I suppose I should ask here, too, for the sake of idea-gathering

[rebeccmeister]

(subject is in reference to having asked on other social media elsewhere)

The time is approaching when my father-in-law will need to move to a nursing home. Right now he is living in an extremely small town in rural Iowa. One of the main things keeping him going is his cats.



He has been working to stabilize the cat community where he lives, getting as many as he can spayed and neutered.

Some of the cats hang out with him indoors.



Some are a little more shy, and spend most of their time outdoors.






The move to a nursing home is going to be very hard. I doubt there is any way to bring his cats with him, which really sucks, because I'm pretty sure that no longer having his cats to care for is only going to hasten his decline. He's already struggling with deteriorating eyesight and hearing.

But I also don't think I will experience peace of mind if we can't figure out what to do for the cats.

S has talked about trying to bring some of the cats back with us, to New York. But my informal estimate is that there are at least 8 cats involved, which is a lot. Also, we are renting a house right now with a lease agreement that stipulates the number of allowed pets. Plus that's a lot to foist on George and Martha.

We have some concerns that these cats will simply get euthanized if they are surrendered to pet shelters. They are not totally feral, although some are more shy than others.

Anyone have more information or ideas on potential options for cats in rural Iowa? I think we could bring them down to Omaha or Lincoln without *too* much trouble (assuming we can successfully lure them in; chances are good since S's dad feeds them).

Comments

[twoeleven]

I doubt there is any way to bring his cats with him

Have you asked? Maybe there are nursing homes that will let him take one cat. This can't be a unique problem, though you're probably right that there's a (near-)uniform answer.

[altamira16]

The people in the community that my husband's parents live in have small dogs.

[rebeccmeister]

Yeah, S's mom lives in an assisted living community that allows pets. But, I think his dad is more likely to wind up in a nursing home. But a lot is in flux right now.

[zippybeta]

Would they be suitable for barn cats? I am in alot of horse groups (Albany/ Renss area) people are always looking.

[threemeninaboat]

Seconded, we have a great Barn Cat program here.

[rebeccmeister]

I think they'd be perfect for barn cats. Probably the main question is how far to try and transport them to get them to barns.

[bluepapercup]

One of the concrete answers I got elsenet was that some humane society locations in Iowa are part of a barn cat program. That might be a good option here. For example: https://www.humanesocietyofnwia.com/barncatprogram

[rebeccmeister]

Thank you! That does look like it could be just the ticket.

[ranunculus]

Donald's mother was in a nursing home, had her cat Rosie with her until she passed away. Rosie then went to live with a relative. Now is the time to be shopping for nursing homes and getting your father-in-law's name on the list for the good ones. Good nursing homes often have lists that are months or years long.