Yesterday in the front yard of the apartment building I live in I saw a stray mother cat nursing her kittens. Being the veterinary technician student and animal lover that I am, I absolutely bolted down to the yard to try to catch them.
The kittens ran into a rabbit hole, and the momma ran off.
Being the stubborn girl that I am, I sat by the hole and tried to coax the kittens out for a good twenty minutes, and then returned three separate time that evening to try again. No luck.
This afternoon, however, I was successful in extracting two of the beasties from the hole using a very clever path of tuna to lure them. Now, though, I have two Ay-Dorable kittens, and a dilemma.
I can't have more animals right now. Maybe, maybe, and it would be a stretch...MAYBE one more, but it wouldn't be fun and it would be a strain on my already drained finances. HOWEVER, being the consciencious (wow, that spelling does not agree with my stomach) I want to help the critters.
Initially, I was going to take them to the vet immediately and get them their shots, deworming, testing for FIV, FeLV, and get them treated for what looks like a minor eye infection.
But i don't currently have any actual...money.
So the next best thing is taking them to a no-kill shelter. (Humane Society is out of the question) But i used to volunteer at a no-kill shelter, and plan to again, and I know how frustrating it is for the volunteers when a new litter's dropped off. Sure, kittens are easier to adopt, but think of all the vet bills I'd be saddling this shelter with. I don't like it.
I think if i saved 'em, well, i feel a certain responsibility to their health and finding them homes.
Any ideas? Thoughts? I'm sure if i worked hard enough I could find them homes, but what about their welfare until them? I really can't afford to get them checked out at this point -- and it would be completely irresponsible to *not* take them...should i credit card it and hope they don't have any actual diseases (mucho money?)
There's only the two at this point, I plan to try to get the definite third one out over the weekend (not sure if there are more) So a possible four little fuzzballs would definitely be more moola than I could handle. Any other suggestions then the ones I mentioned?
edit: Incidentally, I've named them Simon and River, cause the girl is really weird and will flip out and the boy is, well, her brother, but also kind of stupid in a Simon way.
[ October 13, 2005, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: Leonide ]
Posted by Samarkand (Member # 8379) on :
Is there a shelter in a nearby in an affluent town? I live in Boulder, Colorado, and kittens at the Humane Society are adopted in all of two seconds and there's a 99.99% adoption rate. If you're willing to drive for a bit, a town with more money might be a good option.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Hmm. I don't...think so. Not really. I mean, Philadelphia's nearby but i wouldn't call that an *affluent* town. I'll try to look for a shelter located maybe in the richer areas around here.
Incidentally, i used to live in Boulder. My sister was born there Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Hm. Try newspaper ads. Most papers let you run that sort free for two weeks.
Will the others have Firefly names too?
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
If i can catch them, then of course!
If the teeny black one I saw turns out to be a girl, she'll be Inara.
I don't want to run the "free kittens" dealio, because you get a lot of stupid people who don't know what it actually takes to raise an animal. I guess the best thing i can do is just take them to a shelter.
Posted by JannieJ (Member # 8683) on :
The no-kill shelter would be a better deal, you could always give them food and/or time down the road to offset the trouble. Free kittens aren't always picked up by nice people. Posted by Dead_Horse (Member # 3027) on :
Um...you could...maybe...put them back? Why does animal lover and student vet tech mean you have to take them away from their mother and give them names and take them to some cold concrete building that smells bad? Just wondering....
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Dead horse, I think she probably has heard some of the same lectures I have that involve the "a cat living outdoors has about an 8 month life span"
Leonide, I have no clue what I would do, likely go to the no kill shelter though I also know the stress it puts on the staff and volunteers.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Why is an 8 month life span a horrible thing for a cat...?
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Foust: Why is an 8 month life span a horrible thing for a cat...?
OK -- I understand this. Cats are not native to this place. They are here because people brought them here. And they are running wild and breeding uncontrollably because the people who brought them here haven't been such good stewards. So their plight is the result of poor human stewardship, and perhaps the responsibility for easing that plight is ours, as well.
Cats are dependant of people. In the care of a good human steward, a house cat can live for 17-20 years. Eight months is short, brutish and nasty.
That said, unless I knew that I could personally take responsibility for the well-being of a feral animal, I would leave it be.
Posted by JannieJ (Member # 8683) on :
It's better for the cat to have a chance to be happy and healthy in a good home than to be freezing, starving, and ill outdoors, at the mercy of whatever it encounters. To me, it's like asking what's wrong with letting children live on the street. But take into consideration the fact that I feed and worry over everything that crosses my path, including ill-tempered, ravenous squirrels, so my mileage may vary substantially from others reading this.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I agree that a no-kill shelter would be the best thing to do. It's really sweet of you to want to take care of the kitties.
As for the living outside thing, well, it depends on where you live, I think. I got kind of lectured on here for mentioning that I have two outdoor cats - but I think a lot of people don't understand what living in the country is like. If you live in a housing addition, yep, your cat is going to get run over soon. If you live on 4 acres of woods on a dead-end gravel road, your cat is going to be very happy climbing trees and catching mice.
space opera
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
I adopted a cat from the SPCA about a year ago. She's an awesome cat. Her name is Ashlynd and she's an indoor-only kitty. She sees her vet regularly, and is up-to-date on her shots. She catches (and eats) the mice that invade every time the hay field behind our house gets mowed, and I can count on her to snuggle with my feet whenever it's a little chilly at night. She's perfectly content to stay inside, which is a good thing, since I'm not going to let her out.
I also live in the country, on a half section of land full of old falling down barns, woods, fields, ponds, and other 3 other homes. People frequently dump their unwanted kitties out here in the country, where they face starvation, predators and other dangers.
Not long ago, a couple of strays adopted us. My guess is they'd have adopted anyone who fed them. The little one, who we've dubbed "Coke" was out in the woods, mewing pitiously from loneliness and hunger, at about 7 weeks old. He still doesn't really come when I call him, but at least he doesn't run when I go to pet him.
"Bones" got his/her moniker from his/her obvious state of near-starvation when he/she (I still haven't checked) turned up yowling for a handout a few days ago. This one literally begs for me to pet it, rubbing my ankles and yowling every time I go outside. It even tried to get in the van to go with my husband this morning.
I will not be taking either of these animals to the vet, and I will not be inviting these animals into our home. I'm looking for new homes for them, but the chances of them going anywhere is slim. So I'll keep feeding them, and when they don't turn up for dinner one day, I'll be sad. But I didn't ask for these cats, I can't afford to take proper care of them. My charity toward them has to end with kibbles.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Oh space opera, I agree with you, it's ok to have barn cats, (or similar), but you are providing for them, at least feeding them. The problem is seeing strays in towns. Here we TNR (trap neuter release) any adults, and find homes for the kittens. But if someone can take care of the cat, inside or out more power to them. My mom's friend had a porch cat, who never even went all the way to the barn, or to the back yard, just lived on the front porch and front yard (which is about 2 acres in front, 16 behind the house), she lived 17 years, with vaccinations, and a bit of loving care once in a while. But on or near a college campus is different, and if anything can be done it should.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Trust me, Dead_Horse, Foust, this wasn't a case of "they are so CUTE! i need to save them!"
As a lover of cats, and ESPECIALLY as a student of veterinary technology, I am keenly aware of the cat overpopulation problem.
The main problem with strays, folks, is that if they aren't caught and spayed and neutered, then they just breed more strays. Do you know how many animals the Humane Society takes in -- just in strays -- every month? Would it be okay for me to have let these two run free, knowing that in a few months they would be in heat, probably start copulating with each other (thereby passing on whatever weird genetic quirk they've got that makes their eyes all googly) and then start copulating with anything else feline that moves?
2 unspayed/unneutered cats of opposite genders can have as many as 420,000 descendants in about seven years -- and the initial two cats don't even have to live eight months for that to happen.
Check out the stats --they're pretty heart-wrenching.
And anyhow...it's obvious that I'm a cat lover, I said as much. It's obvious that a lot of the other people on here are too, and understand that bond. If you're not, fine. If you don't care about animals or where they end up or how they die, fine. Don't come in here and acid rain on my parade just cause you don't "get it"
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
I wasn't trying to discourage you. I was really just commiserating about not being able to care for all the strays that turn up.
I'd love to get all the strays that show up here fixed, but there's no way I could afford that, especially since my husband isn't exactly a cat person. He says I can either feed them or shoot them, but they can't come in the house.
Our local SPCA won't take them. They're overpopulated as it is; there's a waiting list.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
!! Boon!
That post was clearly directed at Dead_Horse and Foust -- I wasn't talking about you at all!
edit: plus, i understand implicitly how much money it takes to visit the vet, etc. The only thing i would suggest is making a local no-kill shelter aware of your strays -- possibly they'll come try to trap them themselves. Or maybe rent a humane trap -- it costs to have it brought over, but if you then take the cats to a shelter, they won't charge you the removal fee. I guess that's probably what i would have done if i hadn't been able to catch these kittens. What i would still do, if the rest of the litter was still in that hole -- but the momma has taken them somewhere else.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
I wouldn't need a trap, I can catch them just fine. . . there's just no one to take them to. So, like I said, I feed them, and if I hear of a cheap/free clinic, I'll take them in for that. There's really nothing else I can do.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
if there's no shelters around, then i agree. there isn't
local vets will sometimes have cheap/free spay/neuter days. keep an eye out! Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah or cheap months, I think here it's February. I'm not sure any more, we've had a clinic that does spays for $40 and neuters's for $25 with ferals that will be released and come in a trap at $30 for spay or neuter and an ear tip removal (so that it's easy to see they have been fixed) pluse a rabies. Rabies is $8 for pets.
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