Now that's what we call an overwhelming response. Our poor orphan kitty from this morning is going to have a home on Sunday! We're beyond impressed with how many people wrote in looking for Josh's contact information, and who were willing to bring this little guy into their homes. Jill was the first responder, and it looks like she and Josh have a plan to get the kitty checked out and then integrated into her home:

Hi there,

I spoke to Josh, and we're going to pick Mr. Cat up on Sunday night; he has a vet appointment on Monday for a thorough work up, and once he has a clean bill of health he will be released from quarantine at our house into the general population. We'll also find a better name for him than Mr. Cat — kudos to you guys for your part in finding him a home!

Best,
Jill

And everyone who wrote in who wanted to adopt — thank you! You guys are the best. And don't forget all the other lost kitties at animal shelters around the city. They need homes too!

So how 'bout it, everyone? What should Jill name Mr. Cat?

Want to rescue an animal? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com.

Hello Chicagoist,

Thank You,
Josh

Dear Josh,

Wow. Your email really struck a nerve. Chicagoist has quite the soft spot for animals, and we think you're absolutely fantastic and have an amazing heart for taking the cat in — and what a cute one he is, too. Our heartstrings are being tugged on so much, actually, if it weren't for the fact we know our two cats would kill us in our sleep if we brought yet another intruder into our home, we'd snatch him up in a second. So we do understand you not being able to keep the little guy, which sounds like it's too bad, as you seem to have grown somewhat attached to him.

We're not surprised the no-kill shelters are all full. Unfortunately as many good places as there are in Chicago for animals, there are still just so many homeless cats out there. These no-kill shelters are awesome places, but they are also non-profit, and notoriously underfunded and overcrowded — so there's just no place for a newcomer until some other pets get adopted. Generally there's a long waiting list to get a pet in, but it may be worth calling around to see how long some of those lists are, in case you can hold out until then. Here is a good list of shelters in and around Chicago.

We're assuming you've done simple things like ask around to your friends, family and co-workers to find out if anyone can adopt a friendly kitty. Maybe it's time to re-emphasize the situation to some of your more animal-loving friends? Get them to ask their friends. We all know how far an email chain can stretch these days, or a MySpace bulletin or a Facebook note, for that matter. If you can get him on some waiting lists for the shelters, perhaps there's someone who can keep him even temporarily, if you can't. We have to point out, though, that since he's a stray you wouldn't want him staying with someone who already has cats, in case he's positive for Feline Leukemia or other contagious diseases.

Calling around to local vets might be a good idea, too. Often they know clients who might be interested in adopting, or could at least help by posting some fliers and pictures around their offices. At the very least they may have some ideas of who might be looking for a cat, or good places to call.

Or who knows? Maybe it's time for a Chicagoist Miracle? Perhaps there's a reader out there looking to adopt a new feline friend. If it's you, please do shoot us an email, and we'll be glad to give Josh your contact information.

Don't give up, Josh.

Image of cat up for adoption provided by Josh.

Want to adopt this cat? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com.

Sometimes, every once in awhile, OK maybe once or twice tops, we answer a question someone sends in to Ask Chicagoist, and it turns out we're missing a vital and perhaps really interesting piece of information related to the topic.

Take last week's parking meter question, for example. Ferdy wanted to know about the "Zone 3" stickers popping up on parking meters in Streeterville, and other commenters wrote in to mention that the stickers were in fact showing up all over the city.

Yesterday a note was slipped under our door from Ed Walsh, a Department of Revenue city employee; they're in charge of parking meters in Chicago. Turns out the stickers are part of a new program that will allow people to pay for metered parking spots via their phones. Phone users will need to be aware of the zone they are parking in when phoning in their fees.

Ed said that "the zone numbers do not impact the current pricing structures of the meters. This is a pilot program only, and more information will be available shortly. Even though motorists will have the option of paying by phone, the current payment option of feeding the meter will continue to be available."

Considering how often we don't have anything even resembling a quarter when we have to park on the street, and how ridiculously excited we get about cool new uses for technology, Chicagoist is looking forward to giving this a try. We tried to resist, but we're completely addicted to our (non-iPhone, sadly) text messaging as it stands, and if this program does use SMS it will certainly make texting more useful than our usual random comments at 2 a.m.

Vancouver, San Francisco, Denver and New York City (among other places) already have versions of parking phone payments available in some areas of their cities. The Vancouver system even calls your phone when the meter's about to run out and allows you to "put more money in" without venturing outside.

We definitely can't wait to hear more about this program and when it will hit Chicago.

Image via wendtwork.

Thinking about upping your minutes? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com.