Helping not Harping on Pet People

First of all, that is exactly how I feel.

Second of all, one of my cats was stolen from me to intimidate me. The girl who stole him then gave him to some friends to send to a shelter to adopt out. So nowadays every single time I see an ad I keep thinking "Did the original pet owner put up the ad, or are there extinuating circumstances?"

I would do everything to get Chester back.

I agree too. It is hard to not get mad, because most of us can't even imagine giving up our pets under any circumstances, but sometimes there might be things that have happened that are totally out of our control.

Like, if I had children and had to choose between them eating or my pet eating, I would probably consider that my pet might have a better life with another family... but it would be as hard for me as the decision to give a child up for adoption so it could have a better chance. There are so many things that could go wrong! I do remember someone who had visited here who was being abused by her husband and felt that her cat would actually be at risk of serious injury or even death if she kept him with her... so that's a good reason too I think.

Sometimes its easy to assume that the person has just gotten lazy or irresponsible because alot of the time they don't give you any details so you can know why they are doing it.

Shengmei, I do hope you called the police. If you did and they couldn't help you get him back that is soooo sad. I'm sorry. I can't imagine if that happened to me, I might have ended up in jail for assault...

Well, that was two years ago.....and the chick's father was Immigration. I didn't want my siblings to get in trouble because they don't have their citizenships yet.

Agreed. More messages are understood and taken on board when delivered with sugar! People need educating, not brow-beating. Abuse will likely be ignored and make people more determined to follow their original path.

Although I have to say I went nuts at a guy at the park the other day after it was the third or fourth time I'd seen him hit his dog for no reason. I thought about it all day afterwards though, and thought of all the much more constructive things I could have said to him if I hadn't been so furious!

That is a great attitude Was it General Patton who said, "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem!" ? Whoever said it, spoke truly. When a community bands together to help an animal, it's a win-win situation! Good post!!

Someone at my rescue regularly monitors the newspaper and calls people offering free cats or kittens. That is how they found my ad for my first foster kitty (Festus' Mom!) They saw my lost and found ad for the preggers kitty, and called to offer their help in fostering her!

I have found that most people, upon learning that you are a crazy cat person, want to offer you a problem cat, rather than talk to you about adopting one of your fosters. But it can open the lines of communication to help them learn to properly care for the kitty so it isn't such a pest.

Or the people could be sick:

http://www.ukpets.co.uk/ukp/index.ph...etch&item=1076

That is exactly what I do!! Help, suggest, try to convince them to work with the animal before giving them up.

How to Address "Free To A Good Home" Ads in Your Community

It is absolutely, without a doubt, imperative that you address the SOURCE of unwanted litters in your community, regardless of how many animals you rescue. Ignoring the source is the fatal error that is a direct cause of animals dying in your community. You will NEVER be able to rescue as many animals as are being bred if you ignore the "Free to a good home" advertisements. NEVER. It is no lie that they can breed far quicker than you can adopt. Period.

If you don’t believe me I want you to do me a favor. Go to the kitchen and take out as many pots, pans, bowls, glasses & cups as you can find. Place them strategically around the kitchen. Put the stopper in the sink drain and turn the faucet on full blast. (Once the faucet is on, you can not turn it off or down.) Now start bailing the water out of the sink. Let me know when you are able to catch up. Each drop of water is a litter. The "FREE" ads are the faucet. The pots, pans, bowls, glasses & cups are all rescue groups, and the sink is the "pound." You are the vessel that is bailing them out.

We can’t work much harder at this folks, so it’s become very apparent that we must work a hell of a lot smarter.

What follows is a series of ideas and attitudes that can help you address the most serious contributing source of unwanted litters. In my personal experience (having made lots of calls) the greatest "trick" is to remember how important it is to focus. If you can control your focus, remain unpretentious (not "holier than thou") and non-confrontational, you will experience great success encouraging people not to let their pets breed.

http://www.ahimsatx.org/nnl/docs/HowTo.htm

I would be really careful before I recommend a rescue group. Most rescue groups that I know of do not take owner give ups. They pull exclusively from the local kill shelters. Sending someone to the rescue group often 1. means the person gets sent somewhere else (ie. they get pissed off that the rescue will not help them) and 2. puts the rescue in the position to have to send the person elsewhere. Best to check what the rescue's policies are before recommending that route.

Katie

For me I always thought people should rescue as many cats as their spouses would allow.

The cats are already born, if they are not adopted they would be euthanized. It is much better for people to adopt quickly so shelters can continuously spa/neuter animals and save lives.