Most people don't expect to share their homes with more than a few companion animals -- you know, a couple of cats and a dog, maybe a rabbit or some small animals like guinea pigs, hamsters, or rats. But then you move to California's San Joaquin Valley, a stray cat gives birth in your backyard, and you can find homes for only three of the five kittens she had. In this moment, the San Joaquin Rest
Home for Cats opened and has been sheltering at least six cats since 2010. The rest home was never officially accepting new residents, but new refugees came nonetheless. Now, given the caretaker's cancer diagnosis, no new residents can be accommodated. The costs are significant, but what can be done? Sometimes you are the only person who is going to step up for an animal in need: a cat who has had countless litters on the streets or has fought other cats on an eternity of nights for a little bit of food that won't even fill a hungry belly. San Joaquin Sunsets Rest Home for Cats has taken in cats like these and others who could tell stories of hardship and precariousness. At least one resident here was plucked from the kill list of a Central Valley shelter. Doing the right thing isn't easy. This rest home venture has busted up relationships and sidetracked a caretaker's life, and it continues to tap a bank account that barely has enough. Help if you can by making a donation, or let this page inspire you to open your home as well to these feline refugees of domestication who are depending on humans for security, sustenance, and the opportunity to have a life lived well. If everyone did a little, no one would have to do more than they reasonably should. Thank you.
