Just got off the phone with one of the local shelters and they will take (without charging) 5 of the kittens in the bedroom from me! I am relieved and sad at this news because my kittens aren’t used to being in cages. They will spay and neuter the kittens boys are $20.00 and girls are $40.00 (this is the same place that the clinic I talked to previously uses for their spays/neuters but the prices went up for the New Years.) So now I am going to select 5 kittens to take over to them and pray they get great homes and won’t be in cages for very long. I will have to pay for the spays/neuters but hopefully by the end of the month the money will be raised to do this. They will also call me if they are adopted out so I can bring in more.
Feral Cat Behavior
Blogging about feral cats and life in general
I think you must take them up on their offer. You have too many to care for right now, along with helping Mike and dealing with your own health. And this will get the kittens exposure that they may not have at your place. Being kittens, they will probably go fast, as evidenced by your response to publishing pictures of them in your quest to find carriers. It’s a wrench for you, undoubtedly. It would be for me, too. But they will be adopted quickly.
Just to let you know- They now have Tweedle, Tweedle-Dee, Abitha, Brutus and Brambles. If they adopt out quickly and there was QUITE a lot of interest in them when I went into the lobby to find out where to go- then they will start moving the other kittens through to be adopted. It was sad for me as I have had them since they were born- but under the circumstances, this was an answered prayer. I still have to pay for the spays/neuters but at least there are five less here to worry about.
If you go to this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see our babies looking so scared and out of their element. 🙁 I know it will be a few days before they adjust.
Heartland Humane
It is always an adjustment when kittens go from a home (or in our case a foster home) to the shelter to be adopted. But….the visibility they will get will hopefully get them adopted quickly. Hopefully the shelter will let you do a short write up on each kitten that can be posted on their cage so people can get an idea of their temperments. Remember….rescue can be a group effort if we all are working toward the same goal. 🙂
I know you have few options. And that all the kittens will probably find homes. What p*sses me off is that the shelter buys into the “oh, look at the cute kittens, let’s get one” attitude instead of promoting adoption of the older cats. And, that YOU have to pay for the spays/neuters and not the adopters, thus giving the pet adopter the pet for nearly nothing. Anyone adopting an animal should be aware that vet care is expensive and is an integral part of pet ownership.
Unfortunately in my area people get a cute little kitty and neglect to spay/neuter. When the queen comes in heat they let her outside. And when she is impregnated, and she is no longer cute and little, they come out to the country and dump her out in my front yard. The pregnant queen is terrified, and has no idea how to hunt and winds up on my deck wanting food. My semi-feral cats (who got here the same way she did) will attack and fight her and try to drive her away from “their” territory. If she successfully eats anyway and sticks around, she will have her kittens here. If I can approach and catch her, I have to pay for her spay and try to find her a home. If I can’t, she may have her kittens and they will die of cold and exposure (and she may, too) or one or two may survive and become feral…. and the cycle begins again.
Too many people think that animals are disposable. That if a pet doesn’t work out, for whatever reason, they can just set them loose or take them to the humane society to be euthanized. I don’t understand that mind-set….
I have found homes for 34 cats that have been dumped out here, but I still have one inside cat and five outside cats.
There is no animal shelter in my county and “Animal Protection” will only take dogs (which they keep for 2 weeks and then shoot them if they are not adopted by then). Neighboring counties’ humane societies will not take animals from my county.
The prevailing attitude in this area seems to be that cats are “vermin,” useful as mousers in barns, in small numbers, but otherwise they are pests. People will shoot them on their property and no one seems to care….
I live in Tennessee.
Cages suck but you’re right not to pass up their chances of adoption with the Rescue’s increased exposure. Seniors rock but kittens get adopted, hard cold truth.
Class65, you could be describing my neck of the woods, central CA. Rural folks have a completely different outlook on animals. If it doesn’t generate income, it’s has no value. And people think Wall Street types are harsh!
Then I take a deep breath, buy more cat food and remember that our little colony is TNR’d and fed. One corner of the universe, under control.