Injured feral in our colony-help!

[catwoman707]

What a wonderful, genuine group we have here!

Sharing stories is so good, in so many ways too.

Reminds us all we are not alone. What we do is tough, no question about it. Rescue work in it's self it tough, I have seen far more than I ever could have imagined, the neglect, abandonment, abuse, sicknesses and diseases, horrifying injuries, you name it.

But I think looking at the entire picture I would have to say, the worst is with the ferals. I think for me personally, it might have something to do with the fact that I know first hand, that they are just the same as our comfy house kitties, (thanks to Destiny who gave me such a precious gift in her last few days of life) but are so misunderstood, and how they have to live life, day in and day out, and the awful things that happen to them, the fear, hunger, all of it, hurts my heart so much.

I remember the first time I was at our county shelter, which is high kill, and found myself in what's called their feral cat barn, the last stop before being killed. Looking at those faces, and their eyes, they know what's coming, they can smell it, I'm sure of it.

Every pair of eyes watching you, their last and only hope, that is the worst feeling EVER.

I'm already too emotional with all this to tell Destiny's story now, even though I would so love to. Still a hard one for me.

Love you guys though!!!  

 

[catwoman707]

@Snugglecat  should be reading these latest posts, especially #49 through present.

I think she is in need of some support now too.

Hopefully it helps, if just a little bit.

 

[supermax1943]

Oh Kittychick, I cried reading your tales of your two wonderful cats that you had to put down.

I've been hurting and overwhelmed that I simply forgot I would find the emotional help I needed to work with these cats right here. I am 72 years old now, and keeping up sometimes takes a toll.

We have all shared such similar sad stories.

And having to re-live the stories by telling them to others brings the sad pain up all over again. Thanks so much for sharing your stories.

No one who doesn't do this work could possibly understand what it entails!

I just gave up on a "friend" who felt I wasn't giving him enough of my time, when he left a  phone message complaining about the concern and time I give "my ******* cats".

What he doesn't know, and you all do,is that these cats have kept me alive for years.

All that I give to them, I receive back two-fold.

For you, and for each who do this work, I know we are doing a very unique and special thing. I just know it is part of our destiny.

Hugs to you all.

 

[missdeon]

These are sad stories, for sure. I also have one about Winston who showed up at my house two Decembers ago. I discovered him huddled in a cat bed I had provided for other outside, neighborhood cats one day as I headed out for work. He was a big, un-neutered tom who was very friendly. So I greeted him, fed him, and told him I would see him later, when I got home. Well, when I did get home hours later, he was gone. Hmm, well, at least I did something for him. Forward 3 days and he shows up again. This time, when I greeted him, his nose was covered with blood. Oh, no! Did he get hit by a car? Why didn't I bring him in sooner? I loaded up the cat, bed and all, into the car and zipped off to the vet. The vet said that he did not think he had been hit by a car, but just had a really bad nasal infection. He was such a friendly guy, the vet was willing to help me find him a new home but he wanted him tested first. Winston turned out to be FIV+. (and, if my memory serves me, I think he was also FeLV +)  But, the vet was still willing to hold on to him while I tried to find placement for him at a local rescue that takes in FIV+ cats. He was at the vet's 5 days and on IV antibiotics the whole time. I went to visit him after 5 days and he looked just as bad as he did when I brought him in. The vet said they were having to flush his nasal passages two or three times a day. It was hard to make the decision, but I did. He died in my arms with my cooing in his ears and my strokes on his fur. I think he got more love in the last few moments of his life than he did in the 3 years previously. I console myself in the fact I gave him a chance and I was able to give him a peaceful passing that he would not have gotten if he had stayed outside.

Being a responsible animal caretaker means that sometimes you have to make the hard decisions. I know it is hard to forget the so called failures, but don't think of them as such. You did not put the cat into the situation of living outside or being born to a feral mother. You do what you can, as long as they will let you.

Now you know FIV is in your colony just like I know that FIV is in my neighborhood. I have cared for or taken responsibility for 5 cats in 6 years who have tested positive for FIV. I still have care and control of three of them. Winston was too sick, as I said. And Oscar went to live at a cat rescue that takes in FIV cats and he will live there the rest of his life. I support his care, financially, each  month. 

I, initially, did not want have these cats tested. I did not want to know because that would have involved a hard decision for me. But, eventually, I did have them tested and, now that I know, I have to take responsibility for knowing. And, as I stated before, I can always have them put to sleep, if they get too sick, but as of now, they are all healthy, although one of them, Yum Yum, has had a bad nasal infection which seems to be under control after a long course of antibiotics. Johnny is the youngest and most recently diagnosed cat. He does not like to be cooped up, even in a catio, after having the run of the neighborhood, but I do it for his good and for the good of the cats in the neighborhood. I hope he will, one day, learn to accept his fate and, if I possibly can, I hope to move to a larger property to give both of them some space to roam in a controlled manner.

If you want to know more about FIV, here are some sites:

http://www.fivcatrescue.org/

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_fiv.cfm

and the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus group on Facebook is also very helpful. I am not sure what is on The Cat Site about FIV. But, there is a lot of misinformation out there, including many vets who do not understand the disease. Do the research...ask the questions.Keep up the good work!

 

[reba]

Miss Deon so well said and soooooooo true.  This is the emotional cost that true rescuers risk on a daily basis (not that I count myself in that group, but I am very, very cognizant of it.)  It is also why I really resent the kill/no kill shelter designation.   If you're cherry picking your rescues then, I'm sorry, you're rescue is best described as a closed-intake rescue and not a 'no-kill' shelter.   The local rescues didn't have the infrastructure to help me when I found my kittens/stray cats - my phone calls/emails went unanswered or were answered weeks later when someone got around to checking the inbox.  The local shelter gave me free forumula and lots of support.  They could because they have a building, full time employees and all the costs that go with supporting that infrastructure.  And the no-kill shelter designation is draining funds away from those organizations who can ill afford it and must cut services.  My local shelter in fact closed itself to cat intake last summer and the result was I watched a clearly abusive man be turned away from surrendering his cat.  He was yelling in the parking lot as he stuffed the cat (who was wrapped in a carpet) back into the car and sped away.  It still haunts me what happened to that cat.  And I place the blame for that policy squarely on the shoulders of the "no-kill" shelter movement because I doubt it would have ever been in place had the shelter not been repeatedly shamed by being labeled a "kill" shelter.  Plus how do you think it feels for the volunteers/staff to be branded as working at a "kill" shelter???  

OK, off my soap box.

 

[missdeon]

Reba...WOW! That is really powerful and well said. I agree with you. How do you think I ended up with 22 cats, three of which have FIV? The rescues only take cats they rescue from "high kill" shelters. So what is a private citizen to do? Keep the cats/animals, even if they know they cannot afford to? Turn it into the local county/municipal shelter or Humane Society? The rescues do pick only the ones they think can get homes, leaving the "undesirables" to their fate.

But, also, do you really think the rescues that say they are "no kill" are really that way? If they discover, down the line, that a cat or kitten is unadoptable for whatever reason, but especially because of illness like cancer, they won't euthanize that animal if it is suffering? I would hope they would, instead of letting that animal die in pain or a lingering death. That self-proclaimed "no kill" designation, in itself, is misleading.

Thankfully, I have found a rescue in Yucaipa, California called Hope to Home for Cats who do take in undesirable cats, if they have the space. One of the neighborhood cats that I was caring for turned out to be FIV+. For a donation, they took him in. I toured the place and it seemed very nice. They made no promises about finding a home for him. He was one of about 20 FIV+ cats they had there. The manager pretty much said that he would live out his life there. I sponsor him monthly and visit him. At that time I already had 1 FIV+ cat and about 15 others so I did not keep him. But, since then, I have taken in more kittens and two more neighborhood cats who have FIV because I could not find homes for them and rescues won't take them directly from private owners.

I also applaud Hope to Home because they have a colony of unadoptable ferals that they care for as well. They are unusual in the rescue business, as far as I can tell.

 

[snugglecat]

I'm so glad to hear Blackie is doing so much better. It's nice to hear of a happy ending with a feral cat. She looks a lot like Shadow, a little black cat I care for. She is not feral she actually belongs to some neighbors but they don't feed her or take care of any of her medical needs. I really wish they would start taking care of her. She has bloody sores all over her and lost all her fur on her ears. I'm trying to come up with some money to get a flea treatment for her. Not sure if that is the problem or if she is just sick like my feral cats. The sores are getting bigger because she is constantly digging at them. She is also not eating much.