I went to help out for a short time at an emergency rescue that's going on in Pahrump, Nevada. 400 cats which were taken in by what was supposed to have been a rescue and animal sanctuary turned out to be anything but. These poor cats which were originally someone's pet ended up in the middle of the desert, fenced in, sick and starving. They were so skinny and you could hear the wheezing all around you from all the respritory infections. Also the cats with FIV and FeLV weren't kept seperately so quite a few cats became infected which could have easily been prevented. When I was there it was 105 degrees and that was cooler then it has been, so it's amazing that they have survived at all.
In the evening as it was cooling down you would find yourself surrounded by them all hoping for a little attention. It was heartbreaking to see how grateful they were to just be pet for a minute, and thinking about how these skinny, sick cats at one time were probably sleeping in bed with their families in the past.

Please if you get a pet make sure you will be able to care for it for life so it doesn't end up in a place like this. This was a very reputable place and people trusted them to take care of pets they were no longer able to.
Also make sure you spay or neuter all pets you have so you don't contribute to this problem. Even if you are able to find homes for the puppies or kittens you have, then that is one less home available to the ones already in the shelters and they will probably end up being killed.

Here is the original story of the cats: network.bestfriends.org/nyecou...03.html
And if you would like to follow the story it's here: network.bestfriends.org/nyecounty/news/