It was three weeks ago when Beth Stuart of Freeport first noticed the white cat sitting in the middle of the road outside her home. An animal lover, Stuart initially tried to coax the cat from the road, but when the cat failed to heed her command, Stuart rushed into the busy street to rescue the animal.
Stuart took the cat into her home, but soon found the white cat could not hear. At first, she thought about keeping the stray cat, but her other cats would have none of it, so she made a place for the cat on her front porch.
Stuart’s mother Donna Haefner lives next door. It was Haefner who contacted The Journal-Standard to tell of the plight of this cat. Haefner said before the two women shut the cat up on the porch, they often watched the cat return to the center of the street, unaware of the dangerous traffic. Haefner said they ended up shutting the animal up for her own safety.
“The cat is very nice and I think lived somewhere, but she just needs someone to take her in that can meet her needs,” Haefner said. “She must have lived in a home, because she knows how to use a litter box.”
Haefner said she and her daughter have been trying to find the cat a home. They called Friends Forever Humane Society, but the shelter is filled beyond capacity and told them the cat would be put on a waiting list.
The women continue to care for this cat, but it makes things difficult and they fear for the animal’s safety.
“Each time we put the cat out, it wanders right back to the street,” Haefner said. “We think it may belong to someone — it’s very friendly and playful.
“We have given her a home, but we cannot keep her — we just want to do the right thing and get her the help that she needs,” she added.
Stuart said she has no plans to put the cat on the street, but knows she cannot keep the animal much longer. The white cat upsets both her cats and her dog.
“It’s just going to get colder and we want her to be placed in a home before winter,” Stuart said.
For those interested in learning more about this cat, call Donna Haefner at (815) 821-3378, or e-mail her at [email protected].
