(Picture Left: "Sasha." Beautiful, affectionate and healthy kitten. But, can she find an adoptive home or have to remain with her rescuer? -- A rescuer who already has too many saved strays who have yet to find adoptive homes.)
I haven't been writing a whole lot lately about new animal rescues. That's because with only one adoption during the month of June, we haven't been able to do a whole lot of new rescues. We are totally full both in boarding and in foster.
Nevertheless, a good friend and long time volunteer called last week asking for help with two new cat rescues.
"I just found this cat outside a laundromat!" Kathy told me. "He's very friendly, but people tell me he's a stray. What should I do?"
"I don't know, Kathy," I replied. "If you need help with the vetting, I can pay for the shots, testing and neutering, but I have no place to put another cat. Do you want me to call in an appointment for you with Dr. G? If you take him to Animal Control, he's a dead cat."
"Oh, I have so many cats already," Kathy lamented. "Let me see if my friend, Don can hold on to him for a little while. I'll get back to you on the vet stuff."
A short time later, Kathy called back to request the veterinary appointment. Her friend was willing to foster the friendly tabby cat. (Thank God for that!)
But, then, two days later, Kathy called about finding a kitten in front of her building!
"I can't just leave her here, Patty! She's a friendly kitten and there are some rough kids in the neighborhood and a lot of Pitbulls. (Kathy lives in a dicey area in the Bronx.) If I bring her to the shelter, would they kill a kitten, too?"
"There are tons of kittens going down at Animal Control these days, Kathy. Its the time of the year, you know. Again, I can pay to get the kitten vetted if you can hold on to her for a while. We can advertise her on Adoption sites and hope that we can find someone for her."
Following a trip to our vet, Kathy stopped over by my home in order for me to photograph the kitten she had just named, "Sasha."
Sasha is a real sweetie. About 8 to 10-weeks-old, healthy and pretty. Sasha likes being picked up and is, according to Kathy, great around her other pets.
But, we really need to find a home for Sasha, because Kathy is already up to her eyeballs in rescued cats and two rescued dogs. Unfortunately too, she lives in an area where people routinely throw cats and kittens out all the time.
"What's going on with that tabby cat your found the other day?" I asked.
"I'm hoping Don will keep him," Kathy replied wistfully. "So far, its going really well. Did you know the cat was already neutered?!"
"Really?" I said, genuinely surprised. "That means he was probably adopted from a rescue or shelter. Its terrible that the owners would throw the cat out, rather than contacting the place or people they got him from. There's no accounting for the lack of responsibiility."
Later that evening, I wrote Sasha up and posted her pictures on Petfinders and several other adoption sites.
Although I think the photos are pretty good and the write-up, descriptive and detailed, we have yet to get even one inquiry on her.
I'm not sure what one has to do these days to find a responsible, loving home for a cat -- or kitten.
As said so many times, there is no public sense of urgency anymore. (The public and media has been told that we "are on the road to no-kill" and that we are no longer killing pets for "population control." If I didn't know better, I would swear those words were coming straight from BP and not our city animal shelters.)
Too often, what rescuers rescue, we end up having to keep, thereby either putting us out of rescue eventually or turning us into "hoarders."
There is little or no way to win -- that is, unless one has a lot of friends willing to take rescued cats and kittens in. Then again, you would soon run out of friends -- or, they will simply stop taking your calls.
No real way to win. -- PCA
*******
Nevertheless, a good friend and long time volunteer called last week asking for help with two new cat rescues.
"I just found this cat outside a laundromat!" Kathy told me. "He's very friendly, but people tell me he's a stray. What should I do?"
"I don't know, Kathy," I replied. "If you need help with the vetting, I can pay for the shots, testing and neutering, but I have no place to put another cat. Do you want me to call in an appointment for you with Dr. G? If you take him to Animal Control, he's a dead cat."
"Oh, I have so many cats already," Kathy lamented. "Let me see if my friend, Don can hold on to him for a little while. I'll get back to you on the vet stuff."
A short time later, Kathy called back to request the veterinary appointment. Her friend was willing to foster the friendly tabby cat. (Thank God for that!)
But, then, two days later, Kathy called about finding a kitten in front of her building!
"I can't just leave her here, Patty! She's a friendly kitten and there are some rough kids in the neighborhood and a lot of Pitbulls. (Kathy lives in a dicey area in the Bronx.) If I bring her to the shelter, would they kill a kitten, too?"
"There are tons of kittens going down at Animal Control these days, Kathy. Its the time of the year, you know. Again, I can pay to get the kitten vetted if you can hold on to her for a while. We can advertise her on Adoption sites and hope that we can find someone for her."
Following a trip to our vet, Kathy stopped over by my home in order for me to photograph the kitten she had just named, "Sasha."
Sasha is a real sweetie. About 8 to 10-weeks-old, healthy and pretty. Sasha likes being picked up and is, according to Kathy, great around her other pets.
But, we really need to find a home for Sasha, because Kathy is already up to her eyeballs in rescued cats and two rescued dogs. Unfortunately too, she lives in an area where people routinely throw cats and kittens out all the time.
"What's going on with that tabby cat your found the other day?" I asked.
"I'm hoping Don will keep him," Kathy replied wistfully. "So far, its going really well. Did you know the cat was already neutered?!"
"Really?" I said, genuinely surprised. "That means he was probably adopted from a rescue or shelter. Its terrible that the owners would throw the cat out, rather than contacting the place or people they got him from. There's no accounting for the lack of responsibiility."
Later that evening, I wrote Sasha up and posted her pictures on Petfinders and several other adoption sites.
Although I think the photos are pretty good and the write-up, descriptive and detailed, we have yet to get even one inquiry on her.
I'm not sure what one has to do these days to find a responsible, loving home for a cat -- or kitten.
As said so many times, there is no public sense of urgency anymore. (The public and media has been told that we "are on the road to no-kill" and that we are no longer killing pets for "population control." If I didn't know better, I would swear those words were coming straight from BP and not our city animal shelters.)
Too often, what rescuers rescue, we end up having to keep, thereby either putting us out of rescue eventually or turning us into "hoarders."
There is little or no way to win -- that is, unless one has a lot of friends willing to take rescued cats and kittens in. Then again, you would soon run out of friends -- or, they will simply stop taking your calls.
No real way to win. -- PCA
*******
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