Harney County Save A Stray Rescue

05/27/2026

😿

Stray cats are often treated like a nuisance before anyone stops to ask how they ended up outside in the first place.

Many were abandoned. Some were born outdoors and learned to survive however they could. Others once belonged to families before being dumped, lost, or forgotten.

People see a cat digging through trash or hiding beneath a porch and assume it “belongs outside,” but survival for stray cats is rarely peaceful. Hunger, disease, injuries, harsh weather, predators, cars, and human cruelty are all part of daily life.

For a frightened stray cat, even a small act of kindness can completely change its future. A bowl of food. Fresh water. Calling a rescue. Offering shelter during extreme temperatures. Supporting TNR programs. Those things matter.

Sometimes compassion starts by seeing an animal not as a problem to remove, but as a life trying desperately to survive.

05/19/2026

This!!

Spay abort is one of the hardest parts of rescue and TNR work. No one celebrates it. No one enjoys it. But when you are seeing what we see every single day, you understand why it is necessary.

Have you tried calling a rescue or shelter lately because you found kittens? Sick kittens? Injured kittens? Pregnant cats? Most places are full. Completely overwhelmed. Some are turning away dozens of calls every single week because there is simply nowhere left to put them.
That is the reality we are living in right now.

People often assume spay abort hurts the mother cat, but medically, it can actually help save her life. Pregnancy and giving birth outside are extremely hard on a cat’s body. Community cats are already fighting infections, parasites, starvation, weather, predators, injuries, and constant stress. Pregnancy increases the risk of complications, infections, malnutrition, difficult births, and death. Young cats having kittens are especially at risk.

And the kittens? They do not feel pain during the procedure because they are undeveloped fetuses during surgery. This is done humanely while the mother is under anesthesia during her spay.

The heartbreaking truth is that many kittens born outdoors never survive anyway. Some studies estimate survival rates for outdoor born kittens can be under 25% to adulthood. Many die from upper respiratory infections, starvation, parasites, predators, weather exposure, injuries, or being hit by cars. We see it constantly. Tiny sick kittens struggling to breathe. Mothers trying to care for babies while barely surviving themselves.

Spay abort prevents suffering before it starts.
We understand why people feel emotional about it. We do too. The people doing this work are not heartless. We cry. We lose sleep. We carry these decisions with us. But we are also the ones getting the calls when there are no fosters left, no cage space left, no transport available, and no rescues able to take another litter.

The community is overwhelmed. Shelters are overwhelmed. Rescues are overwhelmed. TNR groups are overwhelmed.
And most of the people trying to hold this together are doing it after work, before work, late at night, and on weekends. Unpaid. Exhausted. Because if we stop, the suffering gets worse.

Spay abort is not about being cruel. It is about trying to stop an endless cycle of suffering before more cats are born into a world with nowhere for them to go.

05/14/2026

Have you heard?? The Circus is coming to town!! The Burns Lions Club is sponsoring this event and has chosen HC Save a Stray as the lucky recipient of the proceeds. We are overwhelmed and want to thank them for their support in our efforts to continue to vet,feed,rescue, transport, foster, offer 2 low cost spay/neuter clinics a month and continue our TNR program for feral cats! The need is never ending! We’ve been doing this for 18 years this coming September! Please see the flyer for ways to purchase your tickets!! Thank you!! 😸🐕🐈🐶

05/03/2026

This came across my Facebook feed and it’s something I know all of us struggle with at times when it comes to our critters but I think it’s something to think about for our fur babies.

03/27/2026

This is why we work so hard to spay and neuter! Especially the ferals that at one time had an owner that let them down. 😿💔

We as rescues need this to stop.

We need the suffering to stop.

Finding this breaks Us. There will be a point we can't come back.

03/03/2026

This is great advice!

‼️🐾 Found Newborn Kittens? PLEASE Read This First! 🐾‼️

We know your first instinct is to scoop them up and “rescue” them. But in many cases, the very best thing you can do is… WAIT.
Mama cats often leave their babies temporarily to look for food. Just because you don’t see her doesn’t mean she isn’t coming back. ❤️

Here’s what to do:
✅ Do NOT immediately move the kittens unless they are in immediate danger (traffic, flooding, dogs, etc.).
✅ Watch from a distance so you don’t scare mama away.
✅ Make a small ring of flour around the kittens. If you see paw prints later, you’ll know mama returned.
✅ Give her several hours (sometimes overnight if temperatures are safe).

💛 Kittens under 6 weeks old truly need their mama for the best chance of survival. She provides the perfect nutrition, warmth, stimulation to potty, and protection — things humans simply cannot replicate as well as she can.

Well-meaning “rescues” sometimes accidentally separate babies from a devoted mama who was doing exactly what she needed to do.
If you’re unsure what to do, reach out to a local rescue (like us!) before intervening. We’re always happy to guide you.
Let’s work together to save kittens the RIGHT way. 🐱🩷

02/16/2026

In just 18 months a kitten can become a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother! 🤯

Purrlease spay and neuter meow before kittens happen 💙

02/12/2026

We offer the best emergency veterinary hospital and specialty care services in Bend and central Oregon. Our doctors are board-certified experts in veterinary surgery, advanced imaging, veterinary oncology, internal medicine, dermatology and emergency care.

02/03/2026

Here’s a shelter in our own backyard so full they have to shut down intake! This is our reality and why it’s so important to spay and neuter!

The Humane Society of the Ochocos in Prineville is full after a surge of stray dogs and is no longer accepting pet surrenders. The shelter is asking the community to consider its foster-to-adopt program.

02/03/2026

February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month! Please help reduce the numbers needing help by spaying/neutering your cat, community cats or the "I just feed it" cats! There are not enough homes to place them all nor enough rescues with fosters/funds to provide them safety! Be a part of the solution!