“We want to make sure it’s the perfect match,” she said.
As the founder of the nonprofit cat rescue, Rambo-Stump takes pride in both saving felines and finding their forever homes.
She started the organization in 2023 with some posts online and immediately received support from the community — along with calls for help.
“We got bombarded with calls and messages,” said Rambo-Stump, who has been named a Dayton Daily News Community Gem.
Spring is the busiest, as kittens are born and the rescue is contacted every day, she said. The rescue is fostering around 40 to 50 cats, and it is always looking for more foster homes.
Kittens might be adopted when they are three or four months old, but older cats can take longer to find a family. This spring two sibling cats were adopted that her own family had been fostering for 19 months.
Katie Johnson lives near Rambo-Stump and has called on her for help with a neighborhood cat and her litters. Rambo-Stump is hands-on, doing everything within her power to help the animals.
“I think that’s why she stands out so much,” Johnson said. “She doesn’t have a slew of people helping her.”
Rambo-Stump, 41, lives in Walnut Hills in Dayton but has rescued cats from throughout the Miami Valley. She would eventually like to open a cat food pantry as well as a feral cat barn to give them a safe, fenced-in area to roam. She also would like to eventually be able to rescue dogs as well. But her plans take funds.
She relies on donations and grants, and she also raises funds to help as many cats as she can. For example, she and other volunteers make and sell crocheted dish towels, no-sew blankets, hot pads, keychains and more at local fairs, festivals and craft shows.
“Any local pet rescue of any sort — they need help,” she said. “Not just us, but any of them.”
Rambo-Stump has long been an animal lover, growing up with cats, dogs, chickens and a pig, and even caring for a few baby squirrels.
Her family now has six cats and two dogs, not counting the felines they foster for the rescue, which got its name from one of the first kittens that Rambo-Stump rescued. Blue was named for the color of her eyes and died in 2020 just months after being rescued.
Rambo-Stump recalled one woman who wanted a companion cat, and how happy she was to receive her pet. The cat has a picture window to sit in, and Rambo-Stump still gets photo updates. The cat is living out the rescue’s slogan: “Heaven on earth for cats.”
“We want to make sure the cats have the absolute best life they can have,” she said.
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