Philosophy/ethics Of Dealing With Injured Stray Or Feral Cats

[david68]

I'm on a few Facebook cat rescue groups, and one thing I've noticed that troubles me somewhat is that there sometimes seems to be a kind of competition going on regarding saving cats that have really horrific injuries that require thousands of dollars to treat. Sometimes the cats don't even survive the treatment.

For me, I try to think of what kind of quality of life the cat is going to have after treatment. Will it have ongoing pain? And how traumatic will the treatment be, keeping in mind that the cats often don't understand why medical procedures are being done to them? It's also a question of use of resources, which does have an ethical dimension. I don't have unlimited funds, and if I spend everything I have on one severe case, then what happens when a minor, treatable issue pops up the next week? Or could I use those resources to TNR forty healthy cats and reduce the problems caused by overpopulation.

I saw one case recently where someone spent over $6,000 to try to save one rescue kitten that the doctors didn't think would survive. The kitten died after almost two weeks of invasive treatment. I wouldn't have wanted to be that kitten myself.

One of my TNR colony cats was shot in the leg, and I did raise the money to pay for an amputation because she was adoptable. She did get adopted. I paid to have a lipoma removed from another cat. But these were both cases where a good outcome was reasonably certain without ongoing suffering.

I've also witnessed a lot of shaming of people who decided to euthanize in a tough situation. If I had to do that, I would never post publicly about it.

I hope I don't offend anyone with this post, but I don't entirely understand the mindset of those who believe that extreme measures must be taken to save every cat regardless of the cat's ultimate quality of life afterwards.

 

[kittychick]

I will say that, on this site, I can't ever remember seeing that kind of shaming. I don't know if it's the general respect that really seems to permeate this group in general - - or if it's the moderators (I suspect a combo of both!).

I will say I've seen it - - some of it VERY nasty - in a local rescue FB site, among others. I understand the desire of everyone - me included - wanting to do whatever can be done when an animal's sick or in pain. But I also understand that every situation is different - from the injury/illness to the funds available to the quality of life for the animal. Particularly in the TNR world.

Shaming improves nothing ....solves nothing. But unfortunately, many people say horrible things when cloaked by the anonymity of the keyboard. I wasn't offended in the slightest by your post - - and I can see that you're not completely new to this site, but I hope that you find a more positive experience in general here.

 

[msaimee]

I've never seen the sort of competition that you mention you see on Facebook or any other rescue site. Most people who are involved in rescuing feral and stray cats don't have a lot of financial resources. There have been times when I have spent several hundreds of dollars on medical care for my cats. But I would never criticize someone who is not in the position to do that. The bottom line is that the decisions regarding veterinary care for any pet is a very personal matter for each pet caregiver, and we shouldn't judge each other.

 

[fornana]

Eh, I don't do facebook Partly due to my frivolous paranoia...Annnnyways, Imo offering any kind of compassion to a feral or stray cat is great. Helping other living creatures for no personal benefit of your own is great. Spending a large amount of money on a poor unrealistic outcomes isn't particularly wise, but we have all been there. Life is a learning process.....It's important though to have realistic treatment goals for your animals based on their health conditions, quality of life, and your financial resources. But again any amounts of love and compassion towards others is great!

 

[trudy1]

To me it's always been a decision that is between you and the animal. So many factors come into play like you said: available funds, potential outcome, your bond with the animal, your emotional load and tolerance level etc. Given unlimited resources I think most cat people would go above and beyond to provide a chance at life. I have done both, spent beyond what I should and also euthanized.

The bottom line is that we each do what we feel is best for that individual animal. Those who criticize or ridicule those decisions are probably that way with any observed action by anyone they can't control.

 

[Merlin77]

I feel like everyone handles each situation differently, and I personally wouldn't spend thousands on a feral cat.

Quick story:
Raini, one of the local ferals where I live, turned up one day with a scratched up tail. She isn't vaccinated, and the thing that wounded her probably wasn't either. There was no way to get veterinary help. You could see the bone of her tail, and she licked it a lot.

Fast forward a month or so, and Raini was completely fine. The only sign of the injury was some fur growing differently than the rest. No rabies, no sickness, no infection and no pain.

Now, she even lets the kittens play with her tail. Luckily she is much more friendly to us as well!

I know this isn't an extreme case, but it goes to show that in this case, not interfering was the better choice. A vet visit would have left Raini with stress and needless drugs.

In more extreme cases, such as being shot like someone mentioned earlier, help is required if the animal is to live. But even after, people have to consider what life will be like for the animal. There are many awesome success stories and many sad stories of failed surgeries or untreatable cases. The important thing is not to judge.