Breaking out the kitties

Long story short, my mom and dad have way too many cats. They likely will be losing their house soon, my mom has already moved out of state, my dad can not/will not take care of them, and I can only keep about two.

Last night I took twelve of them to a shelter that was highly recommended as this great, clean, non-kill establishment. I got there after the hour long drive to find a very dirty barn ran by a lady of questionable sanity. I had to leave them there, but I have been sick since then. They weren't my cats, but I've been taking care of them and they were like my pets now. For people who are not "animal people" it is hard to understand, but I can not stop thinking about them, I can't even eat because I'm worried they are hungry.

Anyways, I can not get them back and keep them, but I need them out of there, but I also need to make sure they get to safe homes. I have been posting like crazy on petfinder, catster, local message boards and forums, yahoo groups, facebook, myspace, anywhere I can think of.

Does anyone have any idea of how I can get them out of there and with people that will take care of them soon? Thank you so much for any advice.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2011 05:24PM by lisams901.

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Might try Craigs List as well if it is free in your area. The problem, of course, is that there are way too many kitties out there and they are not neutered because of irresponsible pet owners. One of the things I always respected about the Humane Society was that they charged a fee for adopting out pets that included the cost of neutering. There was a follow up with folks who adopted pets too young to neuter where the neutering was prepaid and part of the agreement was that the pets WOULD be neutered when old enough.

We are, unfortunately, in an area where pets are dumped off at the side of the road when they become too expensive, too much of a nuisance or are inconvenient. From time to time I round up a few and drop them off at the Humane Society. There is one cat around here who is too feral to catch, though I have taken several batches of her kittens in and she just keeps reproducing. She has pretty much decimated the songbird population in the area and stays away from my poultry only because 1) they are too big for her to bring down (geese), 2) too fast for her (guinea hens) and I have winged her a couple of times with a pellet gun (that stings but does not break skin) when she has ventured into the barn lot.

So sorry to hear about this. I know you can't keep them, but as a kitty lover, I'm hoping you can retrieve them, at least temporarily, if you really feel it's a bad place.

The only other thing I can think of is contacting some local pet stores, and perhaps your local news. There are pet stores in my area that have postings about animals needing homes, and certainly, if the local news thinks it's a good human interest story, it would bring a lot of attention. Perhaps not only to the animals that need homes, but also to the place -- public scrutiny is sometimes a good motivator for establishments to get their act together!

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been trying to get the word out around here and have made small sites for them so I can post links.

I am just really confused with the place. It came pretty highly recommended and showed up on rescue sites so I guess I was just expecting a better functioning facility.

There have been news reports about some of them in this area where the intentions were probably good but they just took in too many animals that they could neither afford to care for nor find the time to find people to adopt.

I'm sorry for what you're dealing with lisams901. I've been through the same situation at least a hundred times. We used to live out in the country and people would drive by, open their car door, and toss an animal out, who would find its way to my house. Different house, 3 female cats had been seen wandering around. They ended up preggers and had their litters within a week of each other. Each mother cat, over a few days' time, brought kitten by kitten by the scruff of the neck and kept them very near the house. We had 21 kittens that I didn't want turning feral after weaning. It seems that I usually end up keeping the mommas and getting them fixed. Kittens are easier to adopt out.

I have used the Humane Society, though they've often been filled to capacity, and put me on a waiting list. My vet lets me post in his hospital and on his site. A guy I know has a grooming/pet store - he's been wonderful and my best resource. I've had friends with farms who have taken cats from me, to be pets and for rodent control.

I hope all your little critters are doing well. They're actually very resilient, with a little food and TLC.

What ever happened to the cats?

Flash - did you ever think of getting a live trap and catching the cat and taking her to be fixed? There are organizations that will do it for free. Taking in her kittens time and time again is not solving the problem. I think it's disgusting that you would hit a cat with a pellet gun...and then admit it. She is just trying to survive like the rest of us. Instead of being mean to her...take her in and love her. I don't understand how you are just going to see her outside struggling..and you're going to shoot her? Every cat deserves a home...it's a hard life out there for stray cats. Don't make it worse by being mean to her.

I have tried to trap her and she was way too wiley. If I have to choose between a feral creature (which she is) and my livestock, I will choose my livestock. Believe me, if I could have captured her I would have and taken her to the Humane Society. That would save these generations of kittens. I resorted to the pellet gun once I realized she was the reason that goslings were disappearing. If I can discourage her from poaching on my livestock then I won't need to use the shotgun on her. She may deserve a home or she may have decided this is her home, but there is no welcome mat here for a feral creature who is killing and eating my poultry.

The cats are still at the shelter. We are in a rural area and there are way too many stray cats for the amount of people that want a cat. Everyone seems to have their own 5 or so stray cats. I've now been on sites trying to get adoptive or foster homes from out of state.

A happy ending for this dog ~ ~ ~

My son went camping last weekend at a state park, full of people and park rangers. He noticed a dog laying in the woods as he was going for a hike up the mountain. When he came down, the dog was still there, so he went into the woods to check on it. It was barely whimpering, emaciated and had several deep, infected lacerations. He checked with the rangers who had no knowledge of it, nor did they offer assistance. So my son picked up the dog and drove it to our vet, which was a 2 hour drive. The vet cleaned and dressed the wounds, provided antibiotics and checked for heartworm. He did this at no charge, as it was a rescue animal. The dog is a lab mix, about 2 years old and is much better. A friend of a friend will be adopting her. The vet will give shots and spay her for cost only, in exchange for some volunteering to clean cages, etc. in his hospital.

That's great! Luckily your son found him.

lisa, you might want to try some local veterinarian offices in the area. I know here in New York, they will sometimes take cats or dogs and find homes for them. It is a difficult situation out there due to people's negligence as well as the economy. All shelters are full.

My daughter brought home a cat that just followed her in the street a few month's ago. I already have three cats and could not take it. I had called seven kill shelters and no one had any room. However, we were lucky and a neighbor decided to take the cat, as it was very friendly. We gave her food and an extra litter box.

My oldest house cat is about 14. Her life is mostly sleeping, eating, sunbathing and purring. She lost her hearing a year and a half ago. Then she got cataracts, but still did pretty well. Her vision, just within the past week, has gone. Poor thing. We've lived in this house 11 years, so it's familiar to her. She walks around, using her whiskers much the same as a blind person uses a walking stick. When we walk by and pet her, it's startles her as she hasn't heard or seen us coming.

Does anyone have experience and advice for making life easier for deaf and blind pets?

not much you can do with deaf and blind...

cats kill about at last estimate if my memory serves me correct kill about 650,000,000 birds a year in the usa... yes this is one year just one year... this was in parade and im looking at estimates around there on some unsubstantiated websites...

so no offense but you are choosing who lives and dies... cats or birds (not counting other species a cat kills which can number quite a few)

as of now feral cats have very few natural predators... if any... so in reality it is very harmful to natural habitats to not fix the cat... or to keep saving its babies... or not shooting it...

flash sorry dear but i would just kill it... it would save you a lot of headaches...

shopping north west PA and south west ny

cooldude, have you been smoking again? I'm not the one with a cat. A cat that is blind and deaf is no threat to any birds. I am not a fan of feral cats either because of what they do to the birds and to my poultry. They need a home, but it won't be mine! Unfortunately feral cats are the product of irresponsible pet owners. But what is being discussed is a pet of a responsible pet owner and there are no easy answers when it comes to a loved but elderly pet who does not appear to be suffering pain.

Sorry to hear, Mert.

Cats rely much more on visuals that audio for communication, so the loss of sight will take time to adjust to, but I've known cats that lived years like that.

Obviously, refrain from rearranging any furniture and when you pet her, approach from the nose, touching her whiskers first. That way she will be expecting it and should recognize you by smell.

If she likes catnip, get some plush toys filled with it. She should be able to hunt them and play with them by smell also.

i know you are not the one with the cat flash... but you said you are constantly having to check on it and shoo it away... i would just kill it in my opinion...
of course it is not your responsibility i was just voicing my opinion and what i would do in your situation...

and the first post on this thread was problems with to many cats... not the problem with a deaf and blind one... i wasnt saying to kill that one...

and i never said it was easy... giving up animals to shelters is never easy... but its not really changing anything... especially because a lot of them kill the animals themselves...

life is precious regardless... and taking life is pain... but at times necessary

shopping north west PA and south west ny

I think that the next time you send a kitten to a rescue place make sure it is a 501.c3...they are more regulated than other places and have to adhere to the tax code.

mwert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that the next time you send a kitten to a
> rescue place make sure it is a 501.c3...they are
> more regulated than other places and have to
> adhere to the tax code.

Maybe we need some pet shelter shops! I would have reported the dirty facility to the Humane Society or to local animal control. Intentions may have been good, but it's still inhumane & unsanitary to keep an animal in poor conditions and it sounds like it needed to be checked out. I'm a long time cat lover/owner but not in a position to have any pets right now.

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Speaking of a blind cat, I'm just finishing the book "Homer's Odyssey", a fun and interesting read about a blind cat and his antics. It's rather delightful.

PS - I got it on Paperback Swap. Are any of you members of that site?

There was a sad AP article in the erie paper how pet abandonments zre becoming so prevelent with the bad economy... Sad...

shopping north west PA and south west ny

When I went to pay my roofer a month or so ago, his office gal had 3 cats and a litter of new kittens in the office and many cats hanging around outside. She indicated she is currently feeding 20+ strays that have evidently been dumped out of cars at a nearby intersection. She can't take them home because she has 5 there already and she was adamant that she would not take them to the ASPCA or any other shelter. Obviously they are not getting vet attention and equally obvious, without some neutering her 'office cat' population is only going to rise.

I thank God that I have my car as I read the lost and found ads.

"Lost Rottwiler."

"Lost Pitbull"

"Lost male Siberian Tiger, 400lbs, answers to Fluffer McKitty"

Just kidding (not on the first two). But seriously in Jamestown NY (hour from my house) they found an 4 foot long alligator. No one knows anything about it but it was assumed that someone was keeping it as a pet and it got out or they abandoned it. Either that or it decided to swim against the current 1500 miles. I am pretty sure it wouldnt have survived the winter. Supposedly mountain lions sightings are making a comeback in that area for the same reason.

"Well some people are a bit daft about their pets." Hagrid from Harry Potter.

I used to go running with a stick in college if i was alone. This was after a church lady told me about her pooch getting eaten by a pack of feral dogs (in WV of course).

Some of my moms best memories was raising a baby alligator... when it got long enough to do some serious finger damage her famiy gave it to the zoo. She was raised in Mississippi and supposedly i get a little twang from her.

shopping north west PA and south west ny

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