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Old October 12th 03, 07:28 PM
frlpwr
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Ted Davis wrote:

(snip)

Try some other group - all you'll find here are cat people, especially
people who have rescued many cats already and continue to rescue them,
mostly successfully.


Do you think all feral cats should be living in human households?

"but everyone who is aware of the situation in the
neighborhood thinks something is wrong, -- as in there is more going on here
then is apparent. e.g., the motivations of the persons who took them might not
be as noble as you people are assuming"


We know nothing about that person's motives,


We can deduce her motives. All the woman has to do is allow the OP to
see the cats and check out where and how they are living. What if the
cats are housed in carriers within the trailer? What if she is using
the female as a breeder? (Lots of people are obsessed with orange
kittens, you know.) What if she feeds her cats nothing but tablescraps
or keeps them as unfed mousers?

The simple fact that she is not willing to let the OP know any details
about the cats is reason enough to be suspect.

and so can make no
assumptions other than that the cat and kitten may have found a home
with someone who wants them


Apparently your years of experience in cat rescue have not taught you
any lessons about the frequency of animal abuse, neglect and animal
hoarding. What makes you think that trading the certainty of food and
shelter offered by the OP for "may have found a home", a home of unknown
quality, is a good deal for the cats?

A home is not necessarily a good home. I recently rescued seven old
tomcats from a woman's trailer. They were kept in carriers for extended
periods of time, their fur was matted with their own feces and their
skin was burnt from urine. They were walking skeletons. None of them
weighed over 6 pounds and one weighed just 4 pounds. Their muscle tone
was so compromised that five of them required surgery after developing
hernias from just walking around my cat room. Two were untreated
diabetics now on daily insulin injections. All of them have kidney
problems as a consequnce of poor quality food. They were infested with
fleas, tapeworms and earmites. The few teeth they still had among them
needed to be cleaned.

The critical point of this man's dilemma is why isn't he permitted to
see the cats and their surroundings? He doesn't seem unreasonable to
me. I think if he was assured about the cats' quality of care, he would
be happily relieved.

, but there is definitely something wrong
in what we do know, and that's about you. I can easily understand why
the neighbor is unwilling to give you the sister's address - in a
situation such as you have described, I would want to get the cat and
kitten out of it as quickly as possible


What had he done to the cats that would warrant this? He was providing
food and shelter, more than most people do for stray cats. I have to
doubt your claim of years of rescue experience if you are going to act
shocked if someone doesn't jump right on the T/N/R express.

and not to let you find out
where they went.


Do you feed feral and/or stray cats? Would you accept their
disappearance so easily? If so, I suggest you are unfit for feral cat
management.

While there might be something nefarious going on,
it seems more likely that the neighbor is acting in the interests of
the cats


Why? Nothing in their behavior would indicate this.

and being cautious toward you to protect the sister and the
cats from you.


Crikey! The guy was feeding and sheltering a stray cat and kitten! Why
are you acting as if he mistreated them?