Anything interesting happen to you today?

[Gypsy]

Seriously.

It''s been a very strange day for me.
Strangest thing that happened?

We were leaving the house to run some errands and an orange and white (mostly white with patches of orange tabby) tabby meanders across the road right in front of us about a 1/2 block from our house. Just... out for a stroll. We were going like 15 miles an hour (have to with all the feral and outdoor cats in our area) so it wasn''t a big deal. Cat stopped at the side of the road and gave me a very friendly look.

DF and I looked at each other... looked back at the cat. I got out of the car and went over ... and it was SUCH a love. No collar. But friendly and sweet... a bit of an attention whore. We went a couple houses to see if it''s owned. Everyone said it''s a stray that''s been hanging around for a couple of weeks. So I picked it up... had no problem with that... snuggled deep into my arms (I DO NOT recommend doing this with strange cats. I''m crazy). Seemed to want to stay there. Wouldn''t get in the car though.

DF went and grabbed one of our carriers (top loading, of course), we put it in... yowled all the way to the shelter.

ALL FOUR of HIS PAWS WERE DECLAWED! And he was outside. Horror.

I wanted to name him Jake. Our intake coordinator named him Taco. (Yes, you read that right). So he''s on a 7 day hold to see if he''s claimed. 4-5 years old. Beautiful copper eyes. Maybe 10-11 pounds. Complete sweetheart.

I''m praying he''s Feline Aids, Lukemia negative. Gonna go visit tommorow. I wanted to put in an application for him, but with my four having all their claws... I can''t take him.

So... that was one of the things that happened to us today.

How was your day?

 

[aussiegirl23]

Gypsy,

THANK YOU for being such a sweetie! Also, for being a responsible person who made sure this cat was going to find a better situation than its current one... Even if you couldn''t keep him for yourself, you made sure he was well taken care of! As a shelter volunteer for the last 5 years, I know how tough it is to let one go, especially this one... Some just seem to pull at your heart a little more than others. Jake was certainly a better name in my opinion : )

Nothing too whacky happening to me today - just going to go appreciate my 4 shelter sweethearts... And ponder, yet again, how people can be so irresponsible with their pets, and not love them unconditionally and care for them, no matter what. I mean really - my 2 pure bred Aussies are absolute dreams - no strange behavior issues, no aggression, no barking, etc. and yet they were dumped on the side of the road. Unimaginable. And the cats - wonderful again. People need to spay/neuter their pets if they can''t take care of them!!

Okay, enough ranting.... Just still amazed sometimes!

Enjoy your 4 : )

Aussiegirl : p

 

[movie zombie]

your 4 having claws is no reason to not take this cat! i''ve had my cats thump each other on the head and i think that''s worse that the occasional claw. after the dust settles with my cats having a newbie enter the household, they hardly ever use their claws against each other unless extremely pissed off. i have two that are like little kids and while waiting for their food to be fixed stand behind me and box each other....and i can hear it!

you did a good deed and i hope you do another and adopt this beauty if no once claims it.....i have 7 cats and had 9 last year before death took two of them....so, no, 5 cats is not a large population. additionally, mine are all indoor cats.......

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

MZ... our shelter is VERY VERY strict (people joke about cavity searches-- and it's close) even as a volunteer there with them knowing me so well... the cat's needs are always put first... and everyone at the shelter knows about my Hally. I asked, and I was told I wouldn't be approved.

But I'll go visit.. .and I am EXTREMELY good at getting the babies adopted out. All of my rescues have gone to great forever homes.

Our shelter isn't no kill... but is close... we just adopted out one of our long term residents that had been in Meowville (cat area) for well over a year. And they are allowed to free roam.

5 isnt' too many. We actually want 7 eventually. But Taco isn't going to be allowed to come here... not unless there is no choice. They're good about that too. I promise.

My four are all indoor too.

ETA: I should probably mention that I am a volunteer there and have been for... well for the whole time we've been living in NJ... so 4 years.

ETA: Aussie-- he WAS neutered though. Which is good news. And there is a chance that he just got out/ away from his parents... so we'll see. Volunteering is so rewarding. And the animals...like your babies, and just fabulous ones. If people give them a chance.

 

[Mara]

lol i love it, taco!!! mmm.

kudos on a good deed done gypsy...jaketaco sounds like a darling!

aussie, i'm the same way, when i read about a cat or dog found or dead or something it always makes me want to go hug and snuggle on portia because we'd be lost without her!! for the first time last weekend we had to find someone else to watch her because we were traveling with my parents, who are typically her babysitters when we go away for the weekend etc. anyway i was SOOO paranoid...all the pet hotels were booked for 4th weekend so my friend with 2 cats offered to watch her which i really appreciated because she has a big fenced backyard and portia could hang outside and chill out and she likes my girlfriend so i knew she'd take good care of her. plus it was only one night, but i was still worried...i called that night and in the morning, haa haa. my biggest fear is portia getting out, especially not in the home neighborhood and someone deciding to keep her or similar.

the funny thing was that my friend's cats stayed upstairs the whole time and kept coming to check out what was going on downstairs, and between keeping portia away from the cats and vice versa, sounds like and eventful time was had!! portia also got to go on 3-4 walks a day and visited the dog park twice! she saw squirrels in the backyard and geese at the park. i told greg, she isn't going to want to come home!!! we're boring compared.

our day, uneventful so far which is nice after the busy-ness of last weekend...greg is doing some work on his laptop, so we are chilling out on the patio with our computers drinking pom tea and eating homemade guac...mmmm. it's about 95 here today too, warm!!!

 

[movie zombie]

have to hand it to you, Gypsy.....i can't volunteer.....i'm way to soft hearted....all my cats have been strays or from a shelter. in one case, i went to the home of a volunteer to visit the cat to see if it was a good fit, not the shelter! it was a good fit and samantha anne was added to the pride. btw, the volunteer was so pleased i left her with the name she had given sam....i was the only one that had done so. most of my cats just 'appeared' on the hillside and i could not take them to a shelter....even the good ones. once i touch the fur beasties, i'm hooked....actually, it happens before i even touch them if they've been hanging around. like i said, too soft hearted.....with cats, anyway!

glad to know the shelter is strict, they know you personally, you give of your time and heart, and that if push really comes to shove they would let taco go with you rather than putting this lovely cat down.

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

Mara... I understand your fear. Whenever we leave our animals... even with FMIL right next door AND a pet sitter... I''m a mess. I''m constantly worried that Hally will have finally managed to slip out to the backyard... or Frodo (You can''t pay Duncan to go outside)... or that the house will burn down and the firemen won''t see the sign with all of our pets names and descriptions in the window.. Argh!


MZ-- The trick to volunteering for me is to do so at a place where you understand and believe in their philosophy to animal placement. The shelter here is great for me in that respect. Even if the cat is positive for Leuk/AIDS they have a list of prospective homes with other positive animals looking for companions. They try VERY VERY hard not to put any of the animals down. So I feel comfortable taking my rescues there, where I know they will get the medical care and attention they need. And I don''t have to put any of my babies-- who I''ve made a commitment to-- at risk for any diseases.

We look an 11 year old Cairn terrier in last year. She looked like she had been set on fire (she hadn''t been) to my untrained eye... her skin was black and leathery and she had almost no hair left from the head down. She was missing teeth and she was dribbling urine as she walked. She was the most pathetic, sad little dog I''ve ever seen. I took her to the emergency vet the night I found her to told me her skin was from a severe untreated flea allergy and that the bladder as a serious problem that would probably-- at best-- need surgery. I named her Sweetpea and called the shelter.

They have contacts with the top vets in our county... including mine who served as the director for a while...and frequently the vets will volunteer or donate their services.

I took her in with an application from FMIL (she wasn''t cat friendly so wouldn''t have been approved for my house)-- just in case (FMIL is, like us, approved prospective owners at our shelter-- but every animal is case by case even if the owner is approved). They had her examined, x-rayed, then made some calls... and had her in for surgury to remove the ENORMOUS bladder stone inside her (size of my first in a tiny dog) within two days. They didn''t wait for the seven day hold-- her''s was such a far gone case of neglect/ abuse that they had the authority to act immediately. And they had a new home for her-- off the lists of already approved owners-- by the time she was out of surgery. Litterally. I''ve met her new parents, and eldery couple who absolutely dote on her...some of her hair has grown back... her bladder is fine... and her teeth get special attention. And she''s such a happy girl now.

Whenever I find a new rescue... I remember Sweetpea and I know that the animal that is in my care... will be in good hands in thier care. It helps me save my home for the ones who need it most... the ones who aren''t adoptable... like my Hally.

Also, I have dog. And many of the cats at our shelter aren''t dog friendly.

 

[Gypsy]

Taco went home to his owners... who apparently just let this fully declawed cat in and out.

Nothing we can do they had proof of ownership. Now of course I''m going to be worried about him. They tried to educate them. No luck.

He''s a good kitty. Hope he going to be okay.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Date: 7/10/2006 2:05:11 PM
Author: Gypsy
Taco went home to his owners... who apparently just let this fully declawed cat in and out.

Nothing we can do they had proof of ownership. Now of course I''m going to be worried about him. They tried to educate them. No luck.

He''s a good kitty. Hope he going to be okay.

Ugh, absolute ugh. Maybe you can "catnap" him : ) just kidding... Just hope you NEVER see him in the street again : (

Aussiegirl : p

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/10/2006 2:05:11 PM
Author: Gypsy
Taco went home to his owners... who apparently just let this fully declawed cat in and out.

Nothing we can do they had proof of ownership. Now of course I'm going to be worried about him. They tried to educate them. No luck.

He's a good kitty. Hope he going to be okay.

Thank you for doing such a good thing, Gypsy. I am very upset to hear that his owners (A) got him completely declawed (declawed at all, as well) and (B) are letting him wander in and OUT. Good grief. Completely defenseless animal. I hope they get snapped out of this...it's seriously irresponsible.

I do hope he's okay.

ETA: Nothing exciting or weird has happened yet, but the day is young.

My Chloe was originally named 'Betty' at the pound. That just didn't sound right. Luckily Chloe sounds similar so she caught on quick. She'll get extra hugs and belly rubs tonight.

One more thing - on a totally, completely random, not-wanting-to-hijack-this-thread sort of note...has anyone seen the FURminator brush from QVC - the one that's supposed to comb out lots of loose fur from our furbabies? I saw it this weekend and had to order one to try it out. It's so warm I have thought about shaving the cat, but she's only a shorthair! I'm hoping this gets rid of some of the undercoat and cools her down.

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 7/8/2006 7:26:19 PM
Author: Gypsy

MZ-- The trick to volunteering for me is to do so at a place where you understand and believe in their philosophy to animal placement. The shelter here is great for me in that respect.

Gypsy, I''m so impressed that you give your time and energy to such a great cause. I''m another one of those overly-sensitive people when it comes to animals, and spending time at shelters just KILLS me... one visit and I''m upset for days. I used to volunteer a few hours a week at a pediatric hospital, and had no trouble dealing with sick babies and children... yet I can''t handle animal shelters... I don''t know why. Anyway, for those of you out there with similar issues... I discovered that a lot of animal shelters need more than just a physical presence. You can volunteer to write for their newsletter or organize drives for food/supplies. Just email and ask what needs they have and they''ll find something for you to do, I promise!

Yesterday I told my fiance that the first thing I''m going to do when we get a house is fill it up with more rescue kitties... he was alarmed, to say the least.

 

[AmberWaves]

Gypsy, that is a nice thing you did! Although deathly asthmatic and allergic to kitties, I came from a very rescue-friendly home. I can't even tell you how many baby birds (sparrows, crows, seagulls, hummingbirds, starlings) we've taken in. In the case of the crow, my dad had come upon him in the desert, with a bullet in his wing. When my dad brought him to the vet, the vet told him he'd kill him because he was going to be lame, and no wild bird could live like that. My dad took the crow home, named him Horatio and he became our pet! My dad built him a huge cage that we could walk in, and fed him dogfood (we only had very good dogfood, so no problem there). The dogs loved Horatio, and taught him how to bark. He would hop around his cage, and bury stuff in places, or nest in his little alcove my dad built him. The bird lived with us for 15 years until he died an old, almost featherless bird.

Every time one of our rescue pets passed away, I'd sob. My favorite was Peep, a baby starling that fell out of the nest and was abandoned. Peep was dying and the vet couldn't fix her, so we took her home and helped her. She was getting better, learning to stand on the perch that rested at the bottom of her tank (terrarium). Then she got sick again, and nothing could be done. I held her when she died and never really got over it.

My dad left me a note that night, saying, "Even though sometimes they don't make it, we should never stop trying. For every one who doesn't make it, at least two others do. And for the ones that pass away, at least we made their last days here better than they would have it out there." That always helped me. No matter what, I'll take in anything I can! It's how I was raised, I guess.

ETA: I should mention that Horatio was very happy, so it wasn't a case of forced-pet! And the bullet was removed, I should have added that.

ETA #2: My day is okay- started out with a phone call at 5:30am, called by mistake! Couldn't go back to sleep, and had another wedding nightmare- I've had them all week straight!!

 

[FireGoddess]

Amber, your post made my eyes well up. Your father was and is such a great inspiration and example for a child!!!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Thanks, FG. My dad really is my best friend and inspiration. I got my love of animals, plants and people from him.

 

[KristyDarling]

Gypsy -- kudos for doing the right thing and making sure Taco was OK. It is so disturbing that his parents declawed him and then just left him out in the open. What were they thinking?!?

 

[sumbride]

Gypsy - I''m so glad you took him in and I really hope his owners get a clue... who would do all four paws??? I''m completely anti-declawing, but even if you really can''t find other alternatives, only the front paws would be necessary... there''s no reason to do the back legs! My cats all have their claws and they don''t scratch each other but the couch has seen better days. It''s just one of the cats that does it... he''s our "favorite" and somehow he has the worst behavior. The other two are devoted to their scratching posts.

Our little feral alley cat that we''ve been feeding for a few months has dissapeared. They''re gutting the rowhomes behind us so it could be the noise, but I''m kind of worried about him. He was there every day at 6 am for food for a long time and now he''s nowhere to be seen. Hope he''s not trapped in one of the vacant houses under a pile of rubble.

Oh, and the Furminator is AWESOME. I love mine! I posted about it in the vacuum thread somewhere. It does great work on getting rid of their undercoat during shedding season. My cats are much sleeker, shinier, and there is much less shedding now. Plus they LOVED it.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/10/2006 3:18:34 PM
Author: sumbride
Oh, and the Furminator is AWESOME. I love mine! I posted about it in the vacuum thread somewhere. It does great work on getting rid of their undercoat during shedding season. My cats are much sleeker, shinier, and there is much less shedding now. Plus they LOVED it.

Thank you sumbride!!! I can''t wait to get it and see how Chloe likes it. She loooooooves being brushed and even though she gets brushed every morning and every night, she''s STILL been hacking up furballs this summer. I''m hoping the Furminator is everything it''s cracked up to be!!

 

[Gypsy]

I know! It boggles the mind that they could be so stubborn about their cat's life as to let him out like that. Especially where I live. There's a couple of feral colonies here-- we've been trying very hard to find, catch, fix and release the toms (and the females, too-- but the toms are the most difficult to get) so that the colonies start shrinking. With them prowling around... plus the possums, foxes and so forth... not to mention the cars and dogs (we have some really irresponsible dog owners right here... there's a pit bitch that keeps getting out... and she is NOT friendly. Not cat, dog, or human (outside of her family) friendly). I just hope they have a cat door. To everyone who is as baffled as I am (kristy, aussie etc) ... I don't know what they are thinking. Maybe that he loves being outside and that they are doing him a kindness. People always think that warnings are for other people, "it'll never happen to me/ mine." For Taco (or whatever his name is) sake... I hope it doesn't happen to him.


Chloe is in good company with the extra attention. My four have been getting molested all weekend.

Ephemery... GOOD FOR YOU. You don't have to have massive numbers... most towns have limits placed on the number of animals you can have--- not gonna say whether we are over or under

. But if you don't have a particular reason for getting a breed animal from a reputable breeder-- shelters are the best place to go. So many babies just waiting to pick their owners. We had no idea what the township limits were here when we decided to live here... but when we get our next house... it's going to be someplace that allows at least 8 per household.

Amber-- your dad is AWESOME. And your story brought tears to my eyes too. When I was a child we used to rescue birds and squirrels. My grandfather and I... and you know, I've never made the connection, but that's obviously where I learned it. Invaluable.

Sumbride... I share your worry-- one of the ferals we used to feed has stopped coming by-- we are just hoping it's because it's spring and she can hunt... but well, we've been feeding her for 3 years and she hasn't gone this long ever. She's my Frodo's mom too (named her Arwyn) so we're particularly attached. LOL at your cat and the couch. Ours use their posts but well... there are accidents. In particular our 'first born' loves to scratch on berber carpet... and we just re-carpetted the den not with berber.. but it's a jacuard patterned one with some uncut loops in the pattern and well... he slips. We try to keep their claws clipped but Noel is a PITA with it... so it doesn't always get done. I don't know why someone would do all four. It's just ridiculous. And frankly irresponisble IMO.

FG and Sumbride... will have to check that out. Duncan (first born) sheds like it's his job.

Thanks all for the comments and concern and stories. You are all such great people and wonderful animal lovers.

 

[sumbride]

One of the "warnings" that comes with the furminator is to brush the cat in an area that is easy to vacuum because there will be a LOT of hair!!! But boy is it satisfying! All that hair you won''t have to vaccuum later or pick up as hairballs!