 |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
Some of these kittens later died from some type of infection or were too young to be away from their mother and wouldn't take the formula/milk. I have a very large and soft heart for all God's creatures and my heart would break each time one of them died or killed by people that would run them down on purpose.
My friends call me the Cat Woman because of all the cats that I have and rescued. One of these kittens that I rescued I named Zorro because of his mask and he was black and white. He came from the kennels at a very young age and his mother was killed.
I had a female Tabby/Persian, Little Bear, that only had 2 kittens about the same age. So I put the 4 kitten including Zorro with her and she took them as her own. Unfortunately, the kittens were without their mother's milk too long and all but Zorro died.
He grew up to be my lover boy until he decided it was time to leave me this past February. I will never forget the night he left. He let me know that he wanted out, I thought he would be out for an hour or so and want back in.
I followed him to a huge snow drift and he kept going east until I couldn't see him any more. That time of year we had the longest and worst snow storms in years. I called for him and called but he never came home. Over 60 days later his daughter was born, she is a spitting image of her father Zorro and I named her Little Bear after her great, great, great grandmother Little Bear, who died of feline lukemia 5/1/08.
I miss my most favorite cats who have died: Precious, Precious #2, Patches #1, Puma #1 & 2, and maybe now Zorro.
Since April 2007 I have lost a total of 29 Cats and Kittens to Poison, killed by neighbor's dogs, pellet guns, and vehicles. The nearest animal shelters either have no room for cats/kittens or they have a rule that cats are kept for only 7 days and then are put down reguardless of their age.
The latter is the reason I will not take any cat or kitten to a shelter. I try and find them a home first. My house is on the outskirts of town on a gravel road, there is a corn field behind my house, and I have a shed behind my house too.
So the 28 cats and kittens that are my wards have a large area to run about and catch field mice. I keep them vaccinated for prevention of upper respiratory infections/colds and are wormed monthly with panacure or pyran-50.
So these people that just toss out your unwanted pets should get a swift kick in the pants or if get caught pay the price. I may have one of your discards right now and they are doing fine.
Comment by Kate
I am shocked that you say the shelters put the cats down after 7 days.
The answer as you know is spaying and neutering and I think in the USA there is also a national scheme for encouraging owners to do this.
Thank goodness for people like you and your kind heart.
Just a not to others who find a kitten and want to look after it. When we talk of milk or formula it is not regular milk as cats are intolerant to lactose in it, instead buy the special cat or kitten milk and feed them that.
Thank you Shirly for sharing your story with us.
Comments for
|
|
Apr 01, 2009 |
Safe Haven For Strays
Hello Shirley, I read your story and said to myself "WOW, she sounds like me". I hope you know that you are one of God's chosen people to care for his disguarded animals! I truely believe that cats find people like us because God directs them to safety. For as long as I have remembered,I have seen cats just show up on the property of cat lovers. I dont think this is by accident. I believe Cats are born with a keen instinct to KNOW where Cat People are. I am 55 years old and live on 10 acres in the country where there is no traffic for which I am blessed but alot of folks dump their unwanted kittys back here and leave them to die. They dont know that there is a AVID CAT RESCUE WOMAN that resides back in these woods so the joke is on the idiots that think they are leaving these babies back here to die. My 28 year old daughter and I use to own and operate a very successful cat rescue in Michigan until 2007. At that time I lost my job there and had to move down south so we had most of our cats in our facility placed in other NO KILL RESCUES before moving south. We had 98 cats in our program before closing down and was able to get all placed in good rescues except 15 that was deemed "Hard to adopt" being they had thyroid disease, diabetes or just plain older than most adopters liked. So, we loaded those 15 up and they made the trip with us! When I would rescue a cat I would make a promise to them that once I take them off the street, they will never return to that kind of life. I owe it to them as they did not choose me,I rescued them! In my opinion, you dont save a drowning victim and then toss them overboard again just because you think they can swim. Same senerio with rescued cats or dogs. If you rescue them then YOU are responsible for them. My daughter and I are both currently going to school for Veterinary Tech certification to aid us in our rescue endevors. We both work full time but also make it our life committment to care for the 15 cats we currently have and all the disguarded kittys that we find back here in the country. We get those kittys vetted and vaccinated and then find adoptive homes for them. I have gained trust and support from many rescue groups locally and foster homes and they assist me in placing most of the drop offs that we find in forever homes. It is a wonderful feeling at night when I lay my head on my pillow and know that today I have made a difference in the life of a cat or dog. I know you can relate. I have alot of wonderful contacts up and down the Eastern part of the USA in the rescue business and if you ever need my help finding good NO KILL facilities to help you with cats and kittens then please feel free to email me and I will gladly point you in the right direction. Us Cat Ladies need to stick together. The kittys depend on us. Best Wishes Mary in NC |
Click here to add your own comments
