All the shelters I know of require neutering. It's a good thing too - there are far too many kittens and puppies in the world who need homes.
My ex and I used to take in stray cats, get them fixed, healthy, and rehomed. I've probably rehomed over 2 dozen cats. At one point, we had 12 cats&kittens in a 2 bedroom apartment! But they all got along and were all loved and well-treated. We found homes for most of them and kept the rest - Winston a part-siamese, a short-hair manx-mix cat named Fuzzy (Fuzzy Wuzzy wuz a cat - Fuzzy Wuzzy had no tail - Fuzzy Wuzzy doesn't rhyme...). When we moved to a lower duplex, we just had the two cats, until Rum Tum Tugger decided to move in. He was a white shorthair, older cat. He was "auditioning" that autumn. Kept showing up and wanting to come in. We resisted. Then we had a party - and he walked in with the guests, who all assumed he lived there. After that, he did. Later we took in Sarah - a black short-hair. She was such a sweetheart. When my daughter was born, friends were convinced her first word would be "meow". We eventually moved to a different neighborhood where there weren't so many strays. They all passed eventually died of old age, or disease. Eventually, Morgan - a long-hair black mouser came to live with us. He was a great cat - but got sick (we were never sure - the vet couldn't figure it out) and passed quickly.
We were cat-less for a couple of months. Then a friend told us about Rowdy, a young stray she'd taken in who was terrorizing her older cat. We took him in and he immediately bonded with my son. Then he demonstrated to us that, in spite of being fixed, he was an indoor/outdoor cat. We tried to keep him in, being very careful about doors and first-floor windows. Then he got out to the balcony, and jumped off the 2nd story balcony - twice. Came limping in the first time but still did it again. We decided that we would rather let him out than have him break something getting out. Rowdy has been with us ever since, mousing, and keeping raccoons out of our backyard. He goes out in sun and rain and snow (we lived in Minnesota!)
Since Rowdy wasn't too cat-friendly, we just had him, but we dogsat for friends and neighbors - german shepherds and golden retrievers. After we moved here, and we were busy during the day a lot and he was alone a lot, we decided Rowdy needs a kitten. So we got Emily from a local rescue. She was the sweetest little black ball of fur! They became good friends - Uncle Rowdy showing her how to mouse, waiting patiently while she bounced at him attacking, then reaching out with a paw and knocking her over... They still play and groom each other. Rowdy is mostly my son's cat, but sleeps on our bed pretty much every night. Emily decided she was my cat, but sleeps up on the cat tower every night.
Now that we have the new house, we got Ernest - another rescue. He was first rescued from Taiwan by a rescue group, as a puppy. They adopted him out to a family who locked him alone in a backyard for 16 hours a day! And then, instead of contacting the rescue group, they dropped him off at a high-kill shelter, the weekend before July 4th! They claimed he was 'nervous around little kids'. They also claimed his favorite game was fetch. My husband and son were a little dubious about him but I fell in love. We took him home and he's become very much a part of the family. My husband and son both are total teddy-bears about the dog. Ernest loves everyone, but is particularly thrilled to see my husband come home because they go for walks together.
Okay - that was really long but... rescuing animals has been such a big part of my life that it always makes me nostalgic.
My ex and I used to take in stray cats, get them fixed, healthy, and rehomed. I've probably rehomed over 2 dozen cats. At one point, we had 12 cats&kittens in a 2 bedroom apartment! But they all got along and were all loved and well-treated. We found homes for most of them and kept the rest - Winston a part-siamese, a short-hair manx-mix cat named Fuzzy (Fuzzy Wuzzy wuz a cat - Fuzzy Wuzzy had no tail - Fuzzy Wuzzy doesn't rhyme...). When we moved to a lower duplex, we just had the two cats, until Rum Tum Tugger decided to move in. He was a white shorthair, older cat. He was "auditioning" that autumn. Kept showing up and wanting to come in. We resisted. Then we had a party - and he walked in with the guests, who all assumed he lived there. After that, he did. Later we took in Sarah - a black short-hair. She was such a sweetheart. When my daughter was born, friends were convinced her first word would be "meow". We eventually moved to a different neighborhood where there weren't so many strays. They all passed eventually died of old age, or disease. Eventually, Morgan - a long-hair black mouser came to live with us. He was a great cat - but got sick (we were never sure - the vet couldn't figure it out) and passed quickly.
We were cat-less for a couple of months. Then a friend told us about Rowdy, a young stray she'd taken in who was terrorizing her older cat. We took him in and he immediately bonded with my son. Then he demonstrated to us that, in spite of being fixed, he was an indoor/outdoor cat. We tried to keep him in, being very careful about doors and first-floor windows. Then he got out to the balcony, and jumped off the 2nd story balcony - twice. Came limping in the first time but still did it again. We decided that we would rather let him out than have him break something getting out. Rowdy has been with us ever since, mousing, and keeping raccoons out of our backyard. He goes out in sun and rain and snow (we lived in Minnesota!)
Since Rowdy wasn't too cat-friendly, we just had him, but we dogsat for friends and neighbors - german shepherds and golden retrievers. After we moved here, and we were busy during the day a lot and he was alone a lot, we decided Rowdy needs a kitten. So we got Emily from a local rescue. She was the sweetest little black ball of fur! They became good friends - Uncle Rowdy showing her how to mouse, waiting patiently while she bounced at him attacking, then reaching out with a paw and knocking her over... They still play and groom each other. Rowdy is mostly my son's cat, but sleeps on our bed pretty much every night. Emily decided she was my cat, but sleeps up on the cat tower every night.
Now that we have the new house, we got Ernest - another rescue. He was first rescued from Taiwan by a rescue group, as a puppy. They adopted him out to a family who locked him alone in a backyard for 16 hours a day! And then, instead of contacting the rescue group, they dropped him off at a high-kill shelter, the weekend before July 4th! They claimed he was 'nervous around little kids'. They also claimed his favorite game was fetch. My husband and son were a little dubious about him but I fell in love. We took him home and he's become very much a part of the family. My husband and son both are total teddy-bears about the dog. Ernest loves everyone, but is particularly thrilled to see my husband come home because they go for walks together.
Okay - that was really long but... rescuing animals has been such a big part of my life that it always makes me nostalgic.