If you take him to a shelter, he will put down as it is kitten season.
Or are you thinking of getting him TNR? That would be my choice. And treat the fleas.
Or are you thinking of getting him TNR? That would be my choice. And treat the fleas.
What should I do about Scruffy?
Scruffy stopped by tonight, and was hungry. I feel bad for him. He has a severe flea infestation and matted fur. He fought with a raccoon a few weeks ago and sprained his leg. He doesn't have a real home. A family took him in when he was a kitten but they didn't neuter him, and they let him out when he got in heat at about age 1 and he's been mostly an outdoor cat ever since.
I talked to this man tonight and asked how he'd feel about me taking Scruffy to the shelter and he doesn't mind if I do. Life is rough for tom cats. What should I do? He's making kittens and may make more, then we'll have to deal with them too. I truly love Scruffy but I hate to see him living the rough life and being basically homeless, with fleas eating him alive, varied diet of who knows what, etc.
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I talked to this man tonight and asked how he'd feel about me taking Scruffy to the shelter and he doesn't mind if I do. Life is rough for tom cats. What should I do? He's making kittens and may make more, then we'll have to deal with them too. I truly love Scruffy but I hate to see him living the rough life and being basically homeless, with fleas eating him alive, varied diet of who knows what, etc.
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poor guy! he is so handsome. How friendly is he? I agree that TNR would be better than taking him to a shelter this time of year, maybe a rescue in your area would be willing to help?
Hi,
Is TNR trap and release? Please tell me more about that if someone would. Thanks.
2 or 3 families feed Scruff and a man paid $85 to take him to the vet after a fight with a **** sprained his leg. I can't afford to pay for anything like this. I have tons of bills and 2 cats of my own.
Is TNR trap and release? Please tell me more about that if someone would. Thanks.
2 or 3 families feed Scruff and a man paid $85 to take him to the vet after a fight with a **** sprained his leg. I can't afford to pay for anything like this. I have tons of bills and 2 cats of my own.
He's a sweet cat. He loved me patting him tonight and talking to him and he kept rubbing on my leg.
He's an absolutely awesome cat. I love him, I really do.
He's an absolutely awesome cat. I love him, I really do.
Scruffy is at the animal shelter. He stopped in and was hungry this morning so I fed him and then put him in the car. I hope no one is upset at me for what I did but I love him and I feel that I did him a favor. There's a good chance he'll be neutered and will be adopted out. They love all cats but especially lovable orange cats like Scruffy. They're going to treat his fleas and parasites. He seems to be hungry constantly. I believe he's better off with what ever happens to him rather than deal with matting, fleas, worms, sprained legs due to fighting, etc. I feel that if someone is going to own a cat, they need to take care of it or release it to someone that will.
It broke my heart to see him in the shape he was in, and not only that, he was probably making new kittens that would end up with the same kind of life, or worse, would be feral and never be caught and neutered. I feel a load off of my mind now. I was told there is no TNR program around here.
It broke my heart to see him in the shape he was in, and not only that, he was probably making new kittens that would end up with the same kind of life, or worse, would be feral and never be caught and neutered. I feel a load off of my mind now. I was told there is no TNR program around here.
I'm so glad you took him in. I would
have done the same thing. I agree he's better off there with a good chance of finding a permanent home since he is so friendly. being flea ridden and fighting for his life against raccoons possibly with rabies or other diseases, starving on the streets, making other homeless babies, etc, etc etc... there is no question! You did GOOD. Thank you for making the right decision.
have done the same thing. I agree he's better off there with a good chance of finding a permanent home since he is so friendly. being flea ridden and fighting for his life against raccoons possibly with rabies or other diseases, starving on the streets, making other homeless babies, etc, etc etc... there is no question! You did GOOD. Thank you for making the right decision.
i would have done the same thing as well. if there's no tnr, your options are limited. regardless of what happens, at least he has a chance to be adopted and get a hot meal and flea treatment. good for you for making the effort and reducing the amount of illegitimate kitties that never get adopted and whose moms starve to death trying to care for them.:thumb
Thanks. I feel sad but glad for him. What's really sad is that 2 or 3 people in that area were feeding him and seemed content with his matting, flea infestation, worms [he wanted to eat almost non stop], and yet no one cared enough about him to try to groom him better. They didn't seem to mind seeing him with all of his health problems. His owner took him to the vet when he had a fight with the raccoon but seems totally uneducated about fleas, worms, neutering, etc. This family has 2 vehicles and own their house, one is a 2012 Toyota. They never cared about him enough to learn how to properly take care of him. They just seemed to leave food out for him and that's about it. They couldn't resist taking him in when he was a kitten but a year later when Scruff went into heat, they scratched their heads and wondered why he refused to stay inside any longer. Like "duhhhhhhh what is the matter with this crazy cat?"
I don't know why some people are such poor cat owners. I don't think I'm going to ever stop in to tell him I took Scruff to the shelter. I kind of hope I never see that man again after the way they treated that beautiful and sweet cat. I hope he learned a lesson from this, but I have doubts he did. They'll probably do it all over again when they see another sweet little kitten like Scruffy.
I don't know why some people are such poor cat owners. I don't think I'm going to ever stop in to tell him I took Scruff to the shelter. I kind of hope I never see that man again after the way they treated that beautiful and sweet cat. I hope he learned a lesson from this, but I have doubts he did. They'll probably do it all over again when they see another sweet little kitten like Scruffy.
it seems weird to me (and to you, and to anyone who really loves their cats) but i think a lot of people see cats as "outside" animals--they don't belong in the house, and all the things that go along with roughing it like a homeless person (matting, fleas, tapeworms, etc.) are things they just shrug off because to them it comes with the territory.
i don't think they are purposely neglecting the animals or think they are doing anything that constitutes abuse. it's just a completely different point of view (not one i'm defending, i'm just saying it's different). but thank god for people who intervene on the animal's part. (i wouldn't stop in and say anything either, because the man might not think he was doing anything wrong and see it as mean that someone took his cat away.)
i don't think they are purposely neglecting the animals or think they are doing anything that constitutes abuse. it's just a completely different point of view (not one i'm defending, i'm just saying it's different). but thank god for people who intervene on the animal's part. (i wouldn't stop in and say anything either, because the man might not think he was doing anything wrong and see it as mean that someone took his cat away.)
Is it a male or a female? Only female cats go into heat. He probably did reach sexual maturity though and was more than anxious to get outside and sow his wild oats.
Well done on taking him to the shelter where he has a chance of finding a real home. He's gorgeous.
Well done on taking him to the shelter where he has a chance of finding a real home. He's gorgeous.
I know it was a choice you had to make for Scruffy because his owners unfortunately didn't care for him properly. Don't feel bad because at least now he'll be able to get the chance to be adopted to a real forever home. Life on the streets is hard for pets and feral cats. I hate it when I hear ignorant people say, cats don't need to be taken care of by people...they take care of themselves. It was a tough choice but better than what may have awaited him on the streets. Thank you for caring about him.
He said last night that it would save him some money on cat food if I took him to the shelter. He also complained that he took him to the vet to have the leg looked at and it cost $85, and then the leg healed on it's own 2 or 3 days later, as if I was supposed to feel sorry for him..
He's a male. He's gentle and very sweet. Scruffy is a name I gave him. I guess his owners called him Itsy, if you want to call them that.
What I meant was, he probably started to spray and scratch the door when he wanted to go out. If he'd been fixed it seems that he would have been a much better indoor cat but that's $50 the owners thought they didn't need to spend.
Some people just don't place cats on the same level as humans, they place cats below humans. I wish there was a human I loved anywhere near as much as I love my 2 cats. My cats are the only family I have. If it wasn't for them I would have cashed in my chips by now.
What I meant was, he probably started to spray and scratch the door when he wanted to go out. If he'd been fixed it seems that he would have been a much better indoor cat but that's $50 the owners thought they didn't need to spend.
Some people just don't place cats on the same level as humans, they place cats below humans. I wish there was a human I loved anywhere near as much as I love my 2 cats. My cats are the only family I have. If it wasn't for them I would have cashed in my chips by now.
I'm not going to dislike Scruffy's former owners. The man was nice enough to talk to me openly about Scruffy and said he didn't mind if I took him to the shelter. He could have told me to mind my own business and he'd treat Scruffy any way he feels like treating him.
Cross your fingers for Scruff. He's at the shelter now and has been treated for fleas and worms so he's probably feeling better. Now if he can get a good home it would really be good. He will not have to deal with all of the dangers of his former environment and I am thankful for that. At times he would not come to me and I think it was because he was always on guard / stressed about cats and other things. I've pulled out burdocks embedded into his fur, I've cut off many matts, he was a mess. I just couldn't stand to see such a sweet cat living like that. His owners didn't lift a finger to groom him. I don't even think they wanted to even touch him, let alone let him onto the house, but I patted him and loved him and he loved me back. I think I am the only real friend he ever had.
Cross your fingers for Scruff. He's at the shelter now and has been treated for fleas and worms so he's probably feeling better. Now if he can get a good home it would really be good. He will not have to deal with all of the dangers of his former environment and I am thankful for that. At times he would not come to me and I think it was because he was always on guard / stressed about cats and other things. I've pulled out burdocks embedded into his fur, I've cut off many matts, he was a mess. I just couldn't stand to see such a sweet cat living like that. His owners didn't lift a finger to groom him. I don't even think they wanted to even touch him, let alone let him onto the house, but I patted him and loved him and he loved me back. I think I am the only real friend he ever had.
Update : Scuff spent a week or so at the shelter, they tried to find him a new home but it didn't work out for him and he was put to sleep. I feel a loss and am saddened by this but at least I can say that I'm glad he is no longer having to deal with worms, fleas eating him up, possibly rabid raccoons trying to eat the cat food left on the porch for him, mats, missing clumps of fur, lack of love from the people that claimed to own him, and other things. I loved him and I miss him but I can't afford to take in any more cats. I have two. If I'd taken him in it would have cost me a good $100 to $200 for FIV and FLV tests, shots, neutering, etc., and then it still may not have worked out.
He was a gentle, sweet boy. It's a shame what life dealt him, but he was only one of millions.
He was a gentle, sweet boy. It's a shame what life dealt him, but he was only one of millions.
I'm sorry that it had to come to that but you did the right thing, although heartbreaking. Sadly, one cannot save them all 
It's really sad that a perfectly healthy cat had to be put to sleep simply because the shelter couldn't find a home for him after only a few days. The local humane society here will keep cats until they either find a good home or they die of old age. I looked at their website and there are a few cats that have been there for over 2 years. It's a shame more places aren't like that.
They have been taking in a LOT of new younger cats lately and are now just about full. There is a high chance he had FIV or FLV. They have no choice but to start putting cats to sleep when they get full. It was a worst case scenario but I still think he's better off than he was.
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