To Provide the best in temporary care for cats in transition.

Our Mission

St. Sophia’s strives to be the best in temporary care for cats in transition. What does this mean? It means that the cats in our care aren’t intended to stay in our care. Our hope is a forever home for every adoptable cat — no more homeless cats!

At St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines, homeless cats are our orphans. We take on the responsibility of caring for them with compassion and dedication. Our mission is to provide loving, high quality temporary care while working tirelessly to place each cat in a safe, permanent home.

Our Philosophy

Once a cat is in our care, St. Sophia’s evaluates each cat individually in order to determine what the best forever home would be. We use the ASPCA Felinality Behavioral Assessment Tool to learn about each cat’s needs and personalities. Our cats are raised in foster homes and get individualized attention to help them reach their full potential and get ready for their forever homes. Each cat is different in many ways, and St. Sophia’s prides itself on being able to determine what’s best for each cat on a one-on-one basis.

Our Cats

The cats we care for at St. Sophia’s come from many different places. The majority of the cats we help are those that are helpless, who have not experienced love or a home, stray, abused, and neglected cats. Primarily we work with high-volume/high-kill animal controls to save cats from needless euthanasia. Our largest partner is Chicago Animal Care and Control. Other ACs we partner with are Aurora, Joliet Township, DuPage, Herrin, Marion, Quincy, Tilton, Union, Jasper, and Whiting.

St. Sophia’s also works with local Trap-Neuter-Return organizations. Trap-Neuter-Return (also known as TNR) is a method of humanely trapping unaltered feral cats, neutering them, and releasing them back to the same environment where they were originally found. TNR is promoted by proponents as a humane and more effective alternative for managing and reducing feral cat populations (compared to euthanasia). While most cats trapped are completely feral (wild, without any domestic socialization), some cats—often kittens, or even adults that have been well cared-for outdoors—can, and have, become socialized and adoptable. TNR organizations aren’t equipped to handle the “friendlies” that come in, so we step in to assist those cats looking for homes.

Lastly, some of our cats are direct owner surrenders. Sometimes circumstances have it that people are unable to care for their cats due to moving, eviction, financial issues, death, allergies, etc. We accept these cats in when we have space and maintain a waiting list of those who need assistance. If you ever find yourself in this type of position, please read our surrender policies to see how we can help.

Adoptions, Fostering Program, Public Education, Volunteer Program

To be considered for adoption, you must:
— Be 21 years or older
— Have a valid license/ID with your current address
— Be head of household (or have head of household present at adoption)
— Have all family members/roommates aware and in favor of adoption
— Agree to allow an authorized representative of St. Sophia’s to make an adoption follow-up

ADOPTION POLICIES

Your STSFF adoption counselor will go over all policies and requirements in the contract during the adoption meeting, but here is brief list:

— Owner must have the time, finances and resources to properly care for the cat
— No declawing allowed
— Indoor only homes (cats are required to follow local leash-laws)
— No medical reimbursement after adoption
— Cat must be returned to STSFF if owner can no longer keep (may NOT be rehomed to friends/family)
— Adoption fee is non-refundable
— Kittens under 4 months, MUST be adopted into a household with another cat OR adopted with a buddy
(**if a particular kitten is excluded from this rule, it will be noted in their profile**)

Check out our available cats right here on our website, or stop by any of our partner locations to meet a cat or kitten that catches your eye. Prefer a little guidance? You’re welcome to submit an open adoption application and let an Adoption Counselor help you find your perfect match.
PLEASE NOTE:
— St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines’ shelter facility in Wheaton only houses 12-18 adult cats at any given time.
— We partner with local pet stores to house our cats so that they can be visited by the public.
— Kittens under 4 months of age are in foster homes
— Adoptions are either scheduled in advance for during the week (evening appointments) or held at our adoption events on weekends.