Welcome to Nicole's Home for Wayward Cats (not a real rescue).

This feels really weird to do, but my friends encouraged me to ask for help, so here I am.

In 2021 I moved to my new home. I'd never owned cats in my life, and one day while petting my neighbor's cat, I thought, "I wonder what it would be like to have a cat?"

That's all the Universe needed to flip the Cat Distribution Switch to ON. The cats just started showing up, one right after the other.

I had no idea what to do aside from try to help them. Fed them, provided them with water, and if I was able to catch them, take them to the vet to see if they were microchipped in case they were lost. (Big surprise, none of them were.) I post on Facebook Groups and such to try and see if there are any owners out there missing their cats, most often with no results. Ever since then I've just kept helping cats that show up. I've gotten as many as I could neutered, got them vaccinations, and hoped some would stay around long enough that I could maybe find them homes or at least keep vaccinating them and providing flea and tick treatments. I live in a rural area, and eventually learned that stray cats are clearly are the norm; not once has local animal control helped me regarding cats, to the point that I no longer contact them when a cat comes my way.

Even if a cat never stepped foot in my home, I gave all of them names to keep tabs on them. I installed a cat door for cats who wanted to visit, but were never comfortable staying. So far there's been:

Frost

Crowe

Dip

Tiger

Bonsai

Frank

Iverson

Ravioli

Strange Kitty

White Kitten

Other Boots

Jingle Cat

Big Tony

Cousin Vinny

Isis

White Cat

Rogue Orange Cat

So why the GoFundMe? I'm doing all of this on my own dime. I've been doing this with my own money ever since it started. I feel weird asking for money. I make an okay living, but all of the vet visits and medications and cat things add up - especially if they're injured. I simply can't ignore an animal when it comes to me in need. If I have the ability and the means to do it, then I'm going to. It's often been stressful and heartbreaking. The amount I've chosen is just the last emergency vet bill I've received. I'm not asking for contributions to everything else I've spent over the years.

Even so, it's been enlightening and rewarding. I've adopted several, lost others, found a home for a few, my lovely neighbor took in some, and I even managed to get at least one lost cat back to its owner. So many showed up that the name Nicole's Home for Wayward Cats sprung up and just stuck.

I have since learned that having a cat - or in my case, cats - is indeed quite the rewarding experience. Anyone who decides to contribute, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.