So I'm sure that the 8 of you who actually read this have been following the saga of Stumpy and her kittens. As much of an absolute joy as it is to watch those little ones every day, the whole situation is providing a great deal of stress. The clock is ticking - we need to find homes for them soon, because they are getting bigger and stronger every day, and will probably be able to find their way out of the yard they are in soon. If that happens, we may never see them again.

It is completely puzzling to me that we're having such a hard time placing the kittens. I know that adult cats are a harder sell, so we weren't anticipating finding a home for Stumpy right away, but kittens? Adorable, healthy kittens? We literally can't give them away. We've had a couple of leads, one of which looks very promising, and one of which has gone back and forth so much that they've pissed me off to the point where even if they offer me money for a cat, they've blown their chances. It's incredibly frustrating.

But the biggest issue is this: I think Stumpy's pregnant again. We knew this could happen, but we hoped to dodge the bullet until we could at least get the kittens weaned and placed and then get Stumpy spayed. Didn't happen. The girl gone and got herself in trouble again, it appears, which means we are looking at another go-round with all of this. I don't know what to do. I can't *not* do anything, but at what point does it all become too much for us to handle alone? And if we need that help, can we get it?

Local shelters are bursting at the seams. I know this. They are overcrowded and underfunded. I don't want to add to that. But we don't have anywhere safe to put these cats, and I absolutely don't want to let these kittens become just four more little faces among the local strays, relegated to a life on the streets, digging for scraps, trying to find shelter from the elements, preying animals, and ignorant and cruel people. I can't do it. But frankly I'm at a loss. Where do we go from here?