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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / July 2006Huge Rant
On topic, but give me a second to get there... You know what I've been going through with my health, my job, and my finances - well I just *NEEDED* to get away from it all this weekend. We don't have any money for movies or dinner (we spent our last $80 on Revolution for the four masters yesterday). So I woke up at 5:00 AM and decided to make a picnic lunch and take Ben out to Sam Houston National Forest about 50 miles north of Houston. They have fantastic hiking trails there (the "Lone Star Trail" is the best). First of all, this really wasn't free considering the price of gas and the fact that we have a truck, but let that go. On the way there we ran into a *HUGE* tie-up on the road from a traffic accident - OK, God hates me (but not as much as the people involved the in the accident), so we spent most of our morning sitting in the hot sun. That was the second thing - why did I have to pick the hottest day of the year for this??? It was reaching temperatures of the 110sF in some places in Texas today! Third, and this is where it gets bad, when we got to the rangers station and parked to look at the trail maps, two little cats came running up to us - an orange stripey boy and a black and white tuxedo girl. Someone had dumped them at the forest to fend for themselves. They had two huge plastic bowls that the @$$holes had left with them to assuage their conscience - may they rot in hell - but both were empty of food or water. There was no way I was going to try to put two frightened cats into our single cab truck with us to drive them 50 miles back to civilization. The most I could do was break up all my chicken sandwiches into one bowl and pour out my bottled water into the other. I left a note on the ranger's station door (the station was closed, but there were people working in the back, fenced in area - I'm hoping they'll see it and know who to call for a humane society pick-up. I'm going to try to talk Ben into putting the large cat crate into the truck and going back up there tonight or tomorrow to see if I can find them, but I don't know if I'll be successful in convincing him of the need to spend $40 more in gas for the extra trip. I wanted to get away from the grief and craziness of the world, but I was smacked in the face with it again. And as soon as I even *START* to think "poor me" I want to slap myself in the face even harder and say instead, "poor little kitties" who have *REAL* life and death problems to deal with. Excuse me for a second.... ****f.cking STUPID, INCONSIDERATE, IGNORANT, a.sholes WHO CAN'T TAKE CARE OF THEIR LIVING RESPONSIBILITIES - MAY THEY ALL ROT IN HELL FOR ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*****  SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > Excuse me for a second.... ****f.cking STUPID, INCONSIDERATE, IGNORANT, > a.sholes WHO CAN'T TAKE CARE OF THEIR LIVING RESPONSIBILITIES - MAY THEY > ALL ROT IN HELL FOR ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***** Agreed. Can I add COWARDS! Leaving two souls to die of starvation or thirst. Or to be killed by heat or ripped apart by predators, or perhaps to be run over by some unsuspecting driver who will grieve and hurt. All because they didn't have the guts at the very least to take them to a shelter, any shelter, and face another person and say "I cannot or will not keep them" And then make up pretty stories for themselves how the left them provisions and this way they have a chance to make their own way. Hope Karma bites them in the a.s big time. Jo I'm going to try to talk Ben into putting the large > cat crate into the truck and going back up there tonight or tomorrow to see > if I can find them, but I don't know if I'll be successful in convincing him > of the need to spend $40 more in gas for the extra trip.//// GO. Even if you don't really have it, the $40 is irrelevant if you save 2 lives. Helen M > I'm going to try to talk Ben into putting the large >> cat crate into the truck and going back up there tonight or tomorrow to [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Helen M We did. the cats were gone, the bowls were gone, and the note I'd shoved under the office door was gone. I'm hoping this means some kind-hearted soul brought them into the humane society (this is the office of wildlife management also, so I'm sure there are people who work there who care a lot about animals). They'll probably end up being PTS anyway, but at least they won't suffer. SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > We did. the cats were gone, the bowls were gone, and the note I'd shoved > under the office door was gone. I'm hoping this means some kind-hearted > soul brought them into the humane society (this is the office of wildlife > management also, so I'm sure there are people who work there who care a lot > about animals). They'll probably end up being PTS anyway, but at least they > won't suffer. We are sending lots and lots of purrs and best wishes for the kitties to find their purr-fect onetruehome, and hugs for you, CN, Polonca and Soncek > I'm going to try to talk Ben into putting the large >> cat crate into the truck and going back up there tonight or tomorrow to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > GO. Even if you don't really have it, the $40 is irrelevant if you save > 2 lives. Helen's "GO" seconded. And if you need the $40 for gas, I can chip in. Yowie >On topic, but give me a second to get there... > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] >a.sholes WHO CAN'T TAKE CARE OF THEIR LIVING RESPONSIBILITIES - MAY THEY ALL >ROT IN HELL FOR ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***** Thats really disgusting, I will never understand how people can be so heartless. Yesterday I took Smokey and Sweetpea in for their vacinations and while talking to a guy there he told me about a friend of his who knew someone from South Carolina that has a large snake. He looks in the want ads for ads for free kittens and puppies that he gets to feed to his snake. Makes me just want to scream. On another note, Sweetpea has always had problems with licking constantly until she licks all the fur off her legs and belly. I bought some feliway a month ago and it seems to be helping as the fur is growing back in. The vet was impressed and gave me a complete kit with the electric defuser and a bottle of Feliway. He's such a nice guy. Huggs back, Randy PS continued purrs for your medical and job concerns. http://www.crmartin.zoomshare.com <snip> > Thats really disgusting, I will never understand how people can be so > heartless. [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > http://www.crmartin.zoomshare.com Since you mentioned the man who looks for free kittens and puppies for his snake, this is a good time to remind people on this newsgroup *never* to advertise "free kittens." There are far too many people out there like the person you wrote about, plus other disgusting behavior. Always ask to have expenses (vet bills and food) covered because that will eliminate the type of person who has ulterior motives when looking for "free" kittens. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7 "MaryL" <stancole1@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message news:MScug.30432 < this is a good time to remind people on this newsgroup *never* to > advertise "free kittens." There are far too many people out there like > the person you wrote about, plus other disgusting behavior. Always ask to > have expenses (vet bills and food) covered because that will eliminate the > type of person who has ulterior motives when looking for "free" kittens. > > MaryL My brother and Charlie are two of the most generous people on the face of the earth, but even they understood the wisdom of never giving away a kitten or puppy. When we raised the poodles, one reason we asked such a high price was that poodles are expensive to care for and should not be in a home that cannot afford them. When brothers Persian cat had kittens with a less than desirable but still thoroughbred pedigree, he sold the for $200 donations to make a wish. We paid $75 at PetSmart (or PetCo don't remember) for Molly. A rescued feral almost two year old. She was already spayed and veted and a bargain at four times the "price" Please, anyone thinking of giving away kittens on your own, get a legitimate rescue organization to handle it for you. They will have a better idea what to look for in future slaves. Jo > <snip> > > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > MaryL What is equally as bad are the people who collect kittens from "free" ads, for the purpose of training fighting dogs. It happens way more often than people think. And they don't have "dog fighter" written on their foreheads. They are well-versed in exactly the right responses to make you think the kitten is going to a "good home." Sherry >> <snip> >> > [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > >Sherry That's why Craigslist warns about placing "free cat to good home" ads. We're purring for the little bits to make it to a safe place and eventual forever home. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh Make Levees, Not War > Yesterday I took Smokey and Sweetpea in for their vacinations and while talking > to a guy there he told me about a friend of his who knew someone from South > Carolina that has a large snake. He looks in the want ads for ads for free > kittens and puppies that he gets to feed to his snake. Makes me just want to > scream./// That doesn't want to make me scream, it makes me want to puke. I hope that rednecked b*stard gets his comuppance in hell. Helen M > On topic, but give me a second to get there... Many purrs. It broke my heart once when I was out East visiting family and came across an abandoned kitten. I wanted to take him home, but we had no time to wait for all the vet care required to allow him to go across the border even if we could afford it, I was unemployed at the time and concerned enough about caring for Smokey and Nocturne (no bitties yet) and in the end we took him to the animal shelter. I hope to all the Gods that he found a home, and wasn't PTS. But I couldn't leave him out in the ditch and couldn't take him with me. (I think if we had taken him, there was no way we could've taken the bitties a year later. 5 cats, a cross country move and no job for me?) Blessings for those two abandoned ones. --Fil >> On topic, but give me a second to get there... > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Blessings for those two abandoned ones. But see, you at least had the courage and decency to do the best you could by him. Curses on those who leave bitties in ditches. Jo [...] > I'm going to try to talk Ben into putting the large > cat crate into the truck and going back up there tonight or tomorrow to see > if I can find them, but I don't know if I'll be successful in convincing him > of the need to spend $40 more in gas for the extra trip. I am about 7.500 miles away, so I can't do much personally than asking you to start a rescue attempt and I am seconding Helen Miles in her earlier post. What I can do: I can offer to transfer some "rescue funds" to you to cover your expenses. Asked my bank for details on an international transfer and will contact you by PM. Okay? Squarely Yours Michael SignatureSquare Dance is friendship put to music Andrea and Michael with furballs Blacky and Merlin More detail at: http://www.curschmann-sachsen.de > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Squarely Yours > Michael Thanks you Michael (and Yowie) for the offer to help with the funds, but Ben and I had already decided to just do without lunch next week if we need to so we could go back with a cat carrier to get them to take them to a shelter. We went back, but the cats, bowls, and note were all gone. I think someone who worked there at the rangers station must have taken the cats in. They wouldn't have been hard to catch, the poor things came running up to us when we got there, but Ben and I were in the middle of a national forest, had no idea where there might be a humane society, and were afraid to confine them loose in the cab of our single-seat pick-up truck and take them 50 miles back to Houston. I'm going to try calling that office if I can find the number to see if I can find out for sure what happened. SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > > [...] > > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > CatNipped Lori, if you ever find yourself in this situation again, go to a 7-11, bait shop, beer joint, restuarant, whatever you can find and ask for a cardboard box, and just tape it up. It's nice to go on thinking that some nice game ranger collected those kittens, and went to all the trouble to take them to a humane society, where they will be taken care of. I do hope that's what happend. Sherry >>> [...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > Sherry Except there aren't usually 7-11's or restaurants in a national forest. Jill >>>> [...] >>>> [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > > Jill Sam Houston National Forest is huge, but it has a lot of developed areas -- nearby restaurants, developed campgrounds, concession stand, etc. It is about 50 miles from Houston, but much closer to several communities. http://www.llbean.com/parksearch/parks/html/15237gd.html MaryL >>>> [...] >>>> [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > > Jill True, but there is usually something that has stuff for campers and hikers not too far from the entrance. Bait shop/beer joint/video rental/grocery/gas type places. Jo >>>>> [...] >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > > Jo Nope, we had gone miles and miles down the lake road to the rangers station without passing a convenience store, a diner, or even a farmhouse. And the rangers was closed and locked, although as I said we saw cars in the parking lot and we heard a loud speaker behind the locked fence, but we couldn't yell loud enough or rattle the fence loud enough to catch the attention of any of the employees back there. That's why we left the note under the door, all my chicken sandwiches, and all my bottled water - and left without hiking since I couldn't stop crying. We also spent money that we didn't have on the gas to go all the way back there after getting home and getting the carrier to go and try to find them again, but the cats, the bowls and the note was gone (if it had just been the cats gone I would really have despaired, but since the bowls and the note were gone too I had at least a little hope that someone who was working there brought them into a shelter). I guess hindsight is 20-20, but I can't think of anything I could have done differently given the situation - so I guess all that's left is to beat myself up for what I couldn't do, add that to my current depression, and just go downhill from there. SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ ). > I guess hindsight is 20-20, but I can't think of anything I could have done > differently given the situation - so I guess all that's left is to beat [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > CatNipped I thought you were going to call and ask. That would probably make you feel better. The phone numbers in the link MaryL provided would probably be a good place to start. Sherry > I guess hindsight is 20-20, but I can't think of anything I could have done > differently given the situation - so I guess all that's left is to beat > myself up for what I couldn't do, add that to my current depression, and > just go downhill from there. Don't beat yourself up! We all can learn a lesson here...Keep a bag of catfood and water in your car at all times. I do this even when I am just jetting around town. I also usually keep a shovel, gloves, some rope, towels, blankets and a carrier, but that's for injured (or dead) animals. I started doing this a few years ago when I came across someone's boxer that had been killed. By the time we got back with supplies to help, the owner was there and she was devastated - the dog had been hit many times by then. I just wish I could have gotten the dog off the street before she got re-hit. -L. >> > [...] >> > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Sherry Thanks, I needed that. SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > On topic, but give me a second to get there... > > I wanted to get away from the grief and craziness of the world, but I was > smacked in the face with it again. And as soon as I even *START* to think > "poor me" I want to slap myself in the face even harder and say instead, > "poor little kitties" who have *REAL* life and death problems to deal with. Lori, I read the tail-end of someone's response to this post and for a minute I thought that you had taken your cats camping and lost them! Whew! That said, I do feel sorry for the dropped kitties, and for your bad day. >Third, and this is where it gets bad, when we got to the rangers station and >parked to look at the trail maps, two little cats came running up to us - an >orange stripey boy and a black and white tuxedo girl. Someone had dumped >them at the forest to fend for themselves. They had two huge plastic bowls >that the @$$holes had left with them to assuage their conscience - may they >rot in hell - but both were empty of food or water. I can just picture the orange boy and tuxedo girl! It's some really odd psychology these people have - leaving bowls of food and water actually sounds better than par, with some just throwing a sack of kittens into a convenient river. I wonder if they were really loved? >>Third, and this is where it gets bad, when we got to the rangers station >>and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > actually sounds better than par, with some just throwing a sack of > kittens into a convenient river. I wonder if they were really loved? "Really loved"??? You've *got* to be kidding (in a sick sense of the word)!! MaryL > >>Third, and this is where it gets bad, when we got to the rangers station > >>and [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > MaryL Well, one alternative would be that someone took their cats camping with them, and they got lost. Maybe that's why the bowls were left. I kind of seriously doubt that theory, though....but it's odd that people would dump cats in such an isolated place. Usually they'll have at least enough conscience to dump them in the country near a house; or at a lakeside camping area frequented by a lot of people; or at the doorstep of a humane society. Sherry >> I can just picture the orange boy and tuxedo girl! It's some really >> odd psychology these people have - leaving bowls of food and water [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >"Really loved"??? You've *got* to be kidding (in a sick sense of the >word)!! I'm wondering what they did feel, if anything. Did they think that leaving them food would give them a chance to adjust to a new feral lifestyle?! Did they think and worry about the cats like we do when one of ours becomes lost? Or did they not really care? > >> I can just picture the orange boy and tuxedo girl! It's some really > >> odd psychology these people have - leaving bowls of food and water [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > lifestyle?! Did they think and worry about the cats like we do when > one of ours becomes lost? Or did they not really care? I think those are valid questions. It is true that some people that dump animals out don't hate cats and they truly, honestly, think they are giving them a "chance"---as opposed to taking them to a shelter where they believe they will be euthanized. It isn't so much that these people are heartless. They are just very dumb and naive about cats. People honestly think you can dump a cat out, and it can survive on prey, and will make out just fine. IF, in fact, someone dumped those cats out *and* provided two bowls of food would indicate just what you said. Not knowing the specifics of the location, or how many people could have come into contact with them before Lori did, I wonder if some other hikers that frequent the area would have put the food out. I've had lots of cats dumped out here, and one "dumper" actually taped the cat up in a cardboard box and placed it on the driveway. Once there was a 5-gallon plastic bucket with four tiny baby kittens in it ON THE PORCH. Billie and Lilly just showed up in the yard, well-fed but full of stickers. Biskit was rail-thin when she jumped up on the window that night. I actually *saw* a pickup truck toss Sheba out. She was also emaciated. People know I'm affiliated with the shelter because my picture has been in the paper several times WRT various fundraisers, feature stories, etc. etc. So, I think, in their mind, they're "doing right" by the cat. That shows at least a shred of conscience, no? Oh well, it's late, and I know my contributions to this topic have been full of contradictions, so the final answer is, I don't know what the hell they're thinking or what I'm talking about either. Sherry > I think those are valid questions. It is true that some people that > dump animals out don't hate cats and they truly, honestly, think they [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > People honestly think you can dump a cat out, and it can survive on > prey, and will make out just fine. Yes, I've encountered this attitude, too. Some people cannot find a home for their kittens or cats, think it is cruel to euthanize a healthy animal, and believe either that it is possible for a cat to survive in competition with the foxes and coyotes in the woods, or that life as a city feral is a good option. > IF, in fact, someone dumped those cats out *and* provided two bowls of > food would indicate just what you said. Not knowing the specifics of [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > etc. etc. So, I think, in their mind, they're "doing right" by the cat. > That shows at least a shred of conscience, no? Some, yes. The local SPCA, which is located near a wooded area area away from houses, has a recurring problem with people who seem to want to abandon animals anonymously. They have enough conscience that they will take them to the SPCA, but not enough to actually, personally hand them over to staff during office hours. The animals fight and get injured or wander into the woods and hide(and, of course, the staff doesn't know they are there). Not everyone thinks the same way. Personally, I've known elderly people who lived in times and places where no vet was available, and who considered it quite proper to drown unwanted kittens at birth. That seems cruel, but I think it's less cruel than waiting until they can eat on their own and then dumping them in the woods to starve or feed the foxes. Best of all, of course, is for all kittens to have a decent home, but that doesn't always seem possible. SignatureCheryl > > I think those are valid questions. It is true that some people that > > dump animals out don't hate cats and they truly, honestly, think they [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > -- > Cheryl I have always said that I would much rather see people shoot a (insert unwanted pet) in the head than dump them. IMO it is FAR more humane. Sometimes they get lucky, but sometimes not. I''ve seen dogs that were "too far gone"; too starved to make it once they were found by someone. It must be an awful way to die. I'm not sure about cats, but I think the #1 reason people dump dogs is that they simply outgrow puppyhood, are not so cute anymore, and have become unruly because they didn't bother to try to train bad habits. The one that perplexes me most was Jackie, the cat in the box. He needed vet attention bad, he had the most horrible infection in both eyes I ever saw. I like to think somebody cared enough to contain him in a box, or maybe it was someone who cared at least a little about him but couldn't afford vet care. Sherry |
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