SO upset.....(possible trigger)

I am so upset right now. There were a couple of beautiful cats hanging around the neighborhood. I was feeding them as well as a couple of other families. I would have taken them in, but our daughter was diagnosed with asthma quite recently and we had to find a home for our cat. anyhow, I didnt see them for a few days and heard from another neighbor that they had been picked up or brought in to the humane society because I suppose they were either getting too cold or maybe becoming a nuisance to someone. Anyhow, both cats were only about a year old, I saw one grow from kittenhood, and I went to the shelter 3x in the last 2 weeks(since they were picked up) to see them and all three times they were not in adoption room.I finally asked today where they were, if they were adopted, etctec and they told me that they had to be put down because they wre both really sick. Something about rectal bleeding and upper respiratory something. They seemed so healthy to me, beautiful coats, beefy, very healthy. I just dont kow if they told me the truth and that is what is bothering me. I mean is there a parasite or disease that wold have 2 cats present with rectal bleeding and have to be put down. I am just quite upset about this. The shelter is not full and there are cats that have been there for months, I juts dont know what to think and am quite agitated by the whole thing. Any ideas? Ty

if it is a no time limit shelter then they would only euthanize if the cats are very ill or injured. If it is a kill shelter then that is just how it goes unfortunately. If they were out roaming, unspayed or unneutered so they can keep reproducing and not continuously being cared for then something DID need to be done. Unfortunately someone else got to them first. I am sorry that had to happen.

What I do sometimes if there are cat continuously hanging around. I assume they are not owned but I search the papers or put up some FOUND ads. In the meantime I work on vetting them and finding them a good home.

Upper respiratory infections are in pretty much every shelter that houses cats. They pass like a human cold and therefore are considered very infectious in a shelter environment. Many shelters euthanize any cat that comes down with URI to minimize the chance of other cats getting infected. Sadly, URI is very treatable in most cases - a week or 2 of antibiotics usually does the trick. But many shelters are unable to afford the antibiotic, nor do they have isolation units in which to keep the sick cats separate from the well ones while they are being treated. And, as you can imagine, it is very difficult to get anyone to adopt a sick cat (even if the illness is only temporary) when there are plenty of healthy ones available. I am lucky enough to work for a shelter that can & does treat URI, but most shelters aren't lucky enough to have the funds & the community support that we do. The shelter you brought the cats to was likely trying to protect the rest of the feline shelter population by euthanizing the sick cats. It's an awful reality but unfortunately one that shelter employees face day in & day out.

Yes; I've seen a lot of kittens with URIs being put down at the county shelter. It's really sad; especially since all they were doing was sneezing, and were still playful and could have recovered. But they didn't want it to spread; so they put the kittens to sleep...

Are you sure that wasn't for a Panleukopenia outbreak? That is very deadly and in a shelter that cannot isolate that IS the best thing to do is to euthanize. For some sniffles or watery eyes I don't know of shelters who euthanize for that. Of course, maybe it is just the shelters around here.

No, unfortunately I am SURE that many shelters euthanize cats for run-of-the-mill URIs...the one I work for does not, but many in our area (and other parts of the country) do. I wish I didn't know this, but I do.

Originally Posted by Jen

Are you sure that wasn't for a Panleukopenia outbreak? That is very deadly and in a shelter that cannot isolate that IS the best thing to do is to euthanize. For some sniffles or watery eyes I don't know of shelters who euthanize for that. Of course, maybe it is just the shelters around here.

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No, it was an URI... I asked and was told, "He's probably just got a cold. We can't afford to treat him."

Originally Posted by Seppolina

No, unfortunately I am SURE that many shelters euthanize cats for run-of-the-mill URIs...the one I work for does not, but many in our area (and other parts of the country) do. I wish I didn't know this, but I do.

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Yes. URIS, upper respratory infections are usually a death sentence in a shelter/pound environment that does not have on site vet or is not no kill.
the costs of keeping the cats healthy excedes their abilities fast. These common illnesses spread rapidly.
i do not agree with this by anymeans, but it is the norm. for cats and kittens.

Think about this and pass this type of information around to those people who use "My child has (insert excuse here)" when they abandon their cat at the shelter. It is usually a death sentence to the cat.
A pet is a life long commitment. Not a living fuzzy toy to be discarded when someone sneezes.

Sorry... but I have to add my
I learned recently that our NO-Kill shelter puts down any cat that is FIV+ and will not take any cat from a home that has had an FIV+ cat in it.

I called them about maybe helping place two or three of my cats. They don't do courtesy listings or anything to help in that manner.

I decided that all my cats need to stay with me since ya can't even trust a No Kill to be what they say they are.

That is so unfortunate, and unfair to a cat. I guess I am lucky I found my 2 new little babies when I did, and was able to do something about it too. I feel for these "doomed" animals. Hopefully their spirits return with an adoption.

So sorry to hear about the loss of these two kitties.