Saturday, August 22, 2009

converted ferals make Great pets

I got an email today from Angela, who had fostered our "hard to place" feral cat Ruffian for a while before finding him a purr-manent home with her in-laws. I asked her permission to share it, as a testimonial that feral cats, even those who are hard to tame, make wonderful pets.

Everyone who met Ruffian recognized that he was a fabulous cat, but he was a difficult cat to adopt out. Ruffian had a history of fighting with other pets, escaping and running away for 6 months, and multiple other issues than deterred most adopters from considering taking him home. Ruffian was with us for months at a time, then in winters he would be shuffled off to a new foster home. He was even adopted a few times, but it turned out to be a bad match in each case, so he came back to our rescue time and again. When he was transferred to yet another foster home (with Angela), he won their hearts! They introduced him to Wilma and Ed, who decided to take him home. They understood that he would be shy and hide at first, and it took him a while to come out and show his true colours. Now I think Ruffian finally understands that he is home.

Here is Angela's email:

2 weeks ago Ruffian got outside by accident! Wilma was going out the patio doors and he bolted past her. We all knew it would happen eventually, Wilma obviously needs more time and room to get out than most people. (*she uses a wheelchair) Anyway, she was sick over it all. Ed got home and called for him, walked around, and went to the neighbours' houses to let them know their cat was out.

Later on in the late afternoon Ed went out on the patio and called him and he came right up to him, he must have been just around the house/under the patio! He came right inside and right to his food dish. Guess he didn't want to miss supper time.

Since then he has gotten out twice more (he has a taste for it now) but he stays mostly just on the patio and sometimes wanders down to the pavement in front of the garage and lays on it in the sun. He comes back into the house without any problems, so everyone is pretty happy about that! :)
They figured he has it too good there, so he wasn't going too far, just went for a little exploring adventure. haha :) Seems to have that out of his system now!

He is Wilma's little snuggler. He hops up on her and lays in her lap. They really couldn't be happier with him. When we come over he comes right up to us and jumps up on the couch or wherever we are looking for some pats.
He really has done a total 180. He's just a happy lovey cat now. No one would ever guess he used to live outside and be scared of people. Ruffian is a true example of how feral cats can become loving pet cats.

Angela

Friday, August 14, 2009

Lost and found

time for a rant: so it's the first time this has happened to me. I rescue a cat from possible death and 4 days later I get a call from a person asking if I might have taken in their lost pet. I was very taken aback when I heard her description of her missing cat, as my heart sank, I realized the cat I rescued could in fact be her missing cat. In most circumstances, I would be jumping for joy at the opportunity to re-unite a missing pet with it's owner. However, this "owner" admitted that her cat (only a 4 or 5 month old kitten) is primarily an outdoor kitty, and he has never been to a vet.

So I tell her she would have to repay me for all his vet work, which was over $100 and to email me photos ASAP, and she says she can do it as soon as she gets off work at 9pm that evening. I hear nothing from her that night or the following day. I finally get an email from her 28 hours later, no photo, and asking if I can accept a payment plan....

So I waited 24 hours before I replied to her, seeking advice from other rescuers about how to best handle this ethical problem. See below for what I sent her

The story goes:

On Friday, August 7th at 9:39am I received a call about a found cat at Fisherman’s Cove. I made inquires with the SPCA and Bide Awhile to see if a cat matching that description had been reported as missing. I went to the Cove to see the cat and took photos at 11:13am, assessed his condition; he appeared to have been on the streets for months, as his coat was greasy and he was flea infested. He was full of bite wounds and injuries I promised to come back for him with a carrier. I made an appointment at my vet for the earliest time they had available, 1:20pm. He was tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV, then examined and treated for bite wounds, worms, fleas, and a host of problems due to his life outside. He had his paw and tail shaved to treat the bite wounds, and finally he was vaccinated. We took him home and set him up in a safe cage with food and litter. He was ravenously hungry. The following day, after waiting 24 hours for the Advantage flea treatment to settle in, we had to bathe him to get rid of the hundreds of dead fleas and all the flea dirt. The grooming took well over an hour, but he turned out to be a clean and happy kitten in the end.



I sent an email to the person with the following information:

This is a link to the Nova Scotia SPCA website for Lost and Found Pets. http://www.spcans.ca/community/lostAndFound.html Then a similar link to the Metro Shelter http://www.metro.spcans.ca/lostFound.html This is from Animal Control for HRM http://www.halifax.ca/animalcontrol/LostPets.html how to get your pet back, if reported within 72 hours http://www.halifax.ca/animalcontrol/FoundPets.html#HowDoIRetrieve

I am still awaiting a photo of your missing kitten, to confirm if he looks like the kitten we rescued.

Firstly, I would like to ask why it took you over 24 hours, from our initial phone conversation on Monday, August 10th at 7:06pm, until Tuesday at 10:57pm, to get in touch with me regarding your missing cat. I had asked that you email me current photos as soon as you got off work at 9pm that evening. I think I told you when you called that I was in the process of interviewing potential adopters for him! I was waiting to hear back from you, before I could introduce the cat to the lovely people who were interested.

Here is our stance on this issue: as you have previously stated, your kitten was living in conditions that are obviously dangerous for him. If, in fact they are the same cat, then your cat is not being kept in sanitary conditions. When we found the cat, he was filthy dirty, horribly flea and worm infested, full of bite wounds and injuries, and last but not least, he was starving.
So again, if in fact they are one and the same, and you truly care about your cat, wouldn’t you rather know that he is going to live a long, happy indoor life, with the best of care? When interviewing potential adopters, we ensure they are planning to spoil the cat and can afford to take him to the vet regularly.
Or would you rather see him back with you, where you cannot keep him inside, and see him disappear again before he reaches a year old. Or worse, to find him dead in the street, if he gets hit by a car on your very busy road.
The infections from his injuries alone could have caused his death within a matter of days or weeks. This cat was found at Fisherman’s cove, where certain individuals have been drowning and killing cats through other cruel methods. His only saving grace was that the man who reported him found said, “this one was too nice to drown”. The Cove also has a colony of feral cats who would have surely beaten the stray cat up and maybe killed him.

If you wanted the kitten back and could provide concrete proof that he is your kitten, you would first have to re-pay me for all his vet bills and boarding costs. He has been scheduled to be neutered next week, before I can release him to anyone, whether it is a previous owner or a new adopter. We cannot accept personal cheques or any type of payment plan.
If we believed that this was an accidental loss of a pet and it was going to be returned to a safe environment, we would return that pet (still needing to be compensated for the care).
The vet bill on Friday was for $111.23, which includes a combo test for Feline Leukemia and FIV, a fecal analysis ( which discovered roundworms) and a full set of vaccines; FVRCP + Leukemia and Rabies. We also paid for the following medications: Advantage $12, Milbemax $10, Clavamox $25 ( an antibiotic for his bite wound injuries). We paid $50 for professional grooming on Saturday, since his fur was badly matted and he had to have a bath to clean all the fleas and dirt from his fur. We follow the same policy as the SPCA and HRM Animal Services, and need to charge $25 a day for boarding costs.

The total we would have to be re-imbursed so far is $358.23, plus he must still be neutered, so that’s an extra $90 on top of that figure.

Please call or email me within the next 24 hours if you wish to discuss this further,


Sonya Higgins
Cat rescuer extraordinaire
469-MEOW


so what do you think? Will I ever hear back from this person? Will she try to make a bad name for our rescue and claim that her pet was "stolen" ? Will she even give a damn, now that she knows how much she is on the hook for financially? Will she browse Kijiji for another free kitten? Will she learn a lesson about keeping her pets inside? Will she bother to spay and neuter her other 8 year old cat or her dog?
Worse thought, will I end up taking more animals from this person if someone el;se finds them on the streets and surrenders them as strays?
Can't she be stopped? There are millions out there like her, who leave animals outside all day long and THINK IT'S OKAY - not in my books!

Monday, August 10, 2009

abandoned cats tied up in a box

It is time for government to fund animal rescues and get legislation in place to deal with cruelty and abandonment cases. We also need a huge amount of Public Education and PR about abandoning pets, and the importance of spay and neuter. The problem, is not with cats - the probelm is with people who allow cats to breed.
My favorite bumper sticker I've seen in a while: Don't litter, fix your critter

This article was recently in the Herald:

The faces of abandonment
Ditched kitties just tip of the icebergBy BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth BureauSat. Aug 8 - 4:46 AM
These kittens were tied up in a cardboard box and tossed into a water-filled Digby County ditch.These kittens were tied up in a cardboard box and tossed into a water-filled Digby County ditch
This cardboard box held an adult cat and her young kittens. (Brian Medel / Yarmouth Bureau
DIGBY — It’s been one week since someone stuffed a mother cat and her kittens into a cardboard box, tied it shut with black twine and then tossed the box into a ditch filled with water.The animals are alive, but the director of a local animal shelter is fuming.Dorothy Andrews said that she saw two kittens and an adult cat sitting by a soggy cardboard box as she was driving home from the TLC Animal Shelter at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 1.The cat had somehow scratched and poked her way through the wet box as it lay partially submerged, less than two kilometres from the animal shelter.Ms. Andrews said the cat had likely pulled her kittens out of the box, which had been tied shut like a Christmas gift.Ms. Andrews went back to the shelter for a live trap and some cat food. When she returned to the scene, she heard another kitten crying a few hundred metres away. This cat was larger and obviously from a different litter. It too had been thrown away.On Wednesday, another kitten was found near the trap, barely able to move."It must have been hiding under the brush," Ms. Andrews said Friday.The mother hasn’t been caught yet, and no wonder, said Ms. Andrews. The animal is traumatized, she said."I’ve seen the mom there looking for her babies," said Ms. Andrews. "I set a bigger trap there but I can’t seem to catch her."Sadly this episode is not unique.At the end of each month when people move, cats and dogs are often left inside the former residence or tied outside. Sometimes they’re simply left to wander.People routinely drop cats at the shelter during the night, sometimes in boxes and sometimes loose, said Ms. Andrews."A neighbour will call and say, ‘My neighbour moved out west and is not coming back and they left their dog," said Ms. Andrews."These are adults . . . and the children are seeing this."The TLC Animal Shelter is a "no kill" shelter, and it’s bursting with cats and dogs.All animals that pass through the shelter are spayed or neutered before being released for adoption. The shelter relies solely on donations and all who work there volunteer their time.The shelter needs supplies, especially cat food."We so over-supplied with cats," said Ms. Andrews.It’s important to stress to pet owners that they are responsible for finding homes for pets they can no longer keep, she said.( bmedel@herald.ca)

Raffle basket - tickets for Sale


ca-r-ma and Healing Animal SCARS
Raffle Basket
Tickets only $2 each or 3 for $5
Lottery Licence #
AGA-225891.09

Disney’s Aristocats 5 piece Gift Set – cat bed, blanket, collar, 2 stuffed cat toys
Double-wide Cardboard Scratch Post with catnip
Large deluxe Cats bath towel Cat & Kitten Birthday Book
Green Polar fleece Friskies blanket Herring Steak cat treats
White golf shirt with Friskies logo Blue plastic large food dish
Cat Tunnel Exercise Toy Cat litter box plastic tray liners
Catnip “grow it yourself” Garden Large tub of Cosmic Catnip
Magnetic Cat notepad Ceramic ornament - Cat with hat & ribbon
Brooch: silver 3 cats in a basket pin Cat Charm Key Chain
Anna’s Bears & Wares ceramic Cat Pin
Ceramic Cat magnet Bottle of “Keep Away” cat repellent
Set of 4 pewter cat magnets – Seagull Pewter
Small pewter clock with 2 cats - Seagull Pewter Cat wallet
Garfield pencil and bookmark 14 Cat Toys
Black and white cat Pen
Cat stickers EZ Fill Automatic Waterer and Feed dish
Healing Animal SCARS - Sonya's Cat & Animal Rescue Society has joined forces with ca-r-ma (CAt-Rescue-MAritimes) to hold a raffle fundraiser.
We have a large basket of cat-related items valued at over $250 to be raffled off. Tickets are being sold for only $2.00 each or you can buy 3 tickets for $5.00.
They are available for sale at the Eastern Passage Village Veterinary Hospital at 105 Cow Bay Road, or you may contact Sonya at 469-MEOW or at katsonya@accesswave.ca to purchase tickets.
The draw date is September 30th and it will take place at the EP Village Vet Hospital.
Lottery permit # AGA-225891.09

Snowflake needs a home




Home Wanted

This very loving kitty needs a home. He’s a wonderful kitty (currently called Snowflake) who wants nothing more than a safe, comfortable home. He has all his needles, has tested free of Feline Leukemia and FIV, is neutered and is all ready to love. He’s quite content to be an indoor kitty. If you can help, please call
469-MEOW
We will interview potential adopters and ask them for a donation towards his vet care, and to sign an adoption contract

Petition to HRM for TNR of cats

I have started a petition to be presented during my meeting with the Mayor and Council. It asks for funding from the municipality to be provided for a Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program in Halifax Regional Municipality.

It reads as follows:

Healing Animal SCARS – Sonya’s Cat & Animal Rescue Society Petition Started August 5th, 2009
Phone 469-MEOW Email: katsonya@accesswave.ca by Sonya Higgins
Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NS28.html 143 Briarwood Drive, Eastern Passage, NS B3G 1B7

Petition to HRM for TNR of stray and feral cats
We, the undersigned, do request municipal funding from HRM to create a TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) program for stray and feral cats in our community. TNR involves humanely trapping cats to take to the vet for medical attention, including testing for Feline Leukemia and FIV, then fully vaccinating each cat and getting it spayed or neutered to prevent population growth. Tame cats and kittens would be put into shelters and adoption programs, while feral or wild cats would be returned to their original location and provided with a volunteer caretaker to feed and monitor the cat colony for injured or sick cats, and to watch for new entries that would need to be TNR’ed to keep the colony size stable.

I would like to get help to distribute paper copies of this petition across HRM, in businesses and workplaces. If anyone would like copies, please contact Sonya at 469-MEOW or email katsonya@accesswave.ca

My lofty goal is to obtain 25,000 signatures. If we can show the politicians that this is an issue that matters to the taxpayers of HRM, perhaps they will take it seriously and consider providing tax dollars $$ to volunteer groups, who could carry out the work on behalf of HRM. All we need is money to pay the vets!