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Thursday, December 2, 2004
What About The Animals?
Thought of the Day:
"Pets are people, too"
-anonymous
Note to Readers:
If you hate cats, or are a chinese restaurant owner, please move on, there's nothing to see here.
But if you're a human being, please continue...
When I left my ex and moved in with my parents, we couldn't take my son's cat, Karate Kat, with us.
(My son had named him that because he had a cute habit of hopping on his back legs and jabbing with his front paws.)
Kevin's father promised to take care of Karate Kat until we moved in to our own place.
Before we got our own place, he "took care" of Kevin's cat by dumping it at a farm in the country!
I was very angry when he told me, but he had a nonchalant attitude about it.
"He'll be fine...there are plenty of mice for him to eat..."
My son was devastated.
It is important to understand that cats are not wild animals.
They have been domesticated for centuries, and have lost almost all of the abilities needed to survive in the wild.
Yes, cats can still hunt to some extent, but they do not thrive at all unless someone provides food for them.
Many abandoned cats and kittens die mercilessly from starvation, disease, abuse, or as food.
Since John and I have moved to the country, we have seen a lot of abandoned cats and kittens.
Some are offspring of abandoned cats, and some are newly abandoned, like Annie (see below).
You can tell the difference because the offspring of abandoned cats (feral cats) are very afraid of people, while a newly abandoned cat will come right up to you and let you pick it up.
We've been feeding them, especially in the winter, when they are nothing but skin, fur, and bones.
Some stay around for a while, but others disappear, either never to be seen again, or when we realize that the "road pizza" we just passed looked familiar.
We became attached to some of the cats we were taking care of, and gave them names. "Shadow" was the feral kitten who would follow us around the yard and rub up against our legs but wouldn't let us touch her. She disappeared into the night a couple of years ago.
"Lucky" was an abandoned kitten that we took in, but our older cat was too jealous, so we gave it to Sandy to foster care and she ended up adopting her and changing her name to "Annie".
"Bandit" was a black and white cat that would sit on the porch and beg for food and disappear. She disappeared forever one night last year.
"Bandit 2" was Bandit's kitten and was an exact duplicate with the exception of black markings on her chin.
"Little Bandit" and "Mohawk" are Bandit 2's kittens.
She brought them to our porch when they were tiny, probably about 4 weeks old.
The kittens would eat the cat food we put out for them, but they were also still nursing at first.
The kittens eventually started coming on their own, and usually spent the night curled up together on the porch.
Gradually, they let us pet them. At first, for just a second before scampering away.
Mohawk, who was a little white purring puff ball, warmed up to us first, while Little Bandit was still a little shy.
We caught Mohawk last week, and Sandy, who has a heart of gold, decided to adopt her.
But Little Bandit would sit on the porch and cry for her sister.
I coaxed Little Bandit into the house last night and she spent the night hiding behind the desk.
Sandy's daughter, Allison, came and picked her up this morning. Now the kittens can be together.
Happy ending? Well, no, not really.
Neither Sandy or I have the cash in order to properly take care of all these animals.
There's a never ending stream of homeless cats and kittens every day.
We decided today to start an organization to help abandoned cats.
What can you do to help? Adopt them. If you have information and advice on running a cat/kitten rescue operation, please e-mail me.
Have your pets spayed or neutered Spread the word about abandoned cats. Make a donation to help us help abandoned animals.
...$80 will pay for the first vet visit and shots...
...$50 will pay for spay/neutering...
...$2 will buy a bag of kitty litter...
...$1 will buy a box of food...
...every penny helps...
If you would like to help, but don't have paypal, donations and cat related coupons can be sent to Buckland-Hall PO Box 236 West Bloomfield, NY 14585.
Thursday Challenge
Theme:Animal
"Shadow"
"Annie", formerly known as "Lucky"
"Mohawk"
"Little Bandit"
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Thanks for reading!
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What was happening...
ONE YEAR AGO?
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