I'm looking for a solution that perhaps has evaded me. I am desperate to try and remedy a situation that is seen as pretty much hopeless. This will be long I'm sure, hope that will be alright.
Where I live is considered rural (all of the houses are on previous farmland. We are zoned agricultural, no limits on types or kinds of animals. Everyone owns 5 acres of land that run from the road, backwards, towards the railroad tracks. Perhaps an acre between houses. The interstate can be seen from my patio doors! It is similar to a sub-division to look at this area. There are a diverse group of people who live on my road ie: Elderly, Young Families, Hmoung, Meninites. We have lived here six years or more and about a year and a half ago is when the Feral Cats started showing up.
We all know where these cats originated from and still the majority come from. Down around the bend..............they have since migrated this way and are currently mostly at my neighbors and my house. I started with one, then her sister and now have more than I can count. My neighbor has quite a few also. For the last ten months or so the two of us have rehomed thirty kittens. (The neighbor and I do not work together with these cats, just talk on occasion)
I have hesitated to post this as I do know that all of us who feed them are the 'real problem' and that being said I will also state that I'm personally tired of being blamed for that and this is why. Blame to me is an excuse for a problem or a situation not a solution. Killing them was never in my thought process, nor is it now. When this all began, which is now a lontime ago already, my intentions were to seek help with Spay and Neuter and I did just that. I read all that was available on TNR, then contacted the No Kill Shelter in a neighboring city (that was after I called the Town Chairman and he asked if it would be ok to SHOOT then on our property or did he need to find a way to catch them!!!!
Only good cat is a dead cat. TNR you say, haha he says. The No Kill Shelter had heard of TNR but isn't practicing that, nor do they have traps to loan out. They consulted there Board of Directors and agreed a month later, that if we would trap them (buy our own traps), bring them in, one or two at a time, call first because this week might not be ok, they would do the following: Test them for Feline Leuk/FIV and FIP (did you know there is a test for FIP?!, no talking to them about that either) and they would decide who they would spay/send back or not based on their plan for the day. But they did say that someone would be with them when they were euthanized so they wouldn't be alone. My DH said perhaps we should just euthanize them ourselves. The No Kill Shelter also refused to take any of the tame adoptable kittens and we were told they would be euthed before they got in the building. We went there twice to talk with them in person also.
Then after going West I decided to go East, the Humane Society there has an TNR program, not talked about publicly. They were great and did let me in on late this Spring they maybe going to expand to out of county folks. Wait and see. Late Spring Maybe is going to be too late! They cannot help us other than that as we do not reside in their county.
I called local Vet Clinics including my Vet of thirty years to see about a discount for Ferrals. 10 percent because my DH is a senior. $110. for Spay and $85 for Neuter. No one else was interested in doing much with Ferals. Vets are 'For Profit' and many of the local ones have just built huge new buildings. (Our people population here is rapidly increasing)
The closet spay/neuter clinic is over 2 hours away and they charge $40. It is also required by law to vaccinate for rabies, additional charge(s).
I've been trying the best I can. Do need to add that I am Disabled due to several auto-immune diseases so am limited in how much I can do and can't do. We cannot afford to to pay Thousands of dollars to spay and neuter them. Yes to all of you who think I should have not fed them, the problem is this, I should of fed them once, caught them and took them to have their blood on someone elses hands but I did not. I cannot go backwards, all that can be done now is try to find a solution. I'm human and when I look at them everyday I see no good reason for them to die. I am one of the 'last' in the chain of 'done these cats wrong' and do take offense to being the last and made to feel as if it all rests on what I did or did not do. All of my furkids are spayed/neutered and not allowed to reproduce. They are fed the best of foods and vetted regularily. We just cannot afford to do these guys.
ok enough of a vent, that was not my intention, what I really need is anyone to toss somemore ideas out my way. Is there something that was missed on my part? and if there aren't any solutions how can I be ok with their deaths.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to write this. As you can tell I'm quite frustrated.
Where I live is considered rural (all of the houses are on previous farmland. We are zoned agricultural, no limits on types or kinds of animals. Everyone owns 5 acres of land that run from the road, backwards, towards the railroad tracks. Perhaps an acre between houses. The interstate can be seen from my patio doors! It is similar to a sub-division to look at this area. There are a diverse group of people who live on my road ie: Elderly, Young Families, Hmoung, Meninites. We have lived here six years or more and about a year and a half ago is when the Feral Cats started showing up.
We all know where these cats originated from and still the majority come from. Down around the bend..............they have since migrated this way and are currently mostly at my neighbors and my house. I started with one, then her sister and now have more than I can count. My neighbor has quite a few also. For the last ten months or so the two of us have rehomed thirty kittens. (The neighbor and I do not work together with these cats, just talk on occasion)
I have hesitated to post this as I do know that all of us who feed them are the 'real problem' and that being said I will also state that I'm personally tired of being blamed for that and this is why. Blame to me is an excuse for a problem or a situation not a solution. Killing them was never in my thought process, nor is it now. When this all began, which is now a lontime ago already, my intentions were to seek help with Spay and Neuter and I did just that. I read all that was available on TNR, then contacted the No Kill Shelter in a neighboring city (that was after I called the Town Chairman and he asked if it would be ok to SHOOT then on our property or did he need to find a way to catch them!!!!
Then after going West I decided to go East, the Humane Society there has an TNR program, not talked about publicly. They were great and did let me in on late this Spring they maybe going to expand to out of county folks. Wait and see. Late Spring Maybe is going to be too late! They cannot help us other than that as we do not reside in their county.
I called local Vet Clinics including my Vet of thirty years to see about a discount for Ferrals. 10 percent because my DH is a senior. $110. for Spay and $85 for Neuter. No one else was interested in doing much with Ferals. Vets are 'For Profit' and many of the local ones have just built huge new buildings. (Our people population here is rapidly increasing)
The closet spay/neuter clinic is over 2 hours away and they charge $40. It is also required by law to vaccinate for rabies, additional charge(s).
I've been trying the best I can. Do need to add that I am Disabled due to several auto-immune diseases so am limited in how much I can do and can't do. We cannot afford to to pay Thousands of dollars to spay and neuter them. Yes to all of you who think I should have not fed them, the problem is this, I should of fed them once, caught them and took them to have their blood on someone elses hands but I did not. I cannot go backwards, all that can be done now is try to find a solution. I'm human and when I look at them everyday I see no good reason for them to die. I am one of the 'last' in the chain of 'done these cats wrong' and do take offense to being the last and made to feel as if it all rests on what I did or did not do. All of my furkids are spayed/neutered and not allowed to reproduce. They are fed the best of foods and vetted regularily. We just cannot afford to do these guys.
ok enough of a vent, that was not my intention, what I really need is anyone to toss somemore ideas out my way. Is there something that was missed on my part? and if there aren't any solutions how can I be ok with their deaths.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to write this. As you can tell I'm quite frustrated.