommy; 2 orphaned kittens, Phillip who is all black and Victoria who is black & white. And an orange mother cat, Lucy with a litter of five - Little Ricky, Little Lucy, Babaloo, Josie & Olie. These were born on October 30, during Circus McGurkis!

Two of the adults & the 2 older kittens are ready for homes so we hope adoptions will speed up. In the meantime the kitties always enjoy new toys so toy donations are very welcome here. - Joan & Pat