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#1
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Help! I need to save a cat
We have a cat at the shelter, a 1-2 year old calico named Blossom, who was
adopted a few months ago and returned for not being very friendly. I met her before and she just has that "calico" personality. She's not wild about other cats, does things on her own terms. The people that adopted her also had her declawed (assholes!). The cats has been back with us for 3 days, and has bitten two volunteers in this time. She is really not happy about being in the shelter and does not like having the other cats around. I don't know the exact circumstances of what the volunteers were doing when they got bit, but they are both pretty cat savvy, I don't think they were doing anything stupid. One volunteer is in the hospital from the bite. All this does not bode well for Blossom. We have to keep her for the next 10 days for a bite hold. She is out in the animal control kennel for now. Right now, it is looking like she will be put down at the end of the 10 days. Our shelter is not no-kill, but we do everything to avoid it. The person in charge of the cat program does not euthanize lightly, but is getting pressure to not have ill-tempered cats in the system (they are dangerous to the volunteers, etc). I have 10 days to save Blossom. I really don't know what to do. Because she is declawed, she cannot go to a barn placement. Our last bitey cat was almost put down, but a mouser position opened up for him and he was spared. I am supposed to be keeping my stess level at a minimum. If my blood pressure goes up, I could wind up in the hospital. I really don't want to deal with this, but I feel like it's my duty to do something. OTOH, I am getting really burned out by sheltering and am almost ready to be one of those people who just donates money and doesn't deal with it on a day-to-day basis. I really can't take Blossom into my house for a long period of time. I have way too much going on right now and 7 cats of my own. I know someone's going to scream at me to get the cat out and keep her. I have no where to put her except the bathroom. Any ideas? Anyone at a no-kill shelter with a possible opening? Anyone looking for a calico with an attitude? -- -Kelly |
#2
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On Tue, 17 May 2005 15:55:53 -0400, "KellyH"
wrote: Anyone looking for a calico with an attitude? An attitude is one thing, biting seriously enough to hospitalize is quite another. Sometimes, there is only one choice. Millions of animals have no homes. Resources are limited everywhere and are best used to try to find homes for the ones who DON'T bite people. If an individual has a way to save an animal, that's great, but there just aren't enough homes for biting, peeing, etc cats or dogs. Breaks my heart ever day, but the safety of people is always a concern as well. -- Janet B www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album |
#4
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On Tue, 17 May 2005 15:55:53 -0400, "KellyH"
wrote: I have 10 days to save Blossom. I really don't know what to do. Because she is declawed, she cannot go to a barn placement. Our last bitey cat was almost put down, but a mouser position opened up for him and he was spared. I am supposed to be keeping my stess level at a minimum. If my blood pressure goes up, I could wind up in the hospital. Good Lord. It's not your responsibility to save a vicious animal no one wants. What part of the country are you in? Charlie |
#5
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"kaeli" wrote
It doesn't bode well for anyone who might adopt her, either. And since you know she bites, it opens up the shelter to a lawsuit. How would you feel if she was adopted out to someone and ended up biting a child in the face? Since she bit cat-saavy people, how might the ordinary person get on with her? I would not adopt her to a family with small kids. I believe she bit because she was under stress. She had been hissing and growling when she sees other cats. I'm trying to find out exactly what happened when the volunteers were bit. I'm afraid there's a reason why most shelters (even "no-kill") euthanize a cat that bites anyone under any circumstances. It is irresponsible to rehome her to any average person or family. She's unpredictable and could be a tragedy waiting to happen. Which leaves only the truly experienced people, who are often already overloaded with rescues. I wish you the best of luck with Blossom, but try to not blame yourself or feel guilty if she ends up PTS. It's always sad, especially for those of us who love cats, even if they do bite (I have a little torbie b!tch, myself). But sometimes it's for the best. I just don't feel the behavior over the past couple days is truly Blossom's personality. She was not like this when she was at the shelter before the adoption. I would like to see how she does in a home situation before making a final judgment on her behavior. -- -Kelly |
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I can think of many reasons why the kitty would have bitten someone -- being
scared or overstimulated from the shelter being one; stress from having been recently declawed being another possibility. I've volunteered at the local humane society shelter and it is very, very stressful for some of the animals, especially if a lot of people come through looking at them. We've had shelter workers who also got bit by an animal that got overstimmed. Also, cat bites are known for being easily infected because of the type of bacteria in their mouths and the type of wound their bites produce, i.e., deep punctures, so I'm not surprised that the person may in the hospital. I know this because I worked with (and successfully rehabilitated) a feral who was scared, bit me and I got an infection that needed strong meds and several urgent care visits, too. But I luckily received help from someone experienced in socializing ferals; learned how to work with him, and he's now a sweet housecat. Kelly, have you talked to any other rescue groups yet? Maybe you could see if someone would be willing to foster her if you could help (if this is at all possible) pay for her to stay with them for awhile. Or see if a vet would be willing to let you board her at a reduced rate while you try to work out some solution; that at least could buy you some time. I think the key here would be to find someone who is willing to temporarily foster her so that Blossom can get socialized so then she could be placed in a better situation. Maybe others can help out with more ideas. Purrs from us for your kind and caring heart. Christine and Omar, Oreo, Midnight, Robin & Tucker "KellyH" wrote in message ... We have a cat at the shelter, a 1-2 year old calico named Blossom, who was adopted a few months ago and returned for not being very friendly. I met her before and she just has that "calico" personality. She's not wild about other cats, does things on her own terms. The people that adopted her also had her declawed (assholes!). The cats has been back with us for 3 days, and has bitten two volunteers in this time. She is really not happy about being in the shelter and does not like having the other cats around. I don't know the exact circumstances of what the volunteers were doing when they got bit, but they are both pretty cat savvy, I don't think they were doing anything stupid. One volunteer is in the hospital from the bite. All this does not bode well for Blossom. We have to keep her for the next 10 days for a bite hold. She is out in the animal control kennel for now. Right now, it is looking like she will be put down at the end of the 10 days. Our shelter is not no-kill, but we do everything to avoid it. The person in charge of the cat program does not euthanize lightly, but is getting pressure to not have ill-tempered cats in the system (they are dangerous to the volunteers, etc). I have 10 days to save Blossom. I really don't know what to do. Because she is declawed, she cannot go to a barn placement. Our last bitey cat was almost put down, but a mouser position opened up for him and he was spared. I am supposed to be keeping my stess level at a minimum. If my blood pressure goes up, I could wind up in the hospital. I really don't want to deal with this, but I feel like it's my duty to do something. OTOH, I am getting really burned out by sheltering and am almost ready to be one of those people who just donates money and doesn't deal with it on a day-to-day basis. I really can't take Blossom into my house for a long period of time. I have way too much going on right now and 7 cats of my own. I know someone's going to scream at me to get the cat out and keep her. I have no where to put her except the bathroom. Any ideas? Anyone at a no-kill shelter with a possible opening? Anyone looking for a calico with an attitude? -- -Kelly |
#7
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"Charlie Wilkes" wrote
Good Lord. It's not your responsibility to save a vicious animal no one wants. I really don't think she's vicious. She was not like this before. What part of the country are you in? New England, MA/NH border. -- -Kelly |
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#9
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"Christine Burel" wrote in message
... I can think of many reasons why the kitty would have bitten someone -- being scared or overstimulated from the shelter being one; stress from having been recently declawed being another possibility. I've volunteered at the local humane society shelter and it is very, very stressful for some of the animals, especially if a lot of people come through looking at them. We've had shelter workers who also got bit by an animal that got overstimmed. Also, cat bites are known for being easily infected because of the type of bacteria in their mouths and the type of wound their bites produce, i.e., deep punctures, so I'm not surprised that the person may in the hospital. I know this because I worked with (and successfully rehabilitated) a feral who was scared, bit me and I got an infection that needed strong meds and several urgent care visits, too. But I luckily received help from someone experienced in socializing ferals; learned how to work with him, and he's now a sweet housecat. Thank you, I'm glad you understand. A cat bite doesn't necessarily have to be vicious in order for someone to end up in the hospital. Could be that she didn't get it washed out right away, where the bite wound happened, etc. I really think Blossom bit because she was stressed and possibly redirected agression due to the other cats. Kelly, have you talked to any other rescue groups yet? Maybe you could see if someone would be willing to foster her if you could help (if this is at all possible) pay for her to stay with them for awhile. Or see if a vet would be willing to let you board her at a reduced rate while you try to work out some solution; that at least could buy you some time. I think the key here would be to find someone who is willing to temporarily foster her so that Blossom can get socialized so then she could be placed in a better situation. I'm talking to a couple other volunteers right now to see what we can do, if anyone can foster her. I do think a foster home would be the best scenario. -- -Kelly |
#10
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I found out that Blossom did bite in the home, twice, post-declaw. One was
without warning on the leg. As for the bites in the shelter, one occurred when other cats were in the room and a loud noise startled her. The other happened when she was rubbing up against the cage, looking for attention, and the volunteer pet her. No other cats around and no warning. That instance is not good for her future. -- -Kelly |
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