Over 100 cats need homes at Babcock Ranch's The Cat Ranch sanctuary

BABCOCK RANCH, Fla. (WINK) — More than 100 cats roam around what they call home at The Cat Ranch in Babcock Ranch.

Some are waiting for families, but others are likely to stay for good. JoAnn Thuecks came to The Cat Ranch two years ago after losing her cat, and upon arrival, she realized there were 150 cats in need of her help.

It became her full-time job.

"I never knew that there was a place like this," Thuecks said. "I didn't know that there was sanctuaries."

It wasn't supposed to be a new career.

"I showed up thinking I was going to volunteer, but the way we found them, I couldn't walk away," Thuecks said. "I didn't have a choice."

Now, it's a round-the-clock commitment.

"You've got the basic daily needs that you have to give the cats: the food, the litter, all that kind of stuff, right?" Thuecks said. "And then the cleaning and all that. But then I also have medical cats."

It costs at least $15,000 a month for Thuecks and her husband. They still need extra hands to keep the sanctuary running.

"This is the best job I've ever had," said Stephen Finlon, a part-time worker at The Cat Ranch.

Finlon works at the sanctuary while he's home from school.

"Knowing I get to come to work every day and just make their lives better, it's really fulfilling," Finlon said.

After a while, volunteers get attached.

"There are cats here I know by name, and I know they'd be mad if I left and never came back," Finlon said.

So, he started taking them home.

"I adopted a cat here last week, and yeah, he would follow me around everywhere and meow at me, and I fell in love with him, so I had to take him home," Finlon said.

About two-thirds of these cats are adoptable. But the clock is ticking for the sanctuary's future.

"We can't go on like this. I can't," Thuecks said. "We can't continue to self fund. And it's not only the money. It's also the physical, the labor, the. It's just too much."

Thuecks is looking for volunteers and donations. She has about six months of funding left to keep The Cat Ranch going.

Click here for more information on The Cat Ranch.