Nina's Question

[Presto]

Hi Nina, what I meant about "death was the only other option" was that there was nowhere else for the cats to go other than to stay with us.  Let me give you an example.  Last month, I received an emergency call about a small group of cats at the recycling center in a nearby town.  The Public Health Dept. wanted them removed.  They were feral, and no one would take them.  It was suggested by various visitors that they either be shot or poisoned.  The new manager of the center wanted to save them, but had received no offers of help despite his numerous calls to rescue agencies, shelters, and animal control officers.  The town had recently been fined fifty-thousand dollars for health violations at the center (under the management of the previous manager), and the new manager didn't want to put out shelters for the cats or to make their presence in any way known because he could have lost his job.  Four of the five cats were kittens.  One of the cats--we think possibly the mother--died trapped in a drainage pipe behind a refrigerator that had been pushed against it.  The cats had to be removed.   We have the father, two older kittens, and two younger kittens, in our study now, undergoing their vaccinations and interacting with us when we come in to sit at the computer.  They are socializing steadily, but only the father is placeable.  However, he had a bite wound when he arrived, and is on a six-month quarantine.    When I initially arrived at the recycle center, a captured ten-week-old kitten was inside a cage outside in full exposure, with nothing inside the cage but an empty food dish.  Her feet had been on raw wire mesh for four days and nights.  She was crying piteously and had a URI.  The manager had good intentions but different values.  It was not a situation for TNR.  We had to take them in.   But I am a strong advocate of TNR, when it is possible.  We've assisted with TNR in several locations.   Presto