#1 reason kitties should NEVER be outdoors

[zoom-zoom]

I've had a truly horrible day. Anyone following me on FB already knows the deal, but for those who have missed the saga it goes something like this:

Around noon we started hearing meowing. At first I figured that Dane had locked a cat in his room. Checked his room, no cats. All 4 cats were accounted for, but we were still hearing meows. I looked out the windows, but saw no cats outdoors. So I put on shoes and checked the basement. We have an old house with a few additions and a crawl space that has only been blocked to the outdoors by a piece of OSB, which has pretty much disintegrated. From the crawl space a small animal could get into our basement (which is accessed by a door outside--house is nearly 100).

I went into the basement and called "kitty" and looked around, but saw no cat until I looked near the base of our old pressure tank for our well. I had to turn the light on to really get a good look. Somehow a sweet little kitty (one of the recognizable neighborhood strays/outdoor cats) had gotten her head wedged under one of the pipes.


I tried to lift the pipe with my left hand and push her head back out with my right, but I couldn't get the pipe up enough. I ended up calling DH at work (30 minutes away) to come help. He got home and was able to pull up HARD on the pipe while I pushed her head. As soon as she was free she bolted around the basement, but then quickly calmed-down and let us near her (the basement door to outside was wide open to the outdoors, but she didn't try to escape). She was shaking and terrified, but let us hold her (we had on gloves). We decided instantly that we would not just let her back out, but would get her into a carrier and bring her to the nearest shelter with space (we would have taken her in to be our kitty, but we already have 4 cats and our city limit is 4).

One of my close friends works at the county shelter and said they could take her, so DS and I brought her in. While we were there she had a seizure. My friend brought her to the vet they use and it was decided to put her down. Because of her symptoms they are testing her brain for rabies. Though I was wearing gloves she bit me and drew blood. Her teeth didn't puncture my glove, but she bit hard (the blood drawn on my knuckle is not a puncture, but more of an abrasion) and because of the risk that saliva could still have infected me I will have to undergo rabies treatments if she tests positive.

We're pretty heartbroken. Today DS learned how animals are tested for rabies (it requires decapitation). If she's not rabid, then the likely cause of her seizures was poisoning (either directly or indirectly from eating a poisoned rodent) or maybe I hurt her when pushing back on her skull to get her out from under the pipe. All of those possibilities suck. People who let their cats roam outdoors suck (there is never a good reason for a pet cat to be outdoors. IMO euthanasia would be so much more humane than allowing an animal to meet the sort of fate that so many outdoor cats meet). I have now had a childhood cat lose a leg to a dog outdoors and today had to play a role in the demise of another sweet creature.

Humans suck.

[SadieKate]

Totally with you on pets allowed to roam at will outdoors. I just don't get investing all that emotion without providing some fairly basic protection.

[maillotpois]

Oh what a terrible story. You really did do what you could.

[Owlie]

Oh no. Poor kitty. And poor you. I wish people didn't let their pets wander.

[malkin]

zoom, you did the right thing; sorry it was so awful.

[zoom-zoom]

Thanks, ladies...it's been a tearful day. I still keep crying. I wonder if her people will be sad when she doesn't return home. I wonder if they've even noticed her missing.

[indysteel]

I'm so sorry, Zoom. Poor kitty. As others have said, you did all that you could and a lot more than others might have done.

[Blueberry]

I'm so sorry, Zoom. Take comfort in the fact that you found her (as opposed to her starving to death or worse in that position), with you DH were able to free her, and that they were able to put her down humanely. You did all you could. And yes, some humans suck. Have you thought about putting up posters so her owners (if she had any) might know?

(mom to 3 rescue kitties who she is completely neurotic about keeping in the house)