Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm sad. My parents might be out of a job, so we won't be able to afford to take care of most of our cats, so my mom has decided to get rid of all but three cats. Were keeping Jasmine, Twinkles, and Betsy. T__T I have to get rid of Blackjack, I'm going to miss my baby. I raised him from a kitten. My parents want to just drop them off at a farm somewhere, if fact they already did that with a few of them. I will not have that happen to Blackjack! > : (

So, I asked my parents if I could find a home for Blackjack, and they said yes. So, now I need help, what would be a good way to find a really good home for him?

I'm so sorry to hear about that. I hope you can convince your parents to find homes for the remaining cats rather than just dumping them off somewhere. If they are all outdoor/farm cats they might do alright, but if they are indoor cats adapting to life without human care takers are regular food would be very difficult and harsh. It may even be illegal to just abandon your cats on someone else's property.

If I misunderstood and your parents found someone with a farm who was willing to take the cats then that's really not a bad option.

A few good options for getting the word out:

- Post an ad on your local kijiji and Craigslist
- Post on Freecycle if your local group allows pet postings
- Put up posters on community bulletin boards (corner stores, community centres etc usually have them.)
- Talk to your friends and family members, see if anyone else can

What to put in your ad:

- Talk about the cat's positive features in your ad, but be honest too.
- Offer whatever extras you can part with - litter box, dishes, food, litter, toys, carrier etc.
- Post a photo of the cat.
- If there is anything special about him mention it.

Making sure the adoptive home is a good one:

- Interview them, as them about where he would be living, what they would feed him and how they plan to care for them.
- Ask for references.
- Ask if they would be willing to do a home visit so you can see where he'd be living.
- If they already have pets, ask who their vet is.
- If you get a bad vibe, don't give them the cat - most people have good intentions but there are plenty of horrible people out there who will mistreat animals. You don't want him going to a home where he will be abused or neglected.

If all else fails, consider taking him to a no-kill shelter rather than just dumping him somewhere. It'll improve his chances of being adopted and living a happy life. Abandoned cats usually become strays who are in danger of injury from cars, wild animals, cruel humans, malnutrition, illness and all kinds of other things that can befall an unattended cat.

Good luck - I hope you can find a good home for him. These are tough times and shelters are being flooded with pets whose owners can no longer afford to care for them.