Thursday, August 27, 2009
Respect the Shelter
I have a respect for animal shelters - even the ones that have a policy of putting animals to sleep.
When I visit the Johnson City Animal shelter, I am always amazed at how clean the cages are. The litter boxes are clean - I don't know how they do it! All the cats have a clean blanket or sweater or rug or bedspread to sleep on. They all have a toy in their cage as well as clean water and food.
The same is true at the Unicoi Animal shelter. I even noticed that they use white blankets in their cat cages. White! And the blankets never look dirty. I bet they change them out everyday!
It's a given that I'm an animal lover, but I don't hold it against shelters that aren't "no-kill." I wish they were all "no-kill" shelters, but I'm a realist. Despite all the public education campaigns about spay and neutering and the low cost spay/neuter clinics that are held, there are people who will not get their pets "fixed."
I am sooo glad that we have shelters so all the unwanted animals at least get a chance to find a home. And it's downright hard to find a home for them. I've asked just about everyone that I can think of that would want a cat. I can't find anyone that needs or wants another cat. Most people already have one or two already. Some people are allergic. Some people prefer dogs. Some people want one, but it's just not the right time for them to have a pet. I respect all those reasons.
Right this minute, January is sitting on my shoulder with her nose stuck in my ear - purring away. January and August have an appointment this week to get "fixed."
As Bob Barker always said, "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."
When I visit the Johnson City Animal shelter, I am always amazed at how clean the cages are. The litter boxes are clean - I don't know how they do it! All the cats have a clean blanket or sweater or rug or bedspread to sleep on. They all have a toy in their cage as well as clean water and food.
The same is true at the Unicoi Animal shelter. I even noticed that they use white blankets in their cat cages. White! And the blankets never look dirty. I bet they change them out everyday!
It's a given that I'm an animal lover, but I don't hold it against shelters that aren't "no-kill." I wish they were all "no-kill" shelters, but I'm a realist. Despite all the public education campaigns about spay and neutering and the low cost spay/neuter clinics that are held, there are people who will not get their pets "fixed."
I am sooo glad that we have shelters so all the unwanted animals at least get a chance to find a home. And it's downright hard to find a home for them. I've asked just about everyone that I can think of that would want a cat. I can't find anyone that needs or wants another cat. Most people already have one or two already. Some people are allergic. Some people prefer dogs. Some people want one, but it's just not the right time for them to have a pet. I respect all those reasons.
Right this minute, January is sitting on my shoulder with her nose stuck in my ear - purring away. January and August have an appointment this week to get "fixed."
As Bob Barker always said, "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Hello Again
About 2 weeks after we took the foster cats back to the shelter, my daughter asked if we could go visit them, and I thought it was a great idea. On Saturday, I called the Unicoi Animal Shelter to see if it was okay. The shelter said, "Come on down!"
When we got there, we saw that Miss Dora and her kittens were on display in a cage in the lobby. We took each kitten out, one at a time, and held them for quite a while. When I got Friday out, I noticed that he was quite a bit lighter than when he had been at my house. The shelter workers told me that they had wormed the whole family and that that can cause them to lose weight. But I was still really concerned about him - he was downright scrawny, but I knew the shelter had been taking good care of him. And Miss Dora had that look of "I'm going stir crazy in this cage." I wanted to take them all home again! It was sort of a mistake to make this visit. I'll post more about this later, but I see now that it is best to cut ties permanently. As much of an animal lover as I am, I realize that I can't save every animal out there, and I certainly can't keep every animal I find. One day, my dream is to have a no-kill animal sanctuary that will have room for lots of animals, particularly cats. For now, I have to accept the fact that I have to limit the number of cats I can have in my home.
But......I told the shelter people that I'd like to foster the Jones family a little longer. I told them I'd have to discuss it with my husband first (and I'd be back on Monday). After I talked to my husband, we decided to just bring Friday back to our house. The other Jones family members were doing well, and the shelter assured me that they have a home for a while.
On Monday, I went to get Friday (and took turns holding Miss Dora, Indiana, and Alaska before I left). Friday sat on my shoulder during the car ride home. He is so sweet.
I'm still concerned about his scrawniness. I bought some kitten "formula" to feed him because I hardly see him eat. I've seen him nibble something once. But he is drinking water. Last night, I swaddled him in a towel and fed him kitten formula with a syringe. He liked it! I hope he will put on some weight and get interested in real food.
I realize I can't keep Friday. I have 3 indoor cats of my own plus an outdoor cat that showed up one day and is still here 2+ years later. I've made a flyer about Miss Dora, Indiana, Alaska, and Friday, and I've sent it to most everyone I know. I hope I can help the shelter get some leads and find the Jones family a home!
When we got there, we saw that Miss Dora and her kittens were on display in a cage in the lobby. We took each kitten out, one at a time, and held them for quite a while. When I got Friday out, I noticed that he was quite a bit lighter than when he had been at my house. The shelter workers told me that they had wormed the whole family and that that can cause them to lose weight. But I was still really concerned about him - he was downright scrawny, but I knew the shelter had been taking good care of him. And Miss Dora had that look of "I'm going stir crazy in this cage." I wanted to take them all home again! It was sort of a mistake to make this visit. I'll post more about this later, but I see now that it is best to cut ties permanently. As much of an animal lover as I am, I realize that I can't save every animal out there, and I certainly can't keep every animal I find. One day, my dream is to have a no-kill animal sanctuary that will have room for lots of animals, particularly cats. For now, I have to accept the fact that I have to limit the number of cats I can have in my home.
But......I told the shelter people that I'd like to foster the Jones family a little longer. I told them I'd have to discuss it with my husband first (and I'd be back on Monday). After I talked to my husband, we decided to just bring Friday back to our house. The other Jones family members were doing well, and the shelter assured me that they have a home for a while.
On Monday, I went to get Friday (and took turns holding Miss Dora, Indiana, and Alaska before I left). Friday sat on my shoulder during the car ride home. He is so sweet.
I'm still concerned about his scrawniness. I bought some kitten "formula" to feed him because I hardly see him eat. I've seen him nibble something once. But he is drinking water. Last night, I swaddled him in a towel and fed him kitten formula with a syringe. He liked it! I hope he will put on some weight and get interested in real food.
I realize I can't keep Friday. I have 3 indoor cats of my own plus an outdoor cat that showed up one day and is still here 2+ years later. I've made a flyer about Miss Dora, Indiana, Alaska, and Friday, and I've sent it to most everyone I know. I hope I can help the shelter get some leads and find the Jones family a home!
Saying Goodbye
The day came when we had to take the foster kittens and their mom back to the shelter. The whole family is so easy to work with that it was no problem putting them back in the box that I brought them home in (it's a really big box).
The shelter was ready for us and had their cage ready for them. Once we got them into the cage, it was time to fill out some paperwork. I had to adopt two of the foster kittens for my niece (those two were still back at the house).
Then I asked the shelter if there was any way that I could sponsor the family to 1) help them get adopted and 2) prolong their stay at the shelter. They told me that they had a guardian angel program where I could pay a portion of their adoption fee - any amount I wanted. I chose to pay the spay neuter fee for each of the foster kittens and Miss Dora. When someone adopts one, they will only have to pay $20.
While I was completing all of the paperwork, I realized that I really didn't get to say a proper goodbye to the foster cats. But I decided that it would best to just wave at them from the window. I knew saying goodbye would be hard. But just waving from the window was hard - Miss Dora and Friday were looking at me, saying, "What is going on? Where are we? What have you done to us?" That broke my heart. Indiana and Alaska were busy exploring their cage which I have to praise - the cage was bigger than many I've seen and very clean.
Having August and Friday back at the house has been a great distraction, but I think about the foster kittens everyday. You can see them on petfinder.com by searching for cats in Erwin, TN.
The shelter was ready for us and had their cage ready for them. Once we got them into the cage, it was time to fill out some paperwork. I had to adopt two of the foster kittens for my niece (those two were still back at the house).
Then I asked the shelter if there was any way that I could sponsor the family to 1) help them get adopted and 2) prolong their stay at the shelter. They told me that they had a guardian angel program where I could pay a portion of their adoption fee - any amount I wanted. I chose to pay the spay neuter fee for each of the foster kittens and Miss Dora. When someone adopts one, they will only have to pay $20.
While I was completing all of the paperwork, I realized that I really didn't get to say a proper goodbye to the foster cats. But I decided that it would best to just wave at them from the window. I knew saying goodbye would be hard. But just waving from the window was hard - Miss Dora and Friday were looking at me, saying, "What is going on? Where are we? What have you done to us?" That broke my heart. Indiana and Alaska were busy exploring their cage which I have to praise - the cage was bigger than many I've seen and very clean.
Having August and Friday back at the house has been a great distraction, but I think about the foster kittens everyday. You can see them on petfinder.com by searching for cats in Erwin, TN.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)