Just a Vent

There was a letter from our local animal shelter in the paper last week. They are trying to get people to adopt cats. What they said is the biggest portion of cats that they get brought in are not strays, but owners giving up their pets. How in the world can people have cats they love and live with through good and bad and then decide they just don't want them anymore. It is disgusting.

I don't understand why people do a lot of things. Sure there's a few that really don't have any other option, but many do and just don't want to make it work. Such as giving up a cat because there's a baby on the way or because it pees outside the litter box.

It's not really worth dwelling on, people don't make sense and it'll just upset you.

I know some people just get rid of their pets for bad reasons but sometimes it cannot be helped. I adopted an adult cat whose owners were elderly. The man, who was the primary caretaker for their two cats, died in March and his wife was blind and could not care for them so she gave them to the local Humane Society. Because of this, I was able to adopt my new best friend and someone else adopted the other cat the very next day.

I ran into a friend I had not seen in a while earlier this week. She asked how many cats I had now. It's an obscene number, but I deal with it...

I asked how she was doing. I know she had 8 the last time I talked to her. She's down to 1 now.... she decided to go back to school, so she moved in with a relative to save money. Took all her cats to the shelter. She was so happy that they'd been "adopted" right away, because only one was left there. Wow...the rest got adopted right away. You suppose she believes this?

I know I should not judge people by something like this, but unfortunately, I do. She wants to experience the "downtown" living thing. And her counselor felt certain she'd be able to find a job in her new profession. (BTW...she does have a job now) I don't know how you live with it. Or if you just pretend it didn't happen.

I get very sad when I think about it. There is a large percentage of cats given up because their owners are elderly, become disabled, homeless or die. They have no one willing to take on their pets. But I can't understand those who just give up and abandon them because of behavioral issues. Some people don't value life, and aren't willing to stick it out through thick and thin with these wonderful creatures.

Originally Posted by Jazzbear742

I know some people just get rid of their pets for bad reasons but sometimes it cannot be helped. I adopted an adult cat whose owners were elderly. The man, who was the primary caretaker for their two cats, died in March and his wife was blind and could not care for them so she gave them to the local Humane Society. Because of this, I was able to adopt my new best friend and someone else adopted the other cat the very next day.

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What a shame they had to be separated. That breaks my heart almost more than anything else.

Very few however are for good reasons like the one mentioned, the number of times I have heard, I am moving (our province does not allow no pet rules unless you sign them under a condo association, and even then you can fight them as unlawful), I am getting a kitten, doesn't get along with the new puppy or kitten, or they need healthcare etc or sudden allergies after living with the cat for 8 years

Its sad because they are rarely spayed or neutered, unless they are older (5+) but honestly, if the people care that little, they are better off at a shelter

Originally Posted by Bellaandme

I get very sad when I think about it. There is a large percentage of cats given up because their owners are elderly, become disabled, homeless or die. They have no one willing to take on their pets. But I can't understand those who just give up and abandon them because of behavioral issues. Some people don't value life, and aren't willing to stick it out through thick and thin with these wonderful creatures.

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This is precisely the reason my husband and I have decided we are not taking on any more cats. I will be 65 in July and he is 63. We do not want pets that will outlive us. I know sometimes there is no choice but to take cats to the shelter. It is bad in our area because there is not a no kill facility.
Sometimes, I think people just get tired of the responsibilty. Maybe they don't realize the expense involved when they get the pet. Who knows. But I do know, these two that live with me are here for the duration. I could no more take them to the shelter than I could take one of my grandchildren there and leave them. My conscience would never let me sleep again.

Originally Posted by PhillyGal

I would no more give up my Buddy than cut off my arm. And he is no angel!

But my commitment to him runs deep. And he is stuck with me!

There are some sad cases of folks losing their homes or older folks going into nursing homes who have no choice (and whose families will not take in their pets). My heart goes out to those people because their options are so limited.

Otherwise, I just see red!

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Our rescue just took in a 10 year old terrier mix- sweet little thing - her "mom" has Alzheimers and the family didn't want the dog so brought her to our no-kill rescue. So many of these "mom" and "dad" cats end up in high kill facilities and are PTS. I am working with an estate attorney to try to pre-empt something like this from happening to any companion animals I have when I pass or if I am incapacitated.

And yes - people are lame - lazy, cheap, easily tired of the commitment, callous... on and on. The more I work in animal welfare, the less I like people, by and large.

And yes - people are lame - lazy, cheap, easily tired of the commitment, callous... on and on. The more I work in animal welfare, the less I like people, by and large.[/quote]


I do not work in any structured rescue group, but I do try to help when I can. Before Buddy adopted us,

I was working with a few groups to find my next feline companion. They were all wonderful folks and I always marveled that they could stay so positive in the light of all the tragedy they see every day. I remain amazed and humbled!

I'm not getting younger either, so I've changed on the age of cat and the number of cats i have. I now adopt older cats and one at a time so the chances of them outliving me will be slimmer.

Originally Posted by PhillyGal

And yes - people are lame - lazy, cheap, easily tired of the commitment, callous... on and on. The more I work in animal welfare, the less I like people, by and large.

I do not work in any structured rescue group, but I do try to help when I can. Before Buddy adopted us,

I was working with a few groups to find my next feline companion. They were all wonderful folks and I always marveled that they could stay so positive in the light of all the tragedy they see every day. I remain amazed and humbled!

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I also never cease to be amazed by the resilience of animals and the dedication of the humans who treat them.

But the whole situation of 10,000 animals euthanized in this country every day still makes me very sad... No cat or dog is more worthy than another and every animal has the right to rescue, care, and rehabilitation no matter how badly they are sick or traumatized. I saw a polling survey once by a pet food company asking what would be the most difficult to give up. Pet came in third behind significant other (understandable), and second was computer. Coffee, tv, and car came next. That pretty much says it all. Wow. I would much rather give up my computer than my cats !!! Technology is a material of society that brings more convenience than joy. At least personally I don't feel any more or less happy when I get a cell phone, a personal computer, or a car. And it certainly doesn't have such a bearing on my sense of peace and fulfillment as another living being that I would expect to be incomplete without it.

One thing that does give me hope : 20 years ago the number of shelter kills was closer to 50,000 on a daily basis. An 80% reduction solely due to increased low-cost spay and neuter programs. And even death is more ethical than leaving them to languish in a cage for years on end, which to a pet is PRISON, and never getting adopted...

I have 16 cats so several of them didn't have to die.

Squishy was neutered, definitely a housepet found as a stray - 15ish years old. Came home with me the night before his day of death. He had suspected ringworm - which wasn't ringworm. But don't worry, I spent many hundreds on him due to chronic urinary issues.

Margo & Molly were both adopted as they were in danger of being euthanized due to chronic health issues.

I took Gumby home to foster instead of her being euthanized at 6 weeks of age as she was very feral. 8 months later I adopted her because she isn't getting adopted.

Lola's still here, on the 28th she celebrates the 1 year anniversary of being surrendered. And no one wants her as she is special needs (seizures requiring meds 2x/day). I'm assuming she'll die here without ever finding a real home, that I will ultimately end up adopting her.

Eden was a purebred Siamese I rescued - pregnant. She has health issues, so I adopted her not suspecting most people to deal with her issues.

All of my guys were saved on their LDA (last date available) as fosters, but as time wore on and I was dealing with health issues, lack of interested adopters, etc, Doug and I fell in love with the little beasties. And they will never see the inside of a shelter ever again if I have anything to do with it.

Honestly it's better of they drop them at a shelter instead of just abandoning them somewhere. I get those cats the ones people were done with so they just took them out here and dumped them.

Sylvester is a total a-hole(he hisses when I walk toward him with the food bowl) but I can tell by the fact that he is a pudgy cat that he was someones' pet and he was just dumped here. I'm expected the number will increase now that kitten season is here which means we might be getting pregnant cats which is the last thing we need, especially because chances all the babies(and Mom) will end up with leukemia(I put food out everyday and whoever comes gets to eat, I'm not about to be the food police.) The neighbor does the same but mine go over to see if she has something better to eat and then eat there and Blue mainly stays at her place, and he's about dead, he obviously ended up with leukemia and he's going to die, I can't capture him(I have tried more than once) or I would to get to to a vet to end his misery. Plus he has decided the neighbor is his human, not me.

There are things worse than shelters and being euthanized, all I have to do is open or walk out my door and I see it. How one cat made a bunch of babies and I still have 5 outside and 2 inside. One cat- Mama- had 4 babies 3 black cat(Biter and Goldie were 2 of them) and Cali, then last year she gave us 3 kittens(who all promptly decided they didn't want humans and left), Cali had 3, and Biter and Goldie had 9 between them. 15 kittens and who knows what would have happened this year had Mama, Biter and Goldie, plus Half-tail(Cali found a home) spayed.

They have a better chance at a shelter than they do living outside trying to survive. I have seen some pretty messed up skinny cats that I know had owners at some point. That IMO is a lot worse than having to take a needle because there aren't enough homes. Our rescues have been stuffed beyond capacity since before last years kitten season.

Taryn

Originally Posted by elayman

I also never cease to be amazed by the resilience of animals and the dedication of the humans who treat them.

But the whole situation of 10,000 animals euthanized in this country every day still makes me very sad...

No cat or dog is more worthy than another and every animal has the right to rescue, care, and rehabilitation no matter how badly they are sick or traumatized. I saw a polling survey once by a pet food company asking what would be the most difficult to give up. Pet came in third behind significant other (understandable), and second was computer. Coffee, tv, and car came next. That pretty much says it all. Wow. I would much rather give up my computer than my cats !!!

Technology is a material of society that brings more convenience than joy. At least personally I don't feel any more or less happy when I get a cell phone, a personal computer, or a car. And it certainly doesn't have such a bearing on my sense of peace and fulfillment as another living being that I would expect to be incomplete without it.

One thing that does give me hope : 20 years ago the number of shelter kills was closer to 50,000 on a daily basis. An 80% reduction solely due to increased low-cost spay and neuter programs.

And even death is more ethical than leaving them to languish in a cage for years on end, which to a pet is PRISON, and never getting adopted...

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Terrific post!

Originally Posted by laureen227

there's a possibility i might have to move to get a job for next year. if so, i am definitely taking 2 of mine - have a possible home for a 3rd already lined up. but if i can't personally find homes for the other 2, i'll take them - even tho i've never seen an apartment complex allow more than 2 cats. i'll just have to sneak around! no way i'd take them to a shelter, even a no-kill one.

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I also started with 2 and then one day a stray wandered in this "2-pet" rule apartment. . But really people do sneak pets in all the time and management has everything better to do than worry about contributing to the overpopulation problem. Unless you get lucky enough to fall in love with a place where maintenance people always write on their sheet how many pets they see when they come in to do work.

Luckily I've trained the little one to hide herself well. Plus it helps that the current manager is in animal rescue herself and has room to foster anything that comes along at this point...