I have to be selective with what I am taking right now, as the enclosures (except one) aren’t quite finished. Our phone has just been ringing off the hook today. “No, ma’am, I am sorry, I cannot take your 12 feral cats that are fighting among themselves. No Sir, I cannot take your 9 outside stray cats that you have been feeding for five years and have just decided you can’t do it anymore.”
I broke many hearts today that is for sure. but there was one call I couldn’t ignore. A queen just gave birth on Weds. 6 kitten- 3 stillborn. She was being a good mom until this morning when she leaped back into the nest and grabbed one kitten and disposed of it quickly. The family, they were stunned. They had this stray kitty set up on their dining room table in the middle of their busy kitchen, with no cover over the carrier that was apart. They have 2 small boys and a daughter not very old and they wonder why the mom went into stressville? Come to find out when I went over there to pick up the remaining two kittens- although I told them to keep her away from the family- she jumped into the nest again, picked up a kitten and tossed it in the air. It landed on the table. š She pounced on it- but the dad intervened and took it away.
These are two very fragile kittens. I am calling them Laurel and Hardy. They are pitch black and I pray they make it till the morning vet appointment. I have given fluids- tried to feed- one can latch on to the bottle- he is a little chunk so he isn’t as worrisome as Laurel who can’t eat because she has no energy. I have done all my tricks: karo syrup, coffee, warming beds. I wish I had those new heat lamps they have come out with specifically for baby kittens. But I don’t. I will do the best I can and hope for the best.
There is also another stray in the new enclosure but he is still in the trap they caught him with. He is an old black boy- and I do mean old. I have a 10:20 appointment tomorrow and the story is he got hit by a car about 3 weeks ago. He drags his back leg andĀ has road rash on his belly. I am calling him Jefferson-
Please pray for these cats tonight before you go to sleep-
Thank you all
Those three are indeed special needs, two tiny kittens and an old boy. The oldsters I feel sorry for the most.
It’s very tough having to say ‘no’. I return the messages on our cat-rescue group’s telephone answering machine, and we simply can’t help everyone, or even most. It’s difficult sometimes, but we help who we can.
The best of luck to those three new patients under your care.
I think a lot of times people feel they can’t help the strays they have been taking care of because of neighbors. There seldom is a problem until those haters “see” a cat. It is heartbreaking and the laws are against these good hearted people doing the best they can to be a part of the solution.
We had Homeless Cat Management Team come into our neighborhood to help finish trapping, spaying, neutering, and getting stray/feral cats shots as well as to continue to help feed these poor souls. Oh, how the police literally stalked and badgered them. You never see a police car in my neighborhood and the people of the community always complain about the lack of presence in this forsaken area. But when these volunteers were here to help, the police even had their schedule down pat and would be here like clockwork to threaten them. Never mind the drug dealings, wild and out of control kids and gangs, and the dead bodies. Stray/feral cats were the top priority.
It is so sad about kittens or any young animal in a home with a mother who does not comprehend that these little ones are babies too and to treat them accordingly.