I joined a local cat rescue back in January. I was so enthusiastic after my one little experience with foster kittens from the local shelter (even though I lost one, sadly), that I wasted no time growing my little single cat, single dog household to a clowder of 31, and we still have the dog. I have NOT lost my mind yet, but my husband left town for a few weeks, and I nearly did. As I type, my left arm is pinned down by one of my "foster failures", a beautiful flame point, cream colored medium coat cat named Purrsia. Her blue eyes rendered both my husband and I completely smitten stupid after we nursed her back to health. When I pulled her from the shelter where she was schedule to be put down, she had a horrible URI and was drooling great stringy ropes everywhere. She was in the only available bathroom for two weeks. As I write she is licking the KMR (kitten milk replacement) that dripped onto my chest as I bottle fed my four orphans a half hour ago, then shed my shirt for the washing machine.
I've read some pretty good rants from people who have been in this business far longer than I. I have lived in their clothes. I have refrained from sharing their content on social media sites like Facebook, because they feel so strongly about their subject that their colorful language, whilst heartfelt, is not suitable for sharing with my grandkids, who also have Facebook pages.
Many people believe that people like me who rescue and foster animals enjoy lots of time playing with the pets. In fact, many foster pet parents do! But then there are those of us who have crossed some imaginary line, where we have taken more into our homes than we can comfortably accommodate, and as a group we are more numerous on the planet than you can even imagine. I have told my mother to stop coming over - she lives 40 miles away, and she doesn't particularly care for cats. I have made repeated apologies to prospective adopters on the state of my home when they have come to meet and greet a cat or kitten, and they have walked away. I often wonder if it was the cat or the house that turned them off. There is a couple in our rescue that have my cats outnumbered by 4 to 1, but at least they have the common sense to have a special room in which to entertain prospective adopters. The idea of an addition is appealing but unrealistic here.
Now that I am absolutely beyond my capacity, there is something I need to say....people, please spay and neuter your pets! I told the woman from whom I took the orphans last night, please call Animal Control and have them pick up the mother cat. She is not spayed and she is feral. There is no TNR program in our city, although the shelter is working hard to get one started. The shelter itself is so full that there is absolutely no wiggle room here, NONE. Our rescue has pulled more than we reasonably should have, and now we are completely overrun with beautiful cats that no one wants.
Social media is both a boon and a curse to those in rescue. Here are my suggestions. Follow and "like" all the lovely, cuddly, gorgeous cats you may encounter in your news feed. And "like" their rescuers. We in the rescues depend on "likes" to grow our outreach.
Please don't comment about how you are so sorry you cannot take in a cat or puppy. I am sorry I can't take more, and I have to remind myself of this every time I see one I cannot possibly help personally. We check our albums and "available for adoption" pages many times a day. I know you mean well when you say you would adopt the pet but you are out of state, or your kids or husband is allergic, or your landlord doesn't allow it, or whatever, but please don't put that in the comments. It just clutters up the page and makes it hard for us rescuers to find the posts of the people who may really want to adopt our little bundle of happiness. You don't need to post "shared", but please know that we love it when you do it! The more people that see our foster babies, the better, especially because the rules and privacy settings on social network sites are constantly changing.
Finally, there are some real ways you CAN help. If you cannot adopt, share. Donate to your local animal shelter or rescue. Advocate for spay and neuter. Encourage everyone you encounter with strays to get them fixed. Offer to help them find the low-cost spay/neuter programs in your area. There really is a solution to the euthanasia epidemic in our shelters...Trap Neuter and Release programs, public education, and promotion of adoption instead of breeding - all these will help. I started with a pedigreed cat from a reputable breeder, but my other two permanent family cats are rescues. You can make a difference. Our shelters can all become "no kill", but not without action from every citizen.
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