Sunshine’s Friends Cat and Dog Rescue (SFCDR) has been involved with helping animals in need since 2003. We incorporated and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in October 2014. The number of animals we have rescued or aided has grown every year since then. We were first established under the name “Sunshine’s Friends Cat Rescue and Sanctuary”. The name and mission have changed to include dogs due to a growing need to provide most of the same help for dogs as we do for cats. Our non-profit public title is thus called “Sunshine’s Friends Cat and Dog Rescue.”

Sunshine’s Friends’ mission (the 5 R's) is:

• To RESCUEabandoned community cats and dogs in desperate situations;
• To REHABILITATE the sick, the injured, and the abused;
• To REHOME cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies ready for permanent placement with a suitable guardian;
• To provide a loving REFUGE for cats and dogs that are not adopted; and
• To REDUCE local shelter intake by promoting spaying and neutering.

We are an all-volunteer organization dedicated to serving helpless animals. Our goal is to stop the unnecessary euthanasia of all cats and dogs and to give them a second chance to live a good life with a loving family or companion.

There are many cats and kittens at the sanctuary that are waiting to be placed in a forever home with a person or family to call their own.

If you can't adopt, consider sponsoring one of our furry friends who will live out their lives at the sanctuary with us. Some of these cats are not completely socialized or have medical concerns. We provide them with a comfortable home, love, as much attention as they will allow, good nutrition, and medical care.

I got my first glimpse of Sunshine at the edge of our yard about a year after we moved to our new home in Jessup. I had never seen such a sad animal. He was so thin and looked so hungry and sick. I approached him with some of my cat’s food as gently as I could. I watched him wander back into the woods and he must have watched me put the food down. That was the beginning of our relationship - one that was as rewarding for me as it was for Sunshine. One morning about a week after the first encounter, I saw him on the deck licking grease that had dripped from our barbecue grill. I started putting food there for him twice a day. Soon every day when the sun came up my new friend was there to greet me - he was my Sunshine.

Nearly 75% of cats entering shelters each year are killed. Many of them are community cats ("stray" or "feral" cats). If these cats have a community cat caregiver, a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program gets them to a vet where they are spayed/neutered and vaccinated and then returned to the colony. Once TNR is complete, these free-roaming cats are able to stay out of the shelter system and live happy, healthy lives.

Learn more about TNR:

• Alley Cat Allies - TNR information