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#11
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Kitty Crisis Averted
"Candace" wrote in message
... Sheesh, guess what? I go out to feed the outdoor kitties about 8am and there is the teeniest, tiniest baby kitten out there, seriously not more than 3 weeks old, if that. It was easy to get cuz it's so tiny it couldn't get away. It was actually marked a lot like Google, our newest kitten (he is 5 weeks old, though) but different shaped face. I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. I just don't get where a tiny kitty like that would come from. I looked all around our yard and in the alley to see if there were more (sure hope not!!!) then put it in a carrier. I think it's too little to eat on its own. It looks very healthy and chubby but it was shaking. I went to the neighbors who like cats--of course no one could help, as usual. Then Tony called this woman he works with (actually she got laid off a few weeks ago but her boyfriend still works there). She has 5 cats and 2 dogs. Can you believe it, she asked Graham (her charming, handsome English boyfriend) and he said, sure. So we took the baby over to their really gorgeous house, met all their other well-cared-for indoor/ outdoor kitties and that was that!!!!!! I am shocked. Who would have thought? I'm sooooo relieved cuz, really, I am tapped out $$ wise, space wise, every wise. I didn't know what I was gonna do. Keep him in a cage and try to syringe feed him and beg people to take him, I guess. I just hope no one else that tiny ever shows up again. Could people actually be dumping them intentionally at our house? How would they know?????? Most of the outdoor cats we currently feed lay pretty low in the daytime and only appear at night to eat. There are really only 2 that are visible during the day and they pretty much stay in our yard out of sight. How dreadful this all is but that is one tiny, lucky little kitty! Candace Glad for the happy news Candace! I don't think anyone is dumping them there, it's probably more likely that the babies are following the adults. |
#12
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Kitty Crisis Averted
On Nov 3, 12:09*pm, DWMeowMix wrote:
On Nov 2, 6:30*pm, Candace wrote: On Nov 2, 3:30*pm, Cat Guy wrote: Candace wrote: I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. * Good for you. *And good for the cats. Obviously you haven't heard of a revolutionary new treatment for cats called spaying and neutering. (shakes my head in disgust)... Yeah, **** you, asswipe. *They're all my cats and I just let 'em keep breeding. *What's wrong with that? *I like to see the beauty of birth. I can understand that, so video tape it. *Over-population is a HUGE problem and you yourself state that you are "overwhelmed" with cats. 70% of all cats entering shelters are euthanized. *70%!!!! Population control by spaying and neutering is the only responsible thing to do to help stop the killing of innocent animals. *I am not targeting you specifically just the mentality. *Unfortunately there are far too many people who have this same attitude towards the animals in their care and millions of them end up in rescues and kill-shelters EVERY YEAR. Millions more DIE because there aren't enough responsible pet parents to go around. *Please, please give this alot of thought Candice. *You are not doing your kitties any favors by letting them breed indiscrimately. Pet Population Statistics: *http://www.petpopulation.org/statsurvey.html DWMeowMix Thanks, and what you say is all true. My comment was sarcastic and I understand that someone who has not posted to this ng for very long would not know that. The cats that I am overwhelmed by are stray cats who have shown up in my yard, almost all within the last 4-6 weeks. I personally have 3 indoor cats, all neutered or spayed, except for the 5 month old we just brought in from outside after he was dumped. He will be neutered in about a month. I also have a neutered outdoor cat who showed up as a feral cat 2.5 years ago who has to remain outside because he sprays everything in sight. He is such a good cat that he very rarely leaves our yard anymore. I had another neutered outdoor cat who was killed by loose dogs last April. Yes, some of the last 9 or so who have shown up are not neutered. And, not to make myself sound wonderful, but since 9/17/08 (6 weeks ago), I have spent $1700 on vet bills, the majority ($1,000) for one of the strays who, sadly, died anyway. Most of the rest of the $700 was spent on Google, the kitten we brought in from outside. The rest was to keep my existing cats' vaccinations up because of all the strays around outside (that they have no contact with anyway). And you know what, I can't freaking afford to have 9 more cats spayed and neutered. My yard seems to be a dumping ground!!!!! The newest cats who have shown up are tame (maybe some are even spayed, I hope) but I am not the one dumping them. I am, on the other hand, the one feeding them and trying to give them affection and a little pleasure in their lives since their ****wad owners dumped them to fend for themselves. And, as my one vet said to me the other day, when I was commiserating about this horrible situation, "You can only do what you can do, Candace." So there!!!!! That's what I'm doing--what I can do!!!!!! Can you do better? I work for a living and I'm not sure if my job is stable for all eternity so it makes me very nervous spending all this money on stray cats and getting other cats dependent on me for their livelihood but I have to feed them. It's wrong not to. But am I going to get 9 more cats neutered and spayed in the next few days? Nope! Are some maybe going to breed before I get them spayed? Maybe!!!!! Are there groups who help out? Yes, some, but they are all hurting now, too, and they don't help enough. They still want some money for each neuter/spay, they still want me to do the trapping of the ferals myself with their loaned traps...in my spare time. Should I quit my job and devote my life to setting traps for every feral and formerly owned, now skittish, cat who shows up in my yard? Yeah, you're right, that's an excellent idea. Guess what! I'm not gonna. I'm going to feed them and DO THE BEST I CAN and get some neutered and spayed as I can without impoverishing myself and I'm going to pray that every other piece of **** takes care of their own animals instead of dumping them on me. And, you know what, the birth process grosses me out so that's the last thing I want to see...yuck!!!!!!!!! Cats mean a lot to me but I've got a couple other things going on in my life and I'm not devoting every single monetary, time, emotional resource I have to them. So, thank you for your concern. You are correct that every cat should be spayed or neutered but until you have 9 or so cats in your yard every night wanting to be fed, then kindly don't judge me. This was not me who caused all this and I can't afford to fix it all!!!!!!!!!! One's primary responsibility is to their existing pets. I'd like to have some money left in case one of my own cats needs something and as someone who has had numerous cats with serious medical problems that required thousands of dollars worth of treatment, I think that's wise. I've been on this ng since 1998--I am not the problem but I guess I am not the solution for every cat either. Are you? Candace And I don't know why every post I've made the last couple of days spews out umpteen times. Sorry. |
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Kitty Crisis Averted
On Nov 3, 7:16*am, James wrote:
On Nov 2, 7:30*pm, Candace wrote: On Nov 2, 3:30*pm, Cat Guy wrote: Candace wrote: I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. * Good for you. *And good for the cats. Obviously you haven't heard of a revolutionary new treatment for cats called spaying and neutering. (shakes my head in disgust)... Yeah, **** you, asswipe. *They're all my cats and I just let 'em keep breeding. *What's wrong with that? *I like to see the beauty of birth. OTOH a healthy chubby kit might not be far from the mother. *You might have forced ween the little thing. Well, I hope not. As I've said, I'm familiar with the cats I feed out there and none of them have birthed any babies lately. I left the kitty outside in my backyard in a carrier (this is Phoenix so it wasn't in danger of freezing) for about 2 hours while I made frantic phone calls inside and no kitty came looking for it. I would think if there were a mom cat around that it would be eating at my house, too, and it's not. This kitty, which I originally thought was maybe 3 weeks old, and now think 2 weeks is more like it, could not have just wandered away from a nest on its own. It walks that way tiny babies walk, falling over and stumbling, unstady on its little feet. It had to be put pretty close by either by a human or a cat but I don't know where the cat went. I was home most of yesterday and spent a lot of time outside looking for other kittens, in my yard, in the alley. I looked more this evening after getting home. I don't see anything or any unfamiliar adult cats. Candace |
#14
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Kitty Crisis Averted
On Nov 3, 11:35*am, "CatNipped" wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message ... On Nov 2, 3:30 pm, Cat Guy wrote: Candace wrote: I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. Good for you. And good for the cats. Obviously you haven't heard of a revolutionary new treatment for cats called spaying and neutering. (shakes my head in disgust)... Yeah, **** you, asswipe. *They're all my cats and I just let 'em keep breeding. *What's wrong with that? *I like to see the beauty of birth.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOL! *Yeah, Candace, keep breeding those kitties - they make a real good stew if you run out of squirrels in your neighborhood! *; Hugs, CatNipped Hehe, we don't even have squirrels in Phoenix--a roof rat or 2--but I guess the kitties is made fer eatin'. That's why I'm fattening 'em up!!!!!! |
#15
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Kitty Crisis Averted
"Candace" wrote in message ... On Nov 3, 12:09 pm, DWMeowMix wrote: On Nov 2, 6:30 pm, Candace wrote: On Nov 2, 3:30 pm, Cat Guy wrote: Candace wrote: I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. Good for you. And good for the cats. Obviously you haven't heard of a revolutionary new treatment for cats called spaying and neutering. (shakes my head in disgust)... Yeah, **** you, asswipe. They're all my cats and I just let 'em keep breeding. What's wrong with that? I like to see the beauty of birth. I can understand that, so video tape it. Over-population is a HUGE problem and you yourself state that you are "overwhelmed" with cats. 70% of all cats entering shelters are euthanized. 70%!!!! Population control by spaying and neutering is the only responsible thing to do to help stop the killing of innocent animals. I am not targeting you specifically just the mentality. Unfortunately there are far too many people who have this same attitude towards the animals in their care and millions of them end up in rescues and kill-shelters EVERY YEAR. Millions more DIE because there aren't enough responsible pet parents to go around. Please, please give this alot of thought Candice. You are not doing your kitties any favors by letting them breed indiscrimately. Pet Population Statistics: http://www.petpopulation.org/statsurvey.html DWMeowMix Thanks, and what you say is all true. My comment was sarcastic and I understand that someone who has not posted to this ng for very long would not know that. The cats that I am overwhelmed by are stray cats who have shown up in my yard, almost all within the last 4-6 weeks. I personally have 3 indoor cats, all neutered or spayed, except for the 5 month old we just brought in from outside after he was dumped. He will be neutered in about a month. I also have a neutered outdoor cat who showed up as a feral cat 2.5 years ago who has to remain outside because he sprays everything in sight. He is such a good cat that he very rarely leaves our yard anymore. I had another neutered outdoor cat who was killed by loose dogs last April. Yes, some of the last 9 or so who have shown up are not neutered. And, not to make myself sound wonderful, but since 9/17/08 (6 weeks ago), I have spent $1700 on vet bills, the majority ($1,000) for one of the strays who, sadly, died anyway. Most of the rest of the $700 was spent on Google, the kitten we brought in from outside. The rest was to keep my existing cats' vaccinations up because of all the strays around outside (that they have no contact with anyway). And you know what, I can't freaking afford to have 9 more cats spayed and neutered. My yard seems to be a dumping ground!!!!! The newest cats who have shown up are tame (maybe some are even spayed, I hope) but I am not the one dumping them. I am, on the other hand, the one feeding them and trying to give them affection and a little pleasure in their lives since their ****wad owners dumped them to fend for themselves. And, as my one vet said to me the other day, when I was commiserating about this horrible situation, "You can only do what you can do, Candace." So there!!!!! That's what I'm doing--what I can do!!!!!! Can you do better? I work for a living and I'm not sure if my job is stable for all eternity so it makes me very nervous spending all this money on stray cats and getting other cats dependent on me for their livelihood but I have to feed them. It's wrong not to. But am I going to get 9 more cats neutered and spayed in the next few days? Nope! Are some maybe going to breed before I get them spayed? Maybe!!!!! Are there groups who help out? Yes, some, but they are all hurting now, too, and they don't help enough. They still want some money for each neuter/spay, they still want me to do the trapping of the ferals myself with their loaned traps...in my spare time. Should I quit my job and devote my life to setting traps for every feral and formerly owned, now skittish, cat who shows up in my yard? Yeah, you're right, that's an excellent idea. Guess what! I'm not gonna. I'm going to feed them and DO THE BEST I CAN and get some neutered and spayed as I can without impoverishing myself and I'm going to pray that every other piece of **** takes care of their own animals instead of dumping them on me. And, you know what, the birth process grosses me out so that's the last thing I want to see...yuck!!!!!!!!! Cats mean a lot to me but I've got a couple other things going on in my life and I'm not devoting every single monetary, time, emotional resource I have to them. So, thank you for your concern. You are correct that every cat should be spayed or neutered but until you have 9 or so cats in your yard every night wanting to be fed, then kindly don't judge me. This was not me who caused all this and I can't afford to fix it all!!!!!!!!!! One's primary responsibility is to their existing pets. I'd like to have some money left in case one of my own cats needs something and as someone who has had numerous cats with serious medical problems that required thousands of dollars worth of treatment, I think that's wise. I've been on this ng since 1998--I am not the problem but I guess I am not the solution for every cat either. Are you? Candace ================================================== ========================== == Candace, Your vet is right. All you can do is the best you can do-- and you *are* doing you best-- which is a hell of a lot better than most people. I know how you feel. Last year we trapped and neutered over 2,200 cats. We're way over that this year and its only November. We're still finding pregnant queens and there's no end in sight. I feel like I'm trying to bail out a sinking ship with a strainer. I know it may seem like you're not making a difference- but you really are. Even neutering one stray makes a difference because that's 4-6 kittens that won't be killed by dogs or starve to death or grow up just to be killed in a shelter The only advice I can offer is when your budget is tight, concentrate all your resources on the females because they control the population. Don't worry about the males. You would be doing more good by spaying one female than neutering 10 or 15 males. Keep the faith, Phil |
#16
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Kitty Crisis Averted
"Candace" wrote in message ... Sheesh, guess what? I go out to feed the outdoor kitties about 8am and there is the teeniest, tiniest baby kitten out there, seriously not more than 3 weeks old, if that. It was easy to get cuz it's so tiny it couldn't get away. It was actually marked a lot like Google, our newest kitten (he is 5 weeks old, though) but different shaped face. I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. I just don't get where a tiny kitty like that would come from. Sometimes, when a momma wants to move her kittens a long way she'll move them in stages so she'll never be very far away from any of the kittens while she's moving them. IOW, she'll move them one by one to a halfway point. After she has all the kittens at the halfway mark, she'll start moving them one by one to the next spot. If the final destination is very far, she'll move the kittens in 3 or 4 or more stages. So, the last kitten to be moved and first kitten moved to the new spot would look like they were abandoned. Also, some queens will abandon a kitten if they thinks its sick or thinks there's something wrong with it. Runts seem to be abandoned the most by their moms. You saved a helpless kitten's life. Doesn't if feel great! Phil |
#17
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Kitty Crisis Averted
snip
And I don't know why every post I've made the last couple of days spews out umpteen times. *Sorry.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Wheeu...that's alot of stuff to spew! :-) I wasn't being judgemental, just trying to change your mind on your stance as I perceived it with the limited information I had. The nuances of speech and what you mean between the lines are very hard to pick up on in the written word, especially when emotionally reacting to a perceived insult. You are right, I haven't posted to this board very long so I don't know all the players well yet. So, if I offended you, my apologies, that was not my intention. Sounds like your doing a wonderful job with what you can. Phil is right though...pick your battles and concentrate on the females. I would hope we all do the best we can to take care of the helpless animals that share our planet. DWMeowMix Furmom to Woody, Waco, Yota and Chasca P.S. Do you have a local feral/stray group in your area that you could contact? Maybe they could give you some advice on how they handle the monetary end of things when they TNR ferals. |
#18
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Kitty Crisis Averted
Candace wrote:
Cat Guy wrote: Candace wrote: I about croaked, as you can imagine, since I am totally overwhelmed with about 10 outdoor cats now. * Good for you. *And good for the cats. Obviously you haven't heard of a revolutionary new treatment for cats called spaying and neutering. (shakes my head in disgust)... Yeah, **** you, asswipe. They're all my cats and I just let 'em keep breeding. What's wrong with that? Letting them breed is not the problem, feeding them (without fixing them) so that they will breed is the problem. I like to see the beauty of birth. Some people probably like the show of attention when they get home from work/whatever, like having their own little groupies. |
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