A few days ago, the woman presented me with a cat in a trap. It looked pretty young and she said she had found it “awhile ago.” She couldn’t tell me if the cat was male or female just that it was found as a young kitten and never spayed/neutered. It had been in the trap for a bit, so when I got home, I released it into one of my large cages outdoors in the cat enclosure. It was Saturday when I got the trapped kitty and I didn’t want it to spend more days in the trap until the vet opened this morning.
It was eating and drinking and staring and growling, but I was able to step inside the cage several times and attend to business without being attacked. The woman called this kitty feral- I call it neglected and scared. Thankfully, I was right.
This morning, I went in with a thick blanket and enough clothing to get through a snowstorm. I wanted to just pick this cat up and put it inside a carrier and get it to the vet for testing/neutering vaccinating unless it tested positive- then it would get a bridge pass. 🙁
I step into the enclosure and shut and latch the door. The growling has started “Gadget” which is what I am calling this cat started growling the minute I opened the door (which is customary for this cat) I had never latched the door behind me before so I was a bit nervous. Gadget was perched on top of the cat carrier at the top level of the cage. I reached up with my blanket and covered her. The growling got louder, but she didn’t move.
Encouraged, I reached up and started to gently grab the neck so I could scruff the kitty and carry it down into the waiting carrier (waiting tipped up to the ceiling) No such luck- this long haired kitty has no extra skin due to malnutrition. I ended up with the cat on the floor behind my back. I was now sitting on the floor trying to get the cat wrapped up. I felt it behind my back and all sorts of bad thoughts raced through my head of what past “ferals” have done to me when they are trapped. I relaxed my body, started to slow breathe and pray. The cat ended up scrambling over my shoulder (thank God for two coats I was wearing) it raced up the wire, I stood up and wrapped the blanket around it, de-latched her claws from the wire and went to put her into the carrier. She escaped so we did it once more and this time success! The cat is now at the vet’s getting tested, examined and hopefully will be negative on the tests and will get neutered and we will start all over again to get it socialized and trusting humans.
It is a beautiful long-hair tuxedo kitty
oh I do hope it is just a scared little thing and the test all come back good. a safe place and some good food to bring it around!
You’re braver than I am. I would probably volunteer to wrestle a rabid dog before I’d tackle an angry pseudo-feral cat.
It is a boy- it has tested negative and has been neutered. I am waiting for the last cats to arrive soon and wish that someone were close enough to come over and stay with me (Mike is at an appointment) The woman who had these cats called this morning and went all hysterical on me when I suggested that it not be a good idea for her to visit them anymore. She told me that under no circumstances was I to euthanize any of her cats without her permission and I in turn told her that she signed the owner/surrender form and they are no longer “her” cats they are mine. I didn’t want to get heavy-handed with her, but in the end I had to. I explained to her that she needed to concentrate on finding someplace to live and quit worrying about the cats. It was pretty heated on her end- she kept screaming “I don’t know you, I don’t trust you!” It was quite frustrating. She is supposed to be here any moment and if she doesn’t sign the final release form then I simply won’t take her remaining cats. I hope it doesn’t come to that, because all her cats are in such bad shape. But at this point, I don’t know what else to do.
So let me understand this – she doesn’t know you, doesn’t trust you.
And because you are so “untrustworthy” (insert sarcasm snarky face here) that’s why you jumped through such an array of hoops to set up a better shelter for the cats than they had when living with her. Paid someone to do the work to convert the run-in into a shelter for the cats, bought flooring and supplies, are caring for the cats AND putting all of this up on your website for the world to see – if everyone was as “untrustworthy” as you what a wonderful world it would be.
But I think it is more a case that this woman loves all the cats, hates hates hates having to give them up, and is just trying to adjust to their absence and hold on to them in whatever sliver of a way she can.
Which is not a feasible way to move on into the future for you, for her, and not even for the cats.
She apparently trusted you enough to hand over 10 senior cats to you and she wasn’t keeping them in very good conditions. What you have set up is better than what she had. That was probably the best she could do under the circumstances she had.
I realize that sometimes life gets so difficult that we can become unreasonable without realizing it. Maybe this is what is happening with her. I would still take her cats if you can. At some point very soon she will have to take care of what is in front of her or she’s going to become homeless. That should motivate her to move on. Hopefully it will occupy most of her time and you won’t be dealing with her as much, if at all. My thought is that all of this stress is coming out for her in a very bad manner. Let’s hope so anyway. I hate that you are getting the brunt of it when you’ve been helping her far more than anyone else would.
I went into debt for these cats. I have one of her cats in the vets right now getting neutered, tested and vaccinated with only $30.00 in the kitty and she can’t trust me? I just learned that she used to have 86 cats. Her husband and daughters finally had enough and told her to choose them or the cats- she chose the cats. Husband divorced her, kids barely speak to her, won’t let her move in with them because they are afraid of her hoarding tendencies. Her house was beautiful- litter pans weren’t that clean but I didn’t see the typical signs of hoarding. The house didn’t smell and one of her cats came up to me when I walked in the door and put both paws on my legs, climbed up to my chest and settled in my arms! THAT’s not the sign of a hoarder.
So I am perplexed, she isn’t here yet. I don’t think she is coming and although she insisted I put these remaining three in with the other of her cats- I can’t because they don’t know each other any more. When I told her that, I got a big argument as if I don’t know what I am talking about. Yes, she can’t trust me- when she leaves my driveway (If she even comes) I am going to stamp every one of these cats Bridge Passes! What is she nuts? I finally got Juno to stop draining out of one nostril, now it is just coming out of his right side. He is eating, he’s gained a pound since he’s been here- he’s warm and dry and she can’t “trust” me. I am still shaking my head over this. I feel sorry for her but I can only rescue her cats. I can’t rescue her at the same time.
I’m sorry she is making your life crazy. She loves her cats and slashing out is her only outlet. My strategy for dealing with hot messes: remain calm, quiet, firm and don’t engage. She can have all of our sympathies, but nothing else.
We take it Gadget was one of the “senior ten”? Either way, that must have been a scary few minutes. I have been the ‘beneficiary’ of cat bites on a few occasions, and one hand still has marks from a tussle with a neighbor’s cat.
We hope whatever happens, that woman finds a safe place for those last few senior kitties.
Yes one year old Gadget was part of the ten. I called a fellow rescuer tonight who operates on the coast. I told her what was going on- she will call the woman in a bit and offer to take the remaining 3 feral cats for her sanctuary WITHOUT mentioning my name. The cats have not shown up yet and I doubt they will. Mike told me what happened when he was there earlier today, he tried several times to get her to put the ferals (in traps) in the truck, but she refused. She also refused to sign the final forms. He said she was ranting and raving and wanting all future vet records and vet notes on any of her cats. I was not to take them in without her express permission and he said he was really out there. She lied to me when she called me after he left. She told me that he was running late and couldn’t take the cats (which didn’t sound like him). She said she would bring them to me in an hour and she never showed up. I guess a hot mess sums her up. Her reality is skewed and I feel sorry for her but I did all I could humanely do to help her. Now hopefully Gloria will take the remaining cats and she can move on with her life with her four house cats in tow.
I found your website from a post about “10 senior cats in need”, and I’ve been following your progress. I’m sorry it’s turning out so badly for you, though I also have sympathy for this woman who is seeing her whole life drain away. Anyway, I’m sorry I couldn’t send more but I’ve added a bit to your kitty for the kitties. Good luck with the rest of this.
I agree with KatieK. Just remain as calm as possible, don’t argue or engage and try to move past her craziness. Do what you need to stay sane. Some folks are just really good actors. They get your sympathy, turn on the hard luck stories, are general charming and once they’ve hooked you – wham, like a snake they strike. So sorry you are at the receiving end of this.
Just learned that she plans on coming over tomorrow to see “her” cats because she doesn’t trust me. The person she confided this to has known me a very long time. She asked K “Didn’t you see what Mary Anne did for your cats in only two days?
K replied, “Yes, it was nice.”
Then my friend told her that I had already vetted several of the cats, gotten the young one neutered so what was the problem?”
No answer- just the mumbling that they are “her” cats. She told my friend that if I didn’t let her see her cats, she will call the police on me.
Under the new law recently passed, all owner surrender cats are to be signed off on a form- the form she won’t sign. So, do I just tell her she can have all her cats back and get out of this mess and let these kitties down? My heart would break- she has no means to keep them, no place to live and like my friend said, she should be doing a happy dance over the fact that they are here and not causing all this grief.
I’ve already talked to a sherriff about this, but he was not very helpful. Said if things get violent to call them immediately but beyond that his suggestion was to call animal control in the morning said one of the deputies now working there might be able to offer some advice.
Mike made me go out and put padlocks on all our gates just to be safe. I feel like I fell into a bad episode of peyton place or something LOL. I will just commit all this to prayer and hope for a calm, peaceful morning. I will need to stay home tomorrow and miss my bud’s birthday party for her little girl but I hope she will understand. After Mike’s dealings with K earlier today, he wants nothing to do with her at all.
So sorry that you are going through this mess. Bad enough having to go through the financial and emotional roller coaster of rescue with 10 cats at once, but then to throw this on top is just incredible.
Sending prayers and a little something to help your rescue.
Perhaps she is trying to maintain control over the cats because she can’t seem to control her own life? I’m just grateful the cats are away from her and in a safe place. I hope she finds a safe place as well.
Hang in there.