quote:

ORIGINAL: candystripper
Could you try placing the new cat's photo on ebay or craig's list and see if someone will adopt him, even if the transport costs must be handled somehow?  Probably not until he's got a clean bill of health from the vet, but still, it'd be one way of placing him without just giving up.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DesFIP
They aren't always dumped. All too often this is the result of people allowing their animals out in an unfenced yard.

quote:

ORIGINAL: candystripper

This really hurts, DesFIP.  To me, horses are somehow more deserving of care than almost any other animal.  Why isn't this in the news?  Why don't I see anything about it on the Animal Channel?  Are there any groups working on the problem?
 
I agree with you; animals as a whole will likely suffer more and more as the meager support and protection we afford them now shrinks and stressors brings out the nutter or the desparate in more owners.
 
Sad times ahead.
 
candystripper 

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

blessings on you, Mme...

I believe that those who dump their pets shoudl be stripped naked, dropped in an extremely remote area without ANY supplies, and left to fend for themselves.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MmeGigs

...and I'm not terribly happy about it.  Yes, this is a bit of a rant.  I'm frustrated.

He's a 3-4 month old kitten that someone dumped out in the country and who found his way to my house.  He's solid black with gold eyes - really beautiful - and incredibly friendly with a purr like a cement mixer.  We've named him Boo, since he found us a week before Halloween.  He has health problems - we'll need to get him to the vet and get him treated for worms, mites and god knows what all else.  He has nice litter box manners, which is a definite plus, and loves just about anyone and anything, but his bedtime manners leave something to be desired.  He seems to think that 4 AM is a great time to wake up and pet the kitty.

I was hoping that in a few years I'd be cat-free.  I've had my cats Bill and Bob for 16 years.  Bob died a few years ago, and I don't expect that Bill has more than another 5 years or so in him.  I was kind of looking forward to being catless.  While I really enjoy them (before finding my hubby, my plan for retirement was to be a crazy old spinster with a house full of cats), I've developed a moderate allergy to them so petting and playing with them isn't an entirely pleasant experience.  I've also had my fill of cleaning the cat box.  And I really wanted to select my next carpeting without worrying about how it will handle hairballs and cat-spew.

We have 3 cats.  In addition to Bill and Boo, there's Bucky.  Someone dumped him out here late last winter.  The feral cats that were hanging around at the time (they were once someone's pet but have gone wild since they were dumped) wouldn't let him into the warm places.  I was working hard to ignore him, but during an early spring storm he was huddled on the steps covered with a layer of ice and snow.  I wasn't going to take him in - I still had this picture of a cat-free future in my head - but I wasn't committed to that and my hubby couldn't stand it and went and got him.  Bucky was 3-4 months old when we took him in, so we've committed to a cat-infested life for the next 15-20 years.  With that in mind, it wasn't that tough to make a concurrent commitment to Boo. 

I've found homes for at least a dozen dumped and friendly cats and their offspring since we've been out here in the country.  I've got no one who'll take any more, and none of the local shelters will take them.  A local cat shelter closed recently, so there are lots of cats around here looking for homes.  This has put us in a heck of a spot.  What do you do when some sweet-natured starving animal runs up to you begging for affection?  I tried to be hard-hearted, but I'm just no good at it.  We decided that we'd take in those cats that came up and asked us to, but now that we've got 3, we're wondering how many we can actually handle.  Three is seeming like a lot of cats.  Bill's demands for affection seemed to increase when Bucky moved in, Bill and Bucky both are having issues with Boo's ultra-affectionate nature and need more attention.

We decided to live with 3 cats for a while and see how it works.  Unfortunately, there is a new player in the drama.  I was out on the back porch tonight calling Bucky in for the evening and a beautiful tuxedo kitty came running up to me from the garden.  He's about 6 months old or so, extremely friendly, and very skinny.  Someone dumped him out here.  I fed him - I couldn't help myself - so I've pretty much committed us to taking him in.  Boo's not going to care, but Bill and Bucky are going to be pissed off.  Particularly Bill.  He feels that he is an alpha cat but had to suppress that while he lived with Bob, who dommed him something fierce.  He was really digging up on being an only cat and resents the recent additions to our household.

I hope that some karma will be visited upon these low-life scum-sucking jerks who feel that dumping their unwanted pets in the country is a fine and dandy thing to do.  My folks taught me that getting a pet was a long-term commitment not to be undertaken lightly.  It frustrates me no end that I am being put in the position of having to fulfill the commitment these irresponsible strangers made to these cats or let the poor beasts become sick or starved and die.  If they can survive in the wild they'll be killing the chicks of the wild turkey and pheasant that nest around here, and I don't want that.  The animal control folks have told me that I can expect more of this as the economy worsens.  People who can't afford to keep their pets or have to move and can't find a place that takes pets, and can't afford what the shelters charge to drop them off will be dumping them off on the doorsteps of the shelters or out in the country. 

We'll vet and neuter the cats we get and I guess we'll try to find homes for whichever of them someone will take so that we'll have room to take in the next cats that get dropped off.  I guess I'll be dealing with cats for the rest of my life.  The hubby just came home and I let him know that our cat population is going to be increasing by one.  He let out an exasperated sigh and bowed to the inevitable.  So now we're discussing our possible future as an ad-hoc cat shelter.  It will mean inconvenience and construction and expense we don't really want to take on and finding a vet who's willing to give us a group discount, and a time commitment from us for daily kitty affection.

I really do enjoy the kitties but I really resent being put in this position by irresponsible assholes.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LookieNoNookie

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

blessings on you, Mme...

I believe that those who dump their pets shoudl be stripped naked, dropped in an extremely remote area without ANY supplies, and left to fend for themselves.

(After having the first 7 layers of epidermis removed with sandpaper).

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

quote:

ORIGINAL: LookieNoNookie

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreedyTop

blessings on you, Mme...

I believe that those who dump their pets shoudl be stripped naked, dropped in an extremely remote area without ANY supplies, and left to fend for themselves.

(After having the first 7 layers of epidermis removed with sandpaper).

good call.

quote:

ORIGINAL: apiercedkitty

i'm one of those suckers that can't pass by an animal in need - as it sits, i'm owned by 4 dogs and 4 cats - and they were all adopted. The last 3 additions were this summer. Right before Father's day, the local news did a story on how the shelters were becoming overburdened with the economy - people having to turn animals in because they could no longer afford to care for them. Stupidly, i looked online and found the most adorable face ever and decided to drive the hour to the Humane Society to check into her. It took me 6 hours to adopt her as they had the zoning ordinances for surrounding townships and mine only allows someone to own 3 dogs apparently. i managed to convince them that i qualified as a kennel as i live on 10 acres. i think they finally relented because they knew they'd get stuck with her - at the time, she was about 100#'s of slobbery Neopolitan Mastiff mix who was about 30#'s underweight. She also had absolutely NO manners. C'mon, not many people go to the shelters to adopt dogs such as her. So, after driving all the way back home, loading my 3 dogs into the car and driving back so they could all meet, i loaded all 4 into the car for the return trip. Today, she's a clean, 110# happy girl with a whole bunch of manners. There are days when i wonder wtf i was thinking - such as everytime i forget to pick my slippers up and she carries them into the living room to drool all over them - but i'm glad i was able to save a dog that probably would have been euthanized otherwise. Then we made the mistake of visiting a farm and ended up bringing home 2 more kittens... can you say glutton for punishment??? lol

quote:

ORIGINAL: came4U

Well, not sure where you are, but around here we call the shelter (Animal Control) and they pick them up for adoption. I am pretty sure they keep them around for months on end or until adopted (unless sickly).

Not sure of the laws in your town/city but maybe get involved in the entire process from top to bottom and find out how you can prevent your (and other's) the distress from finding all these homeless kittens. Get informed on animal rights laws and legislations in your area and if they are not adequate, rally others get them changed. Taking in a few strays a year quietly is only a band aid solution for what seems (in your area) to be a major problem.

quote:

ORIGINAL: scarlettjinx

A lot of these people will actually take them to a shelter first, and when they here that there is a possibility the animal will be euthanized (one of the shelters I worked for took in over two hundred animals a day) they call the shelter workers murderers and decide that it is more "humane' to dump the animal on its own. Yes, it is much more humane to make them suffer, starve, get run over if there lucky, or in the city I worked in, be picked up and tortured or used as a bait animal for dog fights, as opposed to leaving them in the hands of caring people that will feed them, care for them, sometimes showing them the only affection they have ever been given, and then gently fall asleep. Much more humane to just dump them.

Jack asses.