Moving and leaving cats behind

I'm SO MAD!!!!  I just talked to a friend who is moving TOMORROW and she's decided today that she's not taking her cats with her.  REALLY?  Isn't that something to be considered BEFORE now?  She has asked me to help find her cats a home.  I can't take them.  We just got a new kitty (in part because she was unhappy in her home with another established female kitty) who has been through a lot herself.  To add 2 new cats to the mix...not possible right now.  So, I've pulled up the number of every no-kill shelter and rescue I can find to give her. 

I'm just furious right now!  She's my friend, but I can't understand how anyone could take on the responsibility of a pet and not follow through because it's inconvenient.  Not to mention what it's going to do to her daughter.  She is being pulled out of her school, away from her friends and now, she has to give up her kitties! 

I'm sorry for venting, but I just had to get it out.   figured a cat site would have people that get my anger.  I'm hoping to get her some options before she moves.  Otherwise, I'm afraid she'll just leave them behind.  At that point, I would have no choice but to get them and bring them here.  It's been raining for days now and it's not showing signs of letting up this week.  I can't just leave them there. 

Again...I'M SO MAD!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness.  What a predicament.  I'd be livid myself.  I kind of get what you mean about her being your friend; but!  I have a casual friend who doesn't "get it" the way most of us here do about these responsibilities (mostly with spaying and routine vet care).  I just hope that someday it'll click.

I hope you are able to find some way to help these kitties.  I don't know the rest of the situation; but there has got to be something better than dumping.  I do feel bad for her child.  Kids can be so sensitive to these things. 

I'm sorry. Even if I weren't a cat person, I would still think that that is the highest form of selfishness and immaturity. You just don't do something like that. You just don't. How utterly stupid! I hope you can find somebody to take them or that you will take them in yourself....and I understand that it's difficult to do. Those poor cats.

When our Muffin was a little kitten (maybe about 5-6 weeks old), her people moved away and left her in the house. Alone. No food, no water, no litter box. Nothing. And she was just a baby. Thank goodness, a woman was walking by and heard her crying. The door was unlocked, she walked in and found her. And took her home. She gave her to my mom and when Mom went into the nursing home, Muffin ended up with us as our eighth cat.

I have to shake my head with people like that.

mamamia said:

Not to mention what it's going to do to her daughter.

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I thought it couldn't get any worse until I read that. That would have crushed me as a child. Not to mention that it sets a terrible example for her about how to treat pets.

I can't wrap my head around the mindset that goes into a decision like that. Like you said, you just decided this now, the day before you move? Is it like, "What hasn't we packed up... Oh, what are we going to do about the cats? Lets just leave 'em, its too much travel to pack them up and take them with us?" They're animals, not things.

My cats are the one thing I can't imagine moving with out. And it's not even cause I love them- though I do, obviously- but because they're living things. Living things I took responsibility for when I adopted them. I couldn't bare the personal guilt and shame I'd feel, nor would i ever stop wondering what happened to them.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I would be so mad too.

Mamamia,

How about putting a sign out ''Free kittens''  ?   I feel for you cause I know someone who did the same thing. I got mad too.Did she really try to find good homes for these kittens at all ?

Before I had moved one day  to my other apartment (before where I am now),my cat ''Mama cat''   had gone one an adventure and didn't come back for me to take her with us. I miss that cat so much.

dejolane said:

Mamamia,
How about putting a sign out ''Free kittens''  ?  I feel for you cause I know someone who did the same thing. I got mad too.Did she really try to find good homes for these kittens at all ?

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DO NOT give away "free kittens"! If someone is not willing or able to pay an adoption fee they could turn out to be just as irresponsible as the current owner. There are also people out there who are looking for cheap snake food, bait for dog fights, animals for experiments.

Are there any other neighbors or friends who could take the kitties while you're looking for a new home for them?

I'm still trying to reach her to see what has happened.  I gave her a few numbers to call, to no-kill shelters and rescues.  Hopefully, one of them was able to help her.  If not, I've made some calls myself and have a possible foster home ready for the cats if she did just leave them behind.  I've left her a few messages asking about the cats, but I haven't heard back.  If I haven't heard from her by this evening, I'll drive over to see what I can see.  I can't understand why anyone would treat a cat like a disposable pet.  For now, I just hope she did the right thing, but if she didn't, I'll figure something out. 

GoldyCat said:

DO NOT give away "free kittens"! If someone is not willing or able to pay an adoption fee they could turn out to be just as irresponsible as the current owner. There are also people out there who are looking for cheap snake food, bait for dog fights, animals for experiments.

Are there any other neighbors or friends who could take the kitties while you're looking for a new home for them?

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yes I guess that would be the right thing to do. Bait food is wrong !

Uggg!  I've been calling/texting all day with no response.  She knows I'm an animal lover...I hope she's not avoiding my call because she's left those kitties behind.  The weather is looking pretty miserable here, probably going to rain again soon. 

Looks like I may be driving over there tonight!

Thank you for helping in this HORRIBLE situation! :heart2:

mamamia said:

Uggg!  I've been calling/texting all day with no response.  She knows I'm an animal lover...I hope she's not avoiding my call because she's left those kitties behind.  The weather is looking pretty miserable here, probably going to rain again soon. 

Looks like I may be driving over there tonight!

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any news on the kittens today ?

Goldycat is absolutely right on with her comments about giving free cats/kittens away. We have the same creepy scumbags around here too, I actually caught a man setting up a trap at one of MY feral feeding spots, and told me whay he was trapping, to feed his giant snake!! I about killed the man, haha you have no idea how I was haunted by this for weeks after.

Pit bull training for fighting too, plently of it!

What a shame she is okay with dumping her cats, not uncommon either sadly, people tend to think 'it's a cat, he will eat mice, he can survive'. Well if those people could see what I see, what a cat looks like after a short time of being dumped, they are depressed, hungry, lost, dirty, stop cleaning their fur, just confused, where did my family go?

If unfixed, she will have litter after litter, he will get beat up over and over until he stays away from another males territory, which he wont since he is hormone driven, unfixed males fight to kill, that is their intention. They are the main spreaders of fiv and felv, other members might remember my post a few months back, Buddy? That sweet orange tabby who was completely blinded by other males? I mean not simply blinded, his eyes were mangled, huge swelling, infected, and I had to have him euthanized...at 1 year old. That broke my heart and still is painful for me to go there.

Shame on her.

I would bet she is avouiding your calls too.

Not such a friend afterall?

Thanks for caring.

The cats are safe!  They are with a friend who is taking them to a no kill shelter today!  I'll be checking in with them from time to time to make sure they're okay.  Hopefully, the next home they find will be a forever home!  My "friend" got them from a shelter before so they've been shuffled around a bit. 

I'm just so happy that they're safe!

Poor things. It's so surprising to me how many animals who've been in a shelter end up back there. At least they're safe. Thanks again for caring and taking action.

Where did she leave them, if you don't mind me asking?

Outside...but she had the sense to tell a friend she was doing it and she went and picked up the cats.  So, they weren't alone for long.  Still...I can't understand how people treat their animals like that.  Mia Rose has only been with us for a little over a month, but already, I can't imagine my life without her.  She's a living, breathing, beautiful creature and we're committed to caring for her until she passes (which will hopefully be a long time away!).  Why people treat animals like disposable toys is beyond me. 

Glad they were picked up quickly. I was worried that if they were left outside they might be difficult to find.

And seriously. I couldn't leave a pet behind like that if you paid me a million bucks and I actually tried to. My love for them as individuals aside, it's too terrible to think about how it would affect them and how mean it would be. I'd end up sobbing and going back, lol.

We have 2 shelters in our county, one is a high kill shelter I deal with all the time, saving as many cats and kittens as I possibly can, the other is a "no-kill" shelter in my town, a humane society.

The problem is, the hs has a strong reputation as a no kill, however all this really means, unbeknownst to the public, is that they don't actually euthanize in that facility, but ship loads of cats and kittens to the high kill shelter DAILY....

I deal with them as well and am working on changing their information given to people who bring in/surrender pets/animals, that infact, there is a good chance they will be killed, they just don't do it there.

It is very deceptive to say the least. They say they will only tell if the person asks...........they want to preserve their reputation, however deceptive they are about this.

It infuriates me to no end.

Several years back I attempted to expose this deceit after an incident where a woman found many kittens in her neighbors yard, called the hs (bvhs) as well as me/my group, when I called her back she said that bvhs already came and took them away, that they are going to go into foster care.

I told her no, they will be sent to scac (solano county animal control) and killed.

She went up there and for hours threw a fit until they finally let her take them back. She contacted the local paper and they did a story, and phone interviewed me, but when the article came out on the front page, covering most of it, it had been twisted enough that my intention of exposing the truth behind this "no-kill" facility did not happen.

Then Cat Defender got ahold of the story and redefined it quite accurately, but unfortunately not many people saw THAT article, compared to the thousands of locals who read the town's newspaper article.

 So that was that....

To read the cat defender's article, it is http://catdefender.blogspot.com/2010/07/benicia-vallejo-humane-society-is.html

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on the subject, but when you said they are safe at a shelter all I could think of was this incident, and how many shelters are NOT actually no kill but decieve the public so they obtain/keep their donation accts. since finding out the truth would cause some to discontinue funding them.

Catwoman-

Thanks for letting us know about that. How terrible.

catwoman707 said:

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on the subject, but when you said they are safe at a shelter all I could think of was this incident, and how many shelters are NOT actually no kill but decieve the public so they obtain/keep their donation accts. since finding out the truth would cause some to discontinue funding them.

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This is very true.  Further, even those that are truly no kill (i.e. will not transfer the animal) almost always have very stringent criteria to ensure those that they take can be adopted- for instance, under 3 years old, very friendly, entirely healthy, and good looking.  There are also some places that let the public think they are no kill that actually do euthanize.  These places don't outright claim to be no-kill but take full advantage of their false reputation.  For instance the Washington Animal Rescue League in my city is a mix of stringent criteria and taking advantage of a no kill reputation even thought they do kill.  Of 30 cats they currently have carefully selected, only 6 are over 3 years old.  Only 1 of those is older than 6 years.