[Felix]

...there's this new woman at another Cat site. She let her cat get pregnant (whoa, she got out!) and now she says she's going to take mother and 3 kittens to a kill shelter. I volunteer at an SPCA myself. I'm so angry that I can't express it in a civil forum...

She says she couldn't afford to get her fixed, praises her own compassion for rescuing her as a stray. I can't decide whether she is stupid or just a very primitive form of human being.

 

[Jeanie]

That breaks my heart.

Here is a list of no kill shelters by state. Please pass this information on to that woman. I will ask Dan to post it as a sticky.

http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm

 

[Aonir]

Hey don't let her do that!! :shock: I'm sure someone would take care of her and her kittens. My vet had a mommy cat and kittens, and they took care of them until they got big enough to get new homes. Mommys still there though.

Be sure to give her a list of a no-kill shelter. If she 'wants' them to die... Then lie and say it is a kill shelter

 

[Felix]

Oh, now I'm getting dogpiled on the thread about how not everyone has the resources blah, blah, blah...she has been provided with lists of non-kill shelters, rescue groups, low-cost spay neuter, etc. If she's online, how difficult is it to find resources, really? Google much? If she can afford a **** computer, she can afford to get the cat fixed!

 

[Majicou]

If she knew she couldn't afford to get it fixed, why did she get a cat in the first place? I hate it when people's stupidity costs innocent animals their lives. :evil:

 

[cmaijer]

Fixed

I recently got a kitten. I have two other cats and am aware that yearly shots are expensive, but the $ I have forked out for this kitten have been unreal! Just getting her through her 3 sets of shots and (unfortunately) dealing with deworming, etc. has cost about $400. The cost of spaying has risen dramatically since I had my other two done. With all that said, I would never think of not having her fixed. I let my oldest go too long and her brother got her pregnant. I was young & stupid at the time! I think back then (15 years ago) it only cost $40. I thought it was $40 I didn't have. I easily found homes for the kittens, but the world really didn't need those additional 5 lives!!!

That this gal thinks she is some kind of saint for taking in the mother cat, but allowing her to get pregnant is insane!!! If you don't want to spay them, you don't allow them outside or around unneutered male cats!!! Time to get off my soapbox now!

 

[Lori]

Oh, now I'm getting dogpiled on the thread about how not everyone has the resources blah, blah, blah...she has been provided with lists of non-kill shelters, rescue groups, low-cost spay neuter, etc. If she's online, how difficult is it to find resources, really? Google much? If she can afford a **** computer, she can afford to get the cat fixed!

Stick to your guns, you are absolutely right about this. It was this person's fault for allowing her cat to get pregnant and it is so wrong that she is now willing to just have them put down (or at least very possibly put down). Irresponsible people make me sick! :evil:

 

[Jeanie]

Felix, I don't blame you for getting upset. I think we all are. The problem is that if that woman gets on the defensive, she'll feel more and more justified in doing what she stated. Try to be patient, even though it's almost impossible, and she might listen. You might be able to save that little familly. I wish you the best.

 

[Majicou]

It was good of the woman to rescue the mother cat, but that doesn't justify killing several kittens. She doesn't really have any excuse. She could have just taken the mother cat to a shelter when she first found it - a no-kill one!
Thanks for posting that Felix, and good luck in persuading her not to have them put down.

 

[queen of the nile]

no-kill shelters

I hate to be the devil's advocate here, but even though no-kill shelters do not euthanise animals, doesn't this mean when they get full that they must turn animals away? I have been to no-kill shelters before and some had a 3 month waiting list. All other animals are turned away to shelters that DO euthanise animals. As well, the facilities are often overcrowded, dirty, understaffed, etc. Although I think it is wonderful that the animals in these shelters are not on death row, I think it is misleading to see this as a win-win situation. It just means that someone else's stray is going to die. Sorry if I offend anyone, but I feel that this situation should be looked at realistically.

 

[Jeanie]

You're right; often no kill shelters have no more room. Of course if we help support them, they will be able to improve their capacity and conditions. Of course we can only do so much. If I were in the position of that woman, I would try to place the cat in a loving home. Any shelter would be my last choice. My point is that when someone becomes angry or defensive, that person becomes more and more convinced she is right. That's human psychology.

I guess my message is that you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. Unless that woman is posting only for the purpose of starting an argument (which happens often--people just like to see the reactions of people who feel strongly, especially if an argument breaks out. She might not even have a pet!) But, if she really has that problem and doesn't return to the site because she doesn't want to be raked over the coals, she'll take her cats to the shelter and feel justified. I can hear her now--"I went to them for help, and all they did was tell me how terrible I was!" She shouldn't be babied, of course, but given the best possible advice in a non-judgmental way.

 

[Felix]

>It just means that someone else's stray is going to die.<

Exactly. Kittens are usually the first adopted, so it means that an older cat, maybe one with special needs, gets killed; but I would hardly expect her to care about that. I'm just mean because I asserted that if she can afford a computer, she can afford to get a cat fixed.