I couldn't really get into this on Facebook.
First (not related) I slept great last night, glad I figured out it was my supplement. That was easily fixed.
So, as you know a stray cat has been hanging out around my house. Not feral, I'd say, but skittish. Rightly so, jerks abound. She is a lovely small calico, adult but not large like mine.
I say hello to her when I see her. Today she seemed pitiful and I got her a can of food. I still have a few cans for times like this.
I took the can outside before I opened it, that would have been cruel to Biscuit, who used to love canned food. I put it down and she began eating, a little less leery than before.
Then the kittens showed up, two of them. An orange and white tabby, and a miniature calico with strong, gorgeous coloring who looked like a mini-mom.
The mother immediately backed off, inviting them to eat. And eat they did. When I went out later that plate was licked clean.
I don't know if they have a home or not. I do know I can't take 3 cats and even if I could my girls are bitches who would not take it well.
But it got me thinking, the hungry nursing mom backing away from the food so her babies could eat. How many of us had mothering like that? How many of us really felt like Mom would lie down and die, if needed, to protect us?
Mine ignored me when I fell down a flight of stairs and hit my head. Mine lay in bed all day drinking while I screamed with hunger. So I really appreciate cats showing me the real story.
"Of course I will let the babies eat the food, they are hungry too, and growing at that."
"Of course I will fight the evil person/aggressive animal to protect my children."
Nice to know there are mothers like that.
Now, I want to take care of her but there are some questions. Is she owned? If so, why didn't they fix her? Kittens are cute but they grow up fast and have more kittens, if they aren't killed by an angry "neighbor", die of illness, or get run over. I would have no problem fixing (and have) someone else's domestic shorthair (not purebred). I did before and I don't regret it. The owner was slow and didn't even realize the cat had been fixed.
How would I get her TNR'd? I can trap her (still have the possum trap), but transport would be a huge issue getting her crosstown to the low cost clinic. And where would she recover after her surgery?
As I've said, my cats are bitches. They are not letting anyone else in the house. Not at all. And that is reasonable, 3 cats in a 900 square foot house is plenty dense; six cats in that space gives each one closet space, no more.
I will need to pray on this and figure it out. I did put a generous water bowl on the porch so they at least have water. It will be miserably hot for the next week at least and they need that at minimum.
I can also pick up a bag of kitten food and feed them that. But they really need to be fixed.
11 comments:
Maybe the TNR related people will come and collect the cat you trap for you if you explain your transportation situation? They may appreciate your help even if you can’t get the cat all the way there. Just a thought. Might be worth it to ask.
I just watched a Netflix movie about abortion. All I want to say is, you are alive to tell your story.
Being a mom is very hard and my daughter loves to throw my faults in my face. Not saying you don't have a right to your anger though.
There are a bunch of rescues that can help. Here are some that got good reviews on Google:
Citizens for Animal Protection
(281) 497-0591
Friends for Life
(713) 863-9835
Houston Pets Alive!
(832) 786-9310
Lots of great ideas! First I need to find out if she is owned. I think I will put up a post on Nextdoor.
@ Abortion, anger - not really mad at her any more but she made a lot of choices, some every day, she is gone now but I am still disabled because she thought it was a good idea to drink a fifth a day while pregnant. I was, ironically, a "planned" pregnancy which in my opinion makes the fetal drinking even worse. Who plans a pregnancy and disables the child before birth?!
Anyway, cats never disappoint. All the ones I have met/seen have been EXCELLENT mothers and have a lot to teach me.
I asked about the cat on Nextdoor, told the owner (if any) to get her fixed, and said I would take it and put it in rescue if no one claimed it. It isn't fair to the cat to litter again and again out in the weather...not fair at all.
Right now Biscuit is CHOOSING to be outside on his catio but the girls are in the air conditioning where I believe cats belong.
How nice to be planned. My dad told me the day they brought me home was the worst day of his life. He was drunk when he said that but I believe alcohol loosens the tongue to allow what is in the heart to come out.
There may be a neuter and release program in your area they are pretty popular in urban settings because they keep the populations stable instead of constant growth with unneutered cats. The sad thing is they live short horrible lives out of doors just like people do .
My whole thing about being told I was planned - I was actually a "rainbow baby" meant to replace a dead sibling. Anyway why go to all the trouble of planning a pregnancy only to abuse the fetus to the point of disability AND neglect and abuse it once born? Then run off when you find out you "broke" it? Better just not to have any more.
Sad but true, most Fetal Alcohol children are not raised by their birth parents. It is a step or foster parent.
It sucks to be either of us. (((Hugs)))
((Hugs))
Hey Heather (and a (hug)) from me too :) )- let me tell you, times have certainly changed. I remember one of my maternal aunts telling me that when she was pregnant with her first, her dr actually advised her to drink one or two “pony” beers (this would’ve been app 50 years ago) for the minerals or something in the beer, to contribute to a healthy pregnancy! Her two children are smart as whips and savvy, productive members of society, talented go-getter types, (the daughter lives in San Francisco and is a successful lawyer in that competitive milieu), so I suppose it didn’t hurt them. Even so, I’m sure that drinking a couple of pony beers, while not the ideal pregnancy regime, isn’t quite the same as downing hard liquor to the point of tipsiness or even drunkenness. But can you imagine a dr these days advising a pregnant woman to drink alcohol,at all?
Re the stray cats-I aven’t had any stray dogs come near my house (haven’t seen any around my neighborhood for that matter), and that’s a good thing as I would feel guilty if I couldn’t adopt them, lol. But I do keep water and dog treats in my car for any strays I come across while going around my business.
Not too long ago, I saw the most pitiful pup (I call them all puppies, even the full-grown dogs) on a leash by what appeared to be a street guy. We were near a Burger King, so I pulled in and got the man and the dog a sausage biscuit. The man ate his, but was being all shifty about giving the pup his, so I pulled over and stared at him until he gave the dog the biscuit, sausage and all. I may be wrong, but I felt much sorrier for the dog than the man, because a human can almost always do something about their circumstances, little though it may be, but the pups are at the mercy of their owners. The pup didn’t act skittish of the man, so I didn’t have the impression that the man was abusive of him, he just couldn’t take care of the pup, much less himself.
I always say that if I ever won the lottery (fat chance as I don’t play, I’m the unluckiest person in the world when when it comes to things involving pure luck or chance-my DH says I have buzzard luck, he used to make me go sit elsewhere when he played poker or booray-this was back before legal gambling on the Coast, when the MS Gulf Coast was a wide-open den of iniquity and corruption-he said that I would jinx him, lol), I would use the money to buy acreage in the country and open a dog shelter, a real one, not some version of the cat women. I know a few vets who would volunteer to give them their shots, fix them, etc, I’d just need to pay for the medicines, lab work, etc. I wish, but I’ll never win the lottery. I’m a sucker for dogs, mangy mutts and all, like you are for cats.
I had to learn to not be embarrassed by my DH pretty damn quick-it’s not that he doesn’t have a filter, he just doesn’t suffer fools gladly (and he’s so smart, both book- and street-wise, that almost everyone, especially “squares”, were always fools to him). He’s mellowed a LOT since the cancer got him, you can’t be smart-arsed to the people who are in a position to poke and prod you all the time. Though he still likes to “joke on the square” to them, where they can’t tell if he’s just kidding them or mildly insulting them. Heck, I’ve been married to him for over 35 years and I still can’t always tell when he’s doing it to me, lol. Of course, if he’s really angry at me, it’s unmistakable, though I’ve learned to give as good as I get-he’s admitted that it surprises him what a sharp tongue I can have, being such a mild-mannered “go along to get along” person most of the time, haha. If he provokes me beyond endurance, with his demanding ways, Mrs Hyde emerges from Dr Jekyll and he doesn’t know what hit him:)
Melanie, by all accounts my mother was choking back a fifth (of a gallon) hard liquor a day, EVERY DAY, while carrying me. I am just happy I was toilet-trainable and don't have a tail!
In CA they had a law you could not beg with a dog (or any animal). If you did they would charge you with cruelty and take the animal. I always thought that sounded right. It's not the animal's fault you are an addict/refuse to obey society rules. I had a friend who owned a dog that had lived with a homeless man. The dog used to love to drink coffee every morning.
Ron seems fine today so I feel OK about going out with him. We will see how it goes, but from what I have seen pretty much anything goes at the Waffle House.
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