Don't Dump Me, PLEEZ!!
Dear Humans,
I want to let you know that there are options to turning your cat loose if you can't keep it!
It's a misconception that we can hunt mice or find our own food, especially if we have been given regular meals all our lives. There are a lot of dangers for us out in the world...traffic, poisons, wild animals, cruel people, harsh weather, lack of food/water...not to mention Animal Control (you know, those guys in the truck!).
You usually have several days notice if you're going to move, so don't wait until two days before Moving Day to start looking for us a home if we can't go with you. Not every rescue group has an immediate opening and many will work with you to help us get adopted...but they can't work miracles overnight. A lot of rescue groups work together for greater success.
You can place ads online, in the newspaper, community bulletin board and get the word out to other humans! Your friends and relatives can help, too, by telling more humans.
A last resort would be taking us to the Animal Shelter...but even that would be better than dropping us off in the "rich neighborhood" or in the mountains. In this state, "owner surrenders" are not required to be kept for a specific number of days...that's bad news for us! The officer explained they have limited cages and they need those cages for the cats that get rounded up during the night. They want to make sure they have a space for a truly lost kitty who's owner may be searching for their beloved. Those are the cats that get a few days at the shelter...if they're lucky! An officer said every day is kill day because the facility is so small and they have to leave two open in case the man with the truck needs empty cages for his newly captured prizes. I've learned some things that would outrage the general public if they really knew things we know so well. The animal Srevices means well but they get overwhelmed with lots of cats. No one wants to walk down the hall with an arm load of cats going into the dreaded "Euth Room". Our friends come in but they don't come out. It's a scary place!
Something else they don't consider is that cats, cautious by nature, are not going to be sweet and playful and loving when they just left their familiar home and are now in a cold cage that has sights and smells we have never seen before. When a family comes in to adopt, we may not be as loving to them as we would if we weren't so stressed in this environment. If someone reaches in to pet us, we may hiss and growl or take a swat. If we behave this way, we can get labeled "aggressive" and a trip down the hall to the "Euth Room" may be sooner than we think since they want to promote the ones who are not so stressed. They also keep us "aggressives" in another room where people won't see us because the lovable ones are promoted first. People have to ask to see us, if they know about us at all. But even here, there is a chance
A chance someone will fall in love with one of us and give us a loving forever home...some shelters have a program- adopt one, get the second free. No officer enjoys "euthing" the unfortunates.
We love it when the Crazy Cat Lady comes in with her carriers and asks for our friends on Death Row. The warden lets her take as many as she wants (5-10)
A little planning on the part of the humans could save a lot of stress and worry and a secure loving future for your furry friend!
So please consider these options before you want to drop Fluffy off in a wooded remote area. There is an almost-guarantee that Fluffy won't make it out there. The surviving cats will have Fluffy for lunch... They are mountain lions, bobcats and jaguarundi. If Fluffy was dumped in their territory, she's on the menu.
If you're looking for a place for (insert your cat's name here), consider the alternatives to just sending kitty out into a world she knows nothing about where her chance of survival is almost zero.
Thank you for reading...and I'm sure the humans know all this already... But why are we still finding so many domesticated felines in places we shouldn't be finding them?!
=^..^=
Dear Humans,
I want to let you know that there are options to turning your cat loose if you can't keep it!
It's a misconception that we can hunt mice or find our own food, especially if we have been given regular meals all our lives. There are a lot of dangers for us out in the world...traffic, poisons, wild animals, cruel people, harsh weather, lack of food/water...not to mention Animal Control (you know, those guys in the truck!).
You usually have several days notice if you're going to move, so don't wait until two days before Moving Day to start looking for us a home if we can't go with you. Not every rescue group has an immediate opening and many will work with you to help us get adopted...but they can't work miracles overnight. A lot of rescue groups work together for greater success.
You can place ads online, in the newspaper, community bulletin board and get the word out to other humans! Your friends and relatives can help, too, by telling more humans.
A last resort would be taking us to the Animal Shelter...but even that would be better than dropping us off in the "rich neighborhood" or in the mountains. In this state, "owner surrenders" are not required to be kept for a specific number of days...that's bad news for us! The officer explained they have limited cages and they need those cages for the cats that get rounded up during the night. They want to make sure they have a space for a truly lost kitty who's owner may be searching for their beloved. Those are the cats that get a few days at the shelter...if they're lucky! An officer said every day is kill day because the facility is so small and they have to leave two open in case the man with the truck needs empty cages for his newly captured prizes. I've learned some things that would outrage the general public if they really knew things we know so well. The animal Srevices means well but they get overwhelmed with lots of cats. No one wants to walk down the hall with an arm load of cats going into the dreaded "Euth Room". Our friends come in but they don't come out. It's a scary place!
Something else they don't consider is that cats, cautious by nature, are not going to be sweet and playful and loving when they just left their familiar home and are now in a cold cage that has sights and smells we have never seen before. When a family comes in to adopt, we may not be as loving to them as we would if we weren't so stressed in this environment. If someone reaches in to pet us, we may hiss and growl or take a swat. If we behave this way, we can get labeled "aggressive" and a trip down the hall to the "Euth Room" may be sooner than we think since they want to promote the ones who are not so stressed. They also keep us "aggressives" in another room where people won't see us because the lovable ones are promoted first. People have to ask to see us, if they know about us at all. But even here, there is a chance
A chance someone will fall in love with one of us and give us a loving forever home...some shelters have a program- adopt one, get the second free. No officer enjoys "euthing" the unfortunates.
We love it when the Crazy Cat Lady comes in with her carriers and asks for our friends on Death Row. The warden lets her take as many as she wants (5-10)
A little planning on the part of the humans could save a lot of stress and worry and a secure loving future for your furry friend!
So please consider these options before you want to drop Fluffy off in a wooded remote area. There is an almost-guarantee that Fluffy won't make it out there. The surviving cats will have Fluffy for lunch... They are mountain lions, bobcats and jaguarundi. If Fluffy was dumped in their territory, she's on the menu.
If you're looking for a place for (insert your cat's name here), consider the alternatives to just sending kitty out into a world she knows nothing about where her chance of survival is almost zero.
Thank you for reading...and I'm sure the humans know all this already... But why are we still finding so many domesticated felines in places we shouldn't be finding them?!
=^..^=
