cat rescue gone too far

aliciahorsley

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someone i know rescues cats. however, now they have almost 200 cats (and about 15 dogs) in two levels of a four story shop lot. they don't rehome though they do neuter. the cats are caged and many have contracted kidney stones due to lack of activity. they feed them well and are always cleaning. but 200 is a lot!

i have offered to help rehome but they are adamant that no one can provide better care.

i am loath to report them to the authorities. they are nice but misguided.
i intend to try to talk to them again, and was wondering if anyone has any successful experience in this area...any good opening lines.....or some miracle article/slideshow/picture that can aid me in my efforts?

i would love some successful common sense imparting vibes too
 

babywukong

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Be great at imparting common sense vibes coming your way

It must be so frustrating for you to see this happening. Obviously these are good folk wanting the best for their cats. Yet they are causing the cats to get sick, and due to sheer numbers, the cats are cramped in small spaces.

How about getting one of them to join TCS? There are plenty of miracle success stories in here!

Maybe telling them that they can sign a sort of "contract" with potential owners and do follow-up visits to the cats homes may ease their doubts.

I hope someone else comes along with better suggestions... These cats need help cos the numbers are just going to get larger!
 

herbalheidi

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Oh, this story just breaks my heart. I might try to talk about other animals being caged and the horrible things that happens to these animals due to their cramped conditions. Maybe if this person hears how horrible it is for other animals, she will realize it isn't working for her cats either.

For example, talk about chickens being caged and how it causes the chickens feet to form unnaturally and how many chickens have to be cut out of the cages. Talk about baby cows that are turned into veal, and our forced to live in a box so small they can't move. I would try anything to get her to agree that putting an animal in a cage is just wrong, but never mention cats. I wouldn't even try to get her to say caging animals is wrong. I would just provide the information and let her stew on it over night.

My next step may be to talk about the wonderful thing a local (non-kill) shelter is doing to save dogs and cats. Maybe she needs to see that there are places out there that help animals.

Whatever you do I wish you the best of luck and hope you can help save these poor kitties.
 

prettyboy

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geez you are in a bad position.

but honestly does this person think that no one can give them
better care when she is planning on keeping them caged up
for the rest of their lives ?

maybe there is a nice way for you to tell her that keeping cats or dogs
caged for their entire lives is cruel to them. they need to run and jump.

if she does not come around please report her. are these cats socialized ?

hugs to you because you must be sick being in this position.
 

kluchetta

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We have a member here, Hissy, who is quite an expert on this subject. Maybe a pm to her for some advice?
 

katkisses

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***vibes***

In addition to what others have mentioned, why don't you try to encourage her to voleenter at a local no kill shelter one weekend, maybe tell her you are going to go help out and you were thinking that she would be interested.

This is a hairy situation...
 

cc12

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It becomes abusive in my opinion when someone has too many cats to properly care for. Being caged with painful kidney stones is abusive in my book. Cats are creatures that like to move, jump, play, pounce among other things. They are virtually imprisoned by a group of hoarders.
I could see if they were helping and rehoming. But they aren't.
I am for reporting them because they really aren't doing any good except for the neutering and spaying. First maybe try to talk to them about either making it a true sanctuary with ample space for the cats to roam or they need to start rehoming. I would try the approaches mentioned above but if you hit a brick wall then you may have to take a harder approach with them.
 

owenj

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It doesn't sound like much of a rescue to me. I don't think it matters how much this person loves the cats, or how much cleaning this person does, if the cats are just left to wither away in little cages for the rest of their lives.

If this person honestly thinks nobody else is going to care for them any better, it's more than just being misguided. I'm willing to bet there's some deep psychological issue going on there. The cats are just the unfortunate victims.

In other words, yes, report this person.
 

punkygirl0101

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It sounds like a rescue case turned into a hoarding case. 200 is just TOO many cats! And if they are ill, and not being treated for painful kidney stones..That is cruelty, and those animals need to be removed from that situation immediately.
 
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