Check out the important threads in SOS

[lotsocats]

Anyone who thinks it is okay to let their cats breed indiscriminantly needs to check out Tybalt's heartwrenching thread in SOS.

You will also find a thread in SOS about several cats in the Philadelphia area who are about to be euthanized as well as a thread seeking someone to transport a rescued cat to a new home across the country.

If you don't already check out the SOS Forum on a daily basis, make sure you check in today to read these important threads.

 

[sicycat]

Tis hard for me to read those kinds of threads

 

[valanhb]

Sicy, it is hard to read some of the posts in SOS. Some will make you cry, and some will make you so mad you could just spit fire! The thing that I've come to realize is that it is all too easy to look at our own little furbabies who we love so much and push the needy ones to the back of our minds. It IS sad, and it IS infuriating.

I've also been able to use some of the stories I've read in SOS to wake other people up to the problems these animals face day to day. Co-workers, friends, family. People who have no conscious idea that these things happen every day. Not everyone will become an activist, but perhaps they will vote a little differently if abuse laws come to a public vote, maybe they will contact their representatives when legislature comes up. Maybe they will step in and save an innocent animal when they see abuse or neglect. Or maybe they will tell someone else the same story, who may do any of these same things too.

It took me quite a while before I could read SOS, but I realized how important the stories are there. I still can't read more than one post in the Rainbow Bridge forum without crying.

OK, sorry about the rant. Just something I've been thinking about lately, and I'm just emotional thinking about little Mae (Kitten needs Board Magic thread) all morning.

 

[hissy]

One thing I have learned is that emotions spur you into action.

 

[mom of 10 cats]

I agree, it isn't easy to read those threads. I want to help them all, and I wrestle with the reality that I can't possibly help them all. I see that there are currently 51,000 cats listed on Petfinder needing homes, and I can't even imagine that many lives on the line.

What is important is, as Heidi stated, educating people regarding spaying and neutering. Over 7 years, one cat and her partner and their kittens can lead to 420,000 kittens, but if that cat and her partner were spayed and neutered, that would mean potentially 420,000 less cat deaths in shelters over those same 7 yrs.

 

[princess purr]

i agree. It is important to read the sad threads so you can learn. More people need to see what a real issue this is. Some people think they can find homes for there kittens so it is not a problem, they don't relize that that takes away homes from other kittens that need them. That is one of the reasons i'm keeping snowwhites babies and granet and marble. I know my hubby would not let me go out and adopt five kittens but since they are already with us he will let me keep them. and that frees up homes for other babies that need them

I really wish there was more I could do right now. I know in a year or maybe even a few months I will be able to do alot more. But with five kittens and isadora just passing and her vet bills I'm very strapped right now

 

[ldg]

SOS IS heartbreaking for the most part. But the one thing we can all do, however, is network. I've started checking in at SOS regularly when I'm on-line (I'm ashamed to say I didn't for a long time) - because you just never know. We (the good people of TCS) rescued Samoa in Amarillo, TX with a few phone calls and a little co-ordination. All it took was getting mad! ...And if MA hadn't drawn my attention to little Mae, who knows what would have happened to her? But a few phone calls, a little co-ordination - and again, another kitty was saved.

The internet has amazing resources. People posting in SOS are starting someplace. Whether it's actual rescue sites, or the yellow pages for another city and state (you'd be surprised what local vets can do - you just have to find the right one!!!), you just never know - a little time and a few phonecalls or a few internet searches might be all it takes to save one more.

 

[sicycat]

I wish I could run a shelter of my own and save all the kitties that need it.

I've always wished I could live in a big house so that I could at least save kitties that are on death row.

 

[hissy]

I would like to see us form a solid coalition and start writing letters to our congressmen to get the laws changed for these cats. That is when the difference will be felt, is when the laws get changed, and TNR programs implemented all over the United States. Shut down kitten and puppy mills and make the lives of these animals so much better than it is.

 

[ldg]

That's pretty much what I wrote to Tybalt in his heart-wrenching thread about the cats being euthanized. MA - we're working hard at SPA (www.StrayPetAdvocacy.org) to get the site up. It should have great lobbying resources when we're done. We've found a lot of material on the effectiveness of TNR (in at least stabilizing cat populations and definitely in lowering the costs of animal control in the communities that implement it), and we have an excellent study on the benefits of low-cost spay/neuter programs - and again, a lot of stats on how programs like those reduce the cost of animal control.

Isn't it strange how the humane methods of animal control cost the least, and yet it seems so damn difficult to get make the programs legal, let alone implement them?

I've had a debate with someone for a while about cat breeding & licensing. You know - it's a good idea for starting a thread in IMO. How would the States or counties distinguish between legitimate breeders and mill breeders? Is it even legal to consider banning the sale of cats and dogs through pet shops?

 

[hermoine]

I too would like to have a shelter. I will check in on SOS to see what it is all about. Thank you for the heads up.

 

[hermoine]

Just a newbie, I need help finding the sos

 

[ldg]

Hi Hermoine,

Glad you're finding things of interest on TCS!!!

FYI, TNR means "trap-neuter-release." Some call it TNVR for "Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release", though they both refer to the same thing. It is a method of feral (non-pet cats living outside on their own) cat management - as opposed to most current methods of animal control, which is generally municipalities picking up stray or feral cats and dogs, taking them to local "humane" societies, where they are usually euthanized (killed) in 3 days to a month, depending upon the shelter. There are no-kill shelters that are just that, but these are not often part of local animal control programs for practical purposes - there are too many animals to home, and when they are full, the only time they can take in more animals is when they find homes for existing animals.

If you would like to read more about TNR programs, here's a helpful link (to other links): http://www.savesamoa.org/html/feral_cats.html]Feral Cats[/url]

...as to your other question, Cats S.O.S. is a forum located under the Ferals & Rescue section - down at the bottom of the main forums page. Here's a link to it: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/for...?s=&forumid=10

 

[coco maui]

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