Daily Life of a Rescuer
While we have the perfect name for Halloween (Black and Orange Cat Foundation–sadly, we could never fit in for Christmas–Red and Green Cat Foundation?) and we love the holiday, we always worry about the black kitties we so adore at this time of the year. There are a lot of creepy people who decide it might be fun to harm black cats around Halloween.
The best thing to do as Halloween approaches is to keep your black cats and, in fact, any of your cats or pets, inside where they will be safe from pranksters and mean people. Even if there aren’t gangs of delinquents patrolling your neighborhood looking to tie firecrackers to a cat’s tail or have a “sacrifice” in a local cemetery, just the crowd of trick-or-treaters traipsing to your door can be a scary occurrence for pets accustomed to peace and quiet.
Open doors are also a threat at this time of year as you pass out candy—that thin opening provides a means of escape for a frightened pooch or kitty. Keep animals well away from open doors if they are a bit shy or scared (or even overly exuberant about meeting new people). And just to make sure no one gets lost if there is a door darter, have identification on your pets if they are not microchipped.
And, while we have been guilty of this crime, don’t dress your pets in costumes to torture them unless they are okay with it and are not going to freak out.
We really think Winston secretly wants to be a pirate, so it is OKAY that we made him pretend to be Johnny Depp for a photo op. And Oswald loves to wear hats!
For more safety tips, visit the ASPCA site HERE or the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) site HERE.
For safety tips specific to dogs, please go HERE.
Back in February, a lady wrote to me asking if we could take in her two cats, Midnight and Tiger. Her grandmother was ill and they were moving to a facility that would not allow the cats. Since the boys were in the 6-8 year range, she feared that if she took them to her local “dog pound,” they would just be killed because they were older.
I offered to post the boys on our Petfinder site, as I do for everyone. She sent me photos and something about their images pulled at my emotions. The photos showed a chubby black cat and his tiger striped buddy. They were the most generic of all cat types–their colors the colors of thousands of other cats in need. And to go with their generic looks, they had the most generic names–Tiger and Midnight. How many times had I heard those same names used for tabby and black cats?
But for some reason, I could not get their pictures or names to leave my mind and I kept checking in with the woman to see if she had found them a safe place to go. Sadly, they got overlooked online and no one inquired about adopting them.
In the final few days before she had to move and take them to the pound, I took Midnight and Tiger from her. She didn’t even live in our area. She lived on the East side of Columbus. I never met her in person. I only spoke with her one time after she dropped them off at the Capital City Spay and Neuter Clinic to be evaluated and get updated on vaccines. She wanted to make sure they were okay.
I must thank that woman, because, boy, did she give me two wonderful kitties.
Midnight and Tiger went home with me as my fosters. They were both lovers and it was easy to fall in love with them. Tiger was laidback and quiet, always head butting me and soliciting a scratch on the head. Midnight was a talker. He loved his dinner and he would enthusiastically greet his food as if it was a long lost friend. He was a bit on the portly side, running on thin legs to meet you and ask where you’d been and request a rubdown. His favorite place to hang out was in my bathroom closet in his cup bed. I would come in often to find his head leaned over the side of the bed, eyes closed, perfectly at peace with the world. He would meow at me, lifting his head in greeting, and then go back to sleep.
I loved those boys. They were more special than their photos showed.
I only had the boys with me for a few months. I had worried that no one would want them because they were older and because I wanted to keep them together. They had been pals their whole lives. I could not separate them. They had to be adopted as a pair.
In the time I had them, they both got dentals from Dr. Tom Klein at East Hilliard Vet Services. Midnight, more than Tiger, had a mouth full of problems. He had a snaggle-tooth and several other teeth that needed pulled. I think his poor mouth hurt and after the teeth came out, he seemed to feel so much better.
Everyone who met the boys fell in love with them, as did their new family the Formans. After Midnight and Tiger went to live with Jeff and Monica and their son, I knew they had found their forever people. Monica kept me updated on the boys and donated any unwanted food that they wouldn’t eat to our Pet Food Pantry.
Just about a month ago, Monica wrote me to give me sad and completely unexpected news. Midnight had been having some digestive problems and Monica had been working on his weight and various foods to help him. It turned out that the issues he was having were due to cancer. I was devastated. I never expected anything like that. He had just found a home. I’d put him through all the vet care routine I thought he needed and nothing had showed up while he was my foster. I felt awful.
I asked Monica if I could visit my boy one last time. But sadly that was not to be. This morning, October 20, Monica wrote to tell me that Midnight passed away.
Perhaps that is better. I will always now imagine Midnight, curled up in his little cup bed, eyes closed, happily sleeping, at peace and unafraid. He did not die in a cold, unfamiliar cage at the “dog pound,” crying for Tiger who would not have been with him. Instead, he spent his last days with his friend, loved and spoiled among people who cherished him–the ending all cats should have.
Thank you Monica and Jeff for taking these boys into your life. The Formans had just recently lost another beloved cat and I cannot imagine having to go through this kind of loss again so soon.
Thank you Midnight for the happy memories you gave many, many people who loved you.
Each year, Alley Cat Allies celebrates National Feral Cat Day in mid-October. This year the event will be held on Sunday, October 16. Get out there and help the kitties!
Alley Cat Allies is asking everyone to not only plan an event for National Feral Cat Day, but to also use the power of social media to get the word out about feral cats. They’d like for folks to connect with them on Twitter and Facebook. You can visit their Facebook page and Like them HERE. To find events in your area, go HERE.
Additionally, here are ways you can help if you are a social media guru (or even if you’re only kind of adequate at this stuff, like me!):
- Follow Alley Cat Allies @alleycatallies and tweet your National Feral Cat Day activities using the hashtag #NFCD2011. On National Feral Cat Day, Alley Cat Allies will be live tweeting from their very first open house at their headquarters, so follow them to see what they’re up to and tell them how you’re helping cats! Make sure to follow #NFCD2011 yourself (just type it into the search bar) to find out how the Twitter community is celebrating across the nation. Find something neat under #NFCD2011? Share it with your friends with a retweet!
- Let everyone in your social circle know you’ll be helping cats on October 16 by posting your National Feral Cat Day plans on Facebook now. Then, follow up on the big day with updates and photos! Be sure to tag Alley Cat Allies in your posts and photos, and share your National Feral Cat Day experiences with all 20,000 of Alley Cat Allies’ fans by posting directly to their wall. Plus, keep an eye on their Facebook page for photos of their open house and special National Feral Cat Day-themed LOLcats!
A new group based out of Sunbury, Ohio has an unforgettable acronym: SNACK. The letters come from the name “Spay/Neuter Abandoned Cats and Kittens.”
SNACK, Inc. was started by a wonderful set of people who B and O has worked with over the years. In fact, I met with SNACK founders, Greg, Rita, and Debi last December when they were making final plans to set up their non-profit. They wanted to know how Black and Orange did things so they wouldn’t have to re-invent the wheel.
SNACK’s mission is very similar to what we do: “Humanely reduce the overpopulation of homeless cats and kittens by promoting and supporting trap/neuter/return and spay/neuter programs in Central Ohio.”
I am very happy to say that SNACK is now officially a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization within the state of Ohio. They are currently fundraising so they will have the finances to begin helping Central Ohio kitties in need.
They also have a very cool web site: www.snackohio.org
We are overjoyed to have another group in our area working to help kitties in need. Please consider volunteering with SNACK if you are in the Delaware/Sunbury area and are looking for a way to make a difference for stray and feral cats.
Congratulations to a compassionate group of people who are true friends of felines! We have your back if you need us in any way.
Free kittens. Free puppies. Free to a good home. Free. Free. Free.
These notices pop up everywhere. In newspapers. On bulletin boards. On the internet–especially on Craig’s List.
People won’t give away their old junk, holding yard sales to sell their attic and basement “treasures.” Yet, they will give an animal, a living, breathing, feeling creature, to someone, even a stranger who they know nothing about, for free.
I used to see lots of “Free kittens” signs posted in yards or at the end of driveways, especially in the spring as we entered another round of “kitten season.” I don’t see the signs quite so much any more. At first, I thought maybe our spay and neuter efforts were making a difference in our area. But the more I thought about it, I came to realize that the real reason for the decrease in homemade signs attached to mail boxes is because people are so technical now that most of them advertise their free animals to a much larger audience on the internet. Why only catch the attention of a neighbor or the local house wife driving on errands when you can reach out to people all over a metropolitan area or even a large portion of your state?
Where are these good homes the puppies and kittens and other unwanted animals go to? Well, some of these “good homes” are research labs. Known as “bunchers,” there are people who actively acquire as many “free” animals as they can to sell to laboratories. These people make a profit and a living by selling animals into a life of untold misery, suffering, and eventual death.
They are called “bunchers” because they take animals in “bunches.” Most people are only willing to adopt a single animal. But the bunchers are eager to take three kittens, four puppies, or even whole litters (mom included). Usually, it is hard to find anyone who wants the animals, but suddenly there is a person who wants to take them all off your hands. That is when you should be suspicious.
There are other people in the world, too, besides bunchers who acquire free animals. These include people with mental disorders, deviant personalities, and other bizarre behaviors who take free animals for their own purposes. I have dealt endlessly with several people who acquire free animals from Craig’s List when they are in a manic mood. One lady only looks for purebreds–Siamese, Persians, pugs, a Yorkie. When she becomes depressed, she forgets to feed the animals, letting them live in their own filth, reproducing and creating more unwanted animals, until I either remove them from the situation or they die before I am informed.
Some of the people acquire the animals as “food” for their exotic pets–crocodiles, snakes, and other wild animals that require a steady diet that must be provided to them when they are housed in an apartment bathroom and cannot “hunt” on their own.
Some take free animals to become “bait” for fighting dogs. These poor free innocents are used in horrendous ways to teach other animals to fight for their lives.
So how do you make sure a cat or a dog (or even a rat or a bunny) goes to a good home?
Always charge a fee.
We often post cats for people on our Petfinder site. Petfinder.com is a wonderful site that allows rescue groups, shelters, and individuals to post homeless animals for a national audience. Animals cannot be given away on this site. When we post for someone as a “courtesy,” we then screen anyone who applies to adopt the cat, ensuring that the animal will go to a good home. Even after we’ve checked the person out, however, calling their vet and references, I always tell the owner to charge a fee, as well, and even go to the house and visit where their animal will be living.
I learned all of these things about free animals the hard way. A few years ago, before I was involved in animal rescue, someone dropped off a mother cat and four kittens at my house. I tried various avenues to find homes for them, but with no luck. Someone advised me to take the kittens to a Columbus pet store.
I cringe now at the thought. In fact, I can hardly bear to write this.
The pet store sent me next door to the clinic that checked out all their animals. One of the kittens had a cold in his eye. Because of this, all of the kittens were deemed too sickly to be taken for sale in the pet store.
If only I had walked out right then. If only I had taken the kittens and left.
Instead, just as I was headed for the door, one of the ladies in the office stopped me.
“One of the girls who works here wants some kittens for her parents’ farm,” she said. “Should I call her?”
I nodded my approval.
She went in the back and made a phone call. She came back out to tell me the girl would take all four kittens for her parents’ barn.
I didn’t ask any questions. I didn’t get a phone number or name or anything. I just handed those kittens over to a complete stranger.
At the last minute, I decided to take the kitten with the runny eye home with me. I was afraid he wouldn’t receive medical treatment for his eye and would go blind. If I had those worries, why did I give up his sisters?
I saved the runny-eyed kitten’s life.
I feel almost certain that I gave those poor kittens to a buncher. I can only imagine what kind of horrors they have been subjected to because of my stupidity.
I tried to call back later to check on the kittens, but no one in the office could tell me anything about them. It was as if those free kittens never existed.
I read Jim Willis’ essay about “Free Kittens” a few months after this happened. In the essay, a litter of free kittens are given to various bad homes. Some end up in research labs. Others go to uncaring owners. But they all end up dying in their “good homes.” Reaching the gates of heaven, God tells the joyful bundles of fur, “You are finally free, kittens.”
Notice how the placement of a comma changes the whole meaning of “free kittens.”
If you’ve never read Jim Willis’ amazing essay, “Free Kittuns,” please have a tissue ready. You can access it HERE.
The only true way to end the suffering of animals given away for free? Spay and neuter. If there are no unwanted litters then, eventually, we will reach a day when there is a short supply of animals and no one will dare toss them out like discarded garbage. I dream of a day when animals will be so valued that people will gladly pay any price to have that adorable kitten or elderly dog in their life.
This post is my entry in the BlogPaws Blog Carnival Contest sponsored by BISSELL Homecare, Inc.
When I was a child, my family always had cats. These were the kind of cats I now try to help: un-sterilized, sickly, producing litter after litter of kittens. I cannot remember ever taking one of those cats to the vet for routine care. They passed in and out of our house, getting hit on the road, dying of horrible diseases, skinny, and covered in fleas.
That does not mean that I didn’t love them. I did. I was only a little kid and these were my best friends. I told them my secrets and held their warm, furry faces against me when I was scared or couldn’t sleep. I sobbed when their tiny bodies gave out and we buried them along the fencerow.
After the cat we had while I was in Junior High school disappeared, my family remained animal free until my sister adopted a cat. She and I were both adults by that time and many years had passed since our last feline experience.
Because I had become an “Auntie” to a black kitten named Butler, I soon succumbed to my childhood devotion to cats and decided to personally re-enter the world of purrs and whiskers by adopting a kitten myself in 2001.
I am embarrassed to say that I had never had a cat neutered until I was an adult and brought my cat, Oswald, home from our local humane society. Oswald came to me as many of the cats in my past had: un-neutered and teeming with fleas and parasites. But I vowed that this kitten would not be like my childhood pets and off he went to the vet.
I loved Oswald for all the reasons people adore their companion fuzzballs. I never knew how happy a cat could make someone until this sweet, buff boy came into my life. Oswald slept beside me at night, never leaving my side if I was sick or had a migraine. He greeted me when I came home, helping to ease the stresses of the day. He made me laugh and cheered me up when I was down.
He did cute things that expressed his unique personality like climbing in my suitcase when I was going on trips to make sure my clothes were covered in his hair even if he wasn’t around to do it himself. He then gave me the cold shoulder for the first hour when I returned home from those cat-less trips, quickly forgiving me by jumping in my lap for a rubdown.
Oswald loved me unconditionally (well, as long as I kept the food and treats coming).
But Oswald also did more than the normal animal endearments. He opened my eyes to other cats in need, cats like himself, who had no one except me to help them.
With Oswald’s entrance in my life, I suddenly began to notice the stealthy, hungry cats on our rural road and the second litter of kittens (what happened to the first litter?) that our neighbor’s outside cat was trying to feed, even though she was so small and malnourished she hardly looked larger than a kitten herself.
I began to read up on the best ways to help stray and feral cats. I educated myself on trap-neuter-return (TNR) and I bought my first humane trap.
Like Oswald, I thought, these cats deserved the best lives they could possibly have–maybe not as inside house cats, but certainly fixed and healthy and no longer starving. Who was going to help? Who had helped Oswald? Looking around, I found only our local county shelters working for the cats in our small village.
Because Oswald had come from the Union County Humane Society in Marysville, I began to make regular donations to them as a way to honor this special friend of mine. I progressed from donations to volunteering and then serving on their Board.
Our county humane societies did not have TNR programs in place, however, and I had become very passionate about helping feral cats. So, for a while, I went it alone.
I began by fixing the feral cats along my road, quickly progressing to helping cats at the low income apartments in town, and then realizing that I needed to join forces with others with my same ambitions.
In 2005, I volunteered with a group called CATco (Cat Assistance Team of Central Ohio) and through a PetSmart Charities grant we were able to spay and neuter over 100 cats in a local trailer park. The founder of CATco encouraged me to create a group that would focus upon the cats in Plain City.
In 2006, my sister and I started Black and Orange Cat Foundation (B and O) in honor of the black cat, Butler, and the orange cat, Oswald, who changed our lives. Our mission (and passion) is to spay and neuter stray and feral cats and educate the public about the importance of creating a safe, humane world for felines without much hope.
B and O would not exist without Butler and Oswald.
To say that adopting Oswald brought me happiness is an understatement. This gentle boy not only made my life joyous, he also showed me my purpose and passion in life. Today, the people Black and Orange helps are just like what I used to be. The cats are just like my childhood cats with one exception–they now have someone who not only loves them, but makes their lives better.
In the ten years Oswald has been in my life, I have changed completely from the person I once was. I am proof that educating someone can have an impact on the welfare of all animals. I am proof that one wonderful cat can influence their human to help thousands of other cats. I am also proof that the happiness created by adopting a homeless cat can be spread throughout a community and eventually change the world.
Thank you, Oswald.
On Friday, September 2, our good friend and fellow rescuer, Dr. Kim West, was on her way to the Franklin County Dog Shelter to pull a little chihuahua mix who was slated to be euthanized due to dental disease (Dr. West said the 8-year-old girl only has four teeth left). Ever since rescuing Fruit Bat last year, the chihuahua with the fractured ankles who was left at a bus stop all day until a kind volunteer from Colony Cats rescued her, Dr. West has been a huge advocate for small dogs–finding fosters and homes for them when they are on the brink of euthanasia.
Driving along interstate 70 East on her way to the shelter, Dr. West suddenly saw a dog fly through the air and land on the highway. Dr. West was not directly behind the truck, so she did not see exactly what happened. She only saw an airborne dog and, of course, pulled over to help. A man driving behind the truck stopped, as well. From what he told Dr. West, there were two dogs (one was the husky) riding in an open truck bed. Cars on I-70 typically drive in the 70-75 mile per hour range and this truck was also going that fast. The dogs were trying to balance themselves to keep from falling out. Unfortunately, a semi passed the truck and created a huge gust of wind which caught the husky and threw her over the side.
The truck did not slow down and Dr. West said she doesn’t even know if the people realized the husky was gone. The truck did not return, either. In the panic to rescue the dog, no one got the license number of the truck. I can only imagine how traumatized the other dog must have been when the husky suddenly disappeared.
Several people have asked me if the dog was purposely thrown from the truck by a cruel human. From the account Dr. West was given, it appears that this was just an accident, but obviously one that could have been prevented. Who lets their dogs ride in the back of an open vehicle on the highway when cars are going so, so fast? Unfortunately, it used to be common practice to allow humans to do the same until the dangers of this mode of travel were finally taken into account and it was out-lawed (my husband and I both remember riding in the backs of pick-up trucks as kids). The same type of law needs to be passed for any animal riding freely in the back of an open vehicle. The habit should be banned.
Dr. West said that the way the husky fell out of the truck, she landed squarely on her right front leg and, in essence, amputated the leg herself. Luckily, veins and arteries were only stretched and not completely broken, so the bleeding was not as profuse as it might have been. The leg was dangling, but still attached.
Several concerned people stopped to help the dog and Dr. West said she was worried that one of them was also going to be hit by speeding cars. Her main goal was getting the dog into her car and to OSU Vet Hospital. She said it never even entered her mind to call 911 and get a police officer there to help keep the people safe. She was so focused on the husky that she just went into “save” mode.
Dr. West was on the opposite side of the concrete barrier that separates the highway from the husky. She had to have several people help her lift the husky over the tall barrier so she could get her to her car. This dog was so nice that she allowed them to do all of this to her even while in so much pain. Other dogs might have snapped or growled, because of the trauma, but this sweet girl let them carry her and lift her to safety.
Dr. West said another little girl helped her carry the husky to Dr. West’s waiting Subaru. The poor girl’s pants were loose and kept falling down. She wanted to stop and pull her pants up, but Dr. West said they didn’t have time for that and no one would know who she was anyway. So together they carried the 80 pound husky, with the poor girl mooning most of the drivers on I-70!
After placing the husky in the rear of Dr. West’s hatchback, Dr. West was horrified when the dog leaped into the back seat, leg dangling. The poor dog just wanted to be closer to Dr. West, who reached back and petted her on the ride to the hospital.
Arriving at OSU, Dr. West said the emergency room vet asked what she wanted them to do for the husky. Dr. West shouted, “Save her, of course.” When a good samaritan finds an animal that is that badly injured, most of them do not agree to pay any amount to help the animal recover. The emergency room vet was not used to hearing that. But he obviously did not know Dr. West.
After hearing her impassioned announcement, the startled man said, “Well, then that’s what we will do.”
The husky went in for immediate surgery to have her leg amputated. Dr. West returned home covered in blood, her car also covered in blood, to await the news from OSU.
The very lucky canine made it through the surgery with flying colors. She is a young dog, only about a year old, and very resilient. When Dr. West visited her Saturday night, she was already eating, playing, and even walking on three legs. Yes, you read that right. The now three-legged dog was already up and walking.
I am always so amazed by how quickly animals recover from major traumas. Dr. West is supposed to check on her today, Monday, to see if she can be released from OSU. I have not heard yet if Dr. West has found someone to foster her.
Once the dog was safe, Dr. West was able to think about other things with the husky. She and friends chose the name Bowie for the husky girl. The dog has two different colored eyes like David Bowie. She was wearing a collar, but there was no identification attached and she was not microchipped. Additionally, Dr. West called Franklin County Animal Shelter and checked Pet FBI to see if anyone was missing the husky, but nothing had been reported.
The surgery to help Bowie is probably going to cost about $3,000. That is where we come in. Dr. West has always been our good friend and veterinarian, so we’ve always jumped on board to help her with the rescues who find her. Last year, we helped raise money for Fruit Bat. So this time, we, of course, said we’d help her with Bowie.
If you can make a donation toward Bowie’s surgery, please visit our home page, www.bandocats.org and click on our PayPal button to donate with a credit card. If you donate this way, please just send me an email at bandocats@columbus.rr.com to tell me the donation is for Bowie the husky. Unfortunately, our PayPal donation page does not have a place to put notes about donations.
If you’d prefer not to have fees taken out of your donation through PayPal, you can instead mail a check or money order to Black and Orange Cat Foundation, P. O. Box 126, Plain City, Ohio 43064.
I will keep everyone updated on our fundraising progress and on Bowie on the Black and Orange Cat Foundation Facebook Fan page, which you can access HERE.
At this point, we have raised almost $900 towards this sweet baby’s vet bills.
Just as a postscript in case any of you were worried, Dr. West did go to the shelter yesterday and took the little chihuahua mix to safety. After she saved the husky on Friday, she called Franklin County to tell them she would be delayed and they agreed to hold the little girl until Dr. West could arrive to get her. So an additional happy ending attached to the happy ending of Bowie.
Please join Black and Orange for MARS Petcare’s 4th Annual “Adoption on the Lawn” on Sunday, September 11 from noon to 5 pm. The event, which is held on the lawn in front of MARS at 5115 Fisher Road, will feature adoptable dogs and cats (just a note–we do not do same day adoptions–all of our normal adoption policies will stand and no cats will be able to go home with adopters the day of the event), music, kids activities, product giveaways, and prizes.
The adoption event will feature 15 local shelters and rescues including several purebred dog rescues (Central Ohio Greyhound Rescue, Columbus Cocker Rescue, Ohio Pug Rescue, and Ohio Rottweiler Rescue). Additionally, there will be several cat groups (Cat Welfare, Colony Cats, Cozy Cat Cottage, as well as B and O), and shelters that feature both dogs and cats (Citizens for Humane Action, Franklin County Dog Shelter, Humane Society of Clark County, Powell Animal Welfare Society, and Stop the Suffering).
Canine Collective and His Hands Extended Sanctuary will also be among the Elite 15!
This is our second year participating in this event. We LOVE MARS. They are so good to us, donating food to help our caregivers and our Pet Food Pantry, and supporting us in so many other ways.
We hope you will come out and support MARS and us at this fun event.
To make the flyer larger and print it out, please click on it.
As I mentioned previously, last weekend from July 15-17, Petfinder.com celebrated their 15th Birthday with a Big Birthday Adoption Event. The online adoption site, which features rescues and shelters nationwide and their adoptable pets, hoped to help 15,000 dogs, cats, bunnies, gerbils, horses, and other companion animals find loving homes during the three-day event.
Petfinder.com met their goal.
Asking affiliated shelters and rescues to check in with their adoption totals, the final tally was 15,700 animals adopted.
15,700 animals in loving homes!! That total blows my mind. None of those adoptions would have been possible without heightened awareness about the value of shelter and rescue animals and Petfinder.com.
To read just a few of the success stories from the Birthday weekend, go HERE.
Black and Orange’s 5th Annual Garage Sale was even featured on the Petfinder.com web site as one of the events going on over the weekend to celebrate Petfinder’s 15th Birthday. You can see that HERE.
We want to thank everyone who supported us during our garage sale. We raised almost $2500 to help the kitties. Our good friend, Vivian Opelt, also adopted two of her foster kitties, Andy and Billy, in to a great home over the birthday weekend due to their postings on Petfinder.com. We were able to add those two adoptions to the overall adoption count for Petfinder’s weekend. Hurrah!
Remember, when you are considering a new friend in your life, consider a shelter or rescue animal first and check out Petfinder.com to find a furry face near you!
A friend of ours is kitten crazy. Betty loves newborn kittens. She likes to take care of them from birth until they are old enough to venture forth to new homes. She is kitten obsessed.
The problem is that Black and Orange has been working with Betty for over three years getting all the cats in her neighborhood and at her brother’s trailer park spayed and neutered. Our goal: no more kittens.
So Betty and B and O are at odds about our missions.
Betty stands firm sometimes, declaring that she doesn’t need any more cats to feed. At that point, I think I’ve finally gotten her over her kitten addiction. She also always calls me when a new stray shows up and brings it for clinic to be fixed. I think I am making headway in turning around her kitten infatuation and then she launches into a new litany about the merits of tiny kittens. I don’t see the appeal like she does. I am more of an older, less hyper, no climbing-the-curtains type of cat person.
Betty seems to think I hate kittens. I don’t. I’d just like to see a day when “kitten season” is not a season and there are no unwanted babies being born and dying in misery. I’d like to see a day when everyone celebrated kittens like Betty, instead of dumping them along roads or in trash cans or in abandoned houses where they can’t fend for themselves.
Betty believes I try to keep her from fulfilling her kitten fix. She nicknamed me “Dr. Tiller” in reference to the notorious abortionist. She thinks I secretly take pregnant cats and abort their babies without telling her.
In fact, the last few cats Betty brought for clinic already had had their kittens and had only a little milk left when they went to be spayed. I told Betty that there were kittens somewhere in her neighborhood and she needed to go looking for them. She wasn’t sure how exactly to do that, so I told her to follow the mother cats.
Which she did not do.
Instead, she implored the one mother cat, Madea, to bring her a baby.
Madea listened.
And this is what I read when that happened: “Guess what I just found on my porch? Yep, I know it is one of Madea’s kittens, because I talked to her for about two hours yesterday, telling her to bring them kittens over here (you already know I am crazy). Madea got stuck on my porch during a twenty minute hail and rain storm and was so scared I had to pet her the whole time. And, of course, I was worried about her kittens drowning in the downpour. I knew that soon they were either going to follow her over here or she would bring them to eat. I looked out on my porch and saw several of my cats very interested in something. It was this all black baby kitten. I cornered it and caught it…and got my butt kicked by a 5-6 week old FERAL kitten, but I hung on.:) I am so happy.”
A few days later Betty wrote and said, “I AM Falling in Love!!!” She then went on to extoll the virtues of her new little friend who follows her everywhere and comes galloping into the room when she calls. Betty wanted a baby and this kitten clearly wanted a mama. Madea, the biological mom, just wants food, according to Betty. She could care less about her offspring. She was probably thrilled to hand it over to Betty.
Last week when I wrote the story of my friend Cynthia’s mystery twin kitten, Betty told me that her kitten story was special, too, and why didn’t I write about that? Mom, Madea, had graciously given Betty her baby when she could no longer feed it.
I agree that it is very heartwarming (and quite amazing that Madea listened) that Betty begged Madea to bring her a kitten and then received her greatest wish.
I told Betty I couldn’t write a story without photos, however, so she promptly sent me over pictures of Little Tiller, who she had named in my honor.
Little Tiller will also be going to clinic to be spayed or neutered once she/he is old enough. And that will, again, end another kitten cycle and dash more of Betty’s dreams.
I constantly assure her, though, that there are always, always more kittens looking for her.
