Help! I need to save a cat

"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
...
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?


Hey, what if we could raise funds to ship her up there it you?
Don't you have ferals you feed?

"KellyH" wrote in message
...

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.

Yeah, when you get bitten by a cat (believe me, I know about this - Bandit
is a biter), you have to do things that are sort of counter-intuitive to
what you would normally do to take care of a wound. When Bandit was getting
her stitiches out she bit me on my finger directly into the first knuckle
joint. Having had lots of experience in this I knew to "bleed" the wound
for as long as I could rather than trying to stop the bleeding. I also
called the doctor as soon as I got home and got a course of antibiotics
before the wound could get a chance to get infected (it was a dangerous
spot, bing deep into the knuckle). Then I went the next day and got a
tetanus shot since it had been 10 years since my last one. Having done all
that, I avoided any serious complications, but most people wouldn't know to
do all that.

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.

I hope she finds a home, but working at a rescue you must know that even
cats with no problems don't always make it through the system alive - don't
stress yourself out over this, remember that you and the babies you're
carrying must come first in your concerns.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"KellyH" wrote


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.


In the event it is decided she will not make a good house cat, I wish you
had a southern contact that could arrange for cats like her to be barn cats.
It is, I assume, too cold where you are to have a regular barn cat program?
One of the local shelters I support here routinely rehomes neutered ferals
to local
farms where they are fed, vetted, and sheltered in the barns and other
outbuildings.

"bigbadbarry" wrote in message
oups.com...

kaeli wrote:
In article ,

enlightened us with...
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
--
~kaeli~


I wish I could take her, once established, cats like her make good
pets.

You never know, maybe someone will step in, I hope so.


Your climate is okay for barn cats. I wish I had more contacts in the
farming/horse circles, so I could hook up the rescuers from the colder
states with contacts with folks down here who want barn cats. Of course,
it would be hard to monitor the cats once they were placed.

Mary wrote:

Your climate is okay for barn cats. I wish I had more contacts in the
farming/horse circles, so I could hook up the rescuers from the
colder
states with contacts with folks down here who want barn cats. Of
course,
it would be hard to monitor the cats once they were placed.

Where's a collector when you need one
--

I never thought of that, what an eggsellent idea :*

I guess it would take a few phone calls; but seems like an offer no-one
could refuse. I mean, can you really have too many cats on the farm.

wrote:
Hey, what if we could raise funds to ship
her up there it you? Don't you have ferals
you feed?

Ignorance and stupidity are definitely your strong suits. The cat is
declawed. Maybe you should actually *read* the post before you respond.
Putting this poor cat outside to fend for itself in a feral colony, and
one where there are obviously predators (lynx for one) is the ultimate
cruelty.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

bigbadbarry wrote:
Mary wrote:

Your climate is okay for barn cats. I wish I had more contacts in
the
farming/horse circles, so I could hook up the rescuers from the
colder
states with contacts with folks down here who want barn cats. Of
course,
it would be hard to monitor the cats once they were placed.

Where's a collector when you need one
--

I never thought of that, what an eggsellent idea :*

you know Im talking about a barn placement right...hehe

"KellyH" wrote in message
...
"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



She didn't bite before she was adopted and declawed. I wonder how much THAT
has to do with it. It's a shame people can't be forced to live with the
problems they create without the cat suffering too.

W

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.

I wouldn't base any decisions on these two incidents. Even the rubbing
and seemingly nice behavior does not mean that the reaction wasn't
stress related. The biting that happened in its previous home could also
very well be pain related. I think this cat has been severely
traumatized and needs some time. We also don't know how the *******s
that declawed her reacted when she bit. They may have hurt her in
retaliation and as a result she has more stress and trust issues on top
of everything else. It might be worthwhile to try some pain meds for a
little while to see if that makes a difference. As with any amputee, it
is possible that cats can also experience phantom pain and this could be
another aspect of this problem. I don't think this is hopeless by any
means, but I think this poor kitty needs to get out of the shelter, into
a quiet home, and given some time before any decisions are made. I hope
you can find a compassionate volunteer that will help her get through
this.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

Wendy wrote:

She didn't bite before she was adopted and declawed. I wonder how
much THAT
has to do with it. It's a shame people can't be forced to live with
the
problems they create without the cat suffering too.

W

I just don't understand people, who ever thought that up? declawing.

It makes me *shiver* to think of it.

My mind does not work like that, I can't understand how someone would
consider this a solution.