cat rescue question

[badger]

seems cats are in my life a lot lately...

the place I was working this week is a warehouse with a large outdoor industrial lost housing mechanical parts.

Turns out sometimes people dump cats in there (why ask why, I'll never know). There is one cat that the workers have been feeding for the past year. I saw her today and she's in pretty good shape, all things considered. She's very friendly so she was once someone's pet.

Question is, do I have her rescued to be re-homed, or leave her where she is? I know that sounds asinine, but a part of me does think perhaps she's adpated enough to this lifestyle that she may be overly stressed if she ends up in a shelter or in a home somewhere. She appears to have been spayed, as she's not turned up with kittens in the past year. She's dirty, but looks well-fed (not quality food, though, "Whiskas"). She no doubt has had no veterinary care in quite some time and is probably flea-ridden.

While she's friendly, she did bite me when I believe I was petting her a bit too much. The worker who's most attached to her can't take her home and is afraid will be put down if she's sent to the spca and is deemed "unadoptable".

If a cat has lived outdoors and fended for herself for this long, would she adjust to indoor life ok?

Thoughts?

[jessmarimba]

You're on a roll with the cats, hmm?

Not much insight on that one, but I can tell you that both of my girls spent the first 3 years of their lives as wild cats - one as a stray in an apartment complex who took to sleeping on my porch, and the other was born "feral" in a cat colony by a trailer park. The second one actually adapted much quicker even though she wasn't around human company for any reason until I saw her photo online and inquired about her. She even has the clipped ear mark of a TNR cat. It probably depends on the cat's individual personality.

Edit - the second one I got was sponsored by a rescue organization who advertised her on petfinder but let her stay in her original habitat until someone saw her and wanted her, so that might be an option besides putting the one you found in a shelter and possibly ending up with the "unadoptable" label.

[smilingcat]

Hi Badger,

Ability of the cat to adapt to new living situation depends on the cat. Some cat will go stir crazy if turned into a house bound cat. Others, will adjust just fine. You just never really know until you try.

Whiska's isn't the best brand of cat food but its heck of a lot better than the alternative. My only concern for the cat is her health and longevity. An outdoor cat's life span is rather short. If she starts showing sign of distress, matted fur, sluggishness/lethargy, you probably should have her trapped and taken to a non-kill shelter. At that point, she could be re-homed. Or you could trap now and see if she can be re-homed now.

She sounds like she has a very good chance of becoming someones pet. Indoor-outdoor family cat. A true feral cat would not behave the way you described. So she has a very good chance of family life.

Talk to your local cat rescue group people and see if they can help or give you more suggestion.

[Biciclista]

you say the workers have been feeding her for the past year - she has a relationship with them, and they are taking care of her. Like smilingcat said, there are a lot worse things than Whiskas cat food. Have you asked them what they would do if she got sick?
She doesn't sound to me like she needs rescuing, but you have to follow your instincts on this one. good luck. And thanks for caring for the cats!

[badger]

I know, that's why I'm wondering if I should intervene, or let her be.

I did tell the guy who's the one predominantly feeding her to let me know right away if he thought she was in any distress and I will take her to a vet.

One very good thing about her situation is that the works yard is fenced in, so she won't have to worry about coyotes or cars. I'd imagine a racoon can easily scale a fence, but let's hope there are none in that area.

I suppose in a way it's no different than her being a barn cat, though she doesn't really have a dedicated shelter aside from an open tent (to house tractors and such). Last winter was mild, what happens when it gets really cold?

Another part of me thinks she deserves a chance at a warm home with a nice bed for her to sleep on.

I do think it'll spell disaster if I took her home myself, but I can't deny I'm not thinking about it. I even thought about sending her to live with my folks and Boo, but the wild card is her being an outdoor cat for so long, would she adjust to being an indoor-only cat??

[badger]

I contacted a local no-kill cat rescue, and the woman said at the very least she'll get her examined by a vet and also assess to see if she might make a good pet. So here's to hoping she'll find a home, but if not, she'll at least get some veterinary attention.

[bmccasland]

Even if she spends her life as a company cat, she should get her shots. I had to have a semi-feral cat put to sleep in the last year because she contracted feline HIV. Took me months to befriend her, and once I got her in to my vet, they were very sorry to deliver the news. If she has fleas, a vet can get you proper meds for that instead of the OTC stuff.

[badger]

I figure this is related enough that I won't waste the space by creating another thread.

I was talking to a Veterinary Technician at the spca hospital that I volunteer at. She was saying how the place is no longer "no kill" as they advertise; the new manager is very quick to euthanize healthy animals simply to save money and space.

These animals often have very treatable conditions (broken tooth, upper respiratory illness), or just plain older. She expressed her frustration and the desire to whistle blow but was afraid of losing her job.

A one year old pointer cross came in today with an ingested foreign matter. The owner surrendered, not able to afford to treat him. When the hospital staff contacted the new manager, he said without skipping a beat, "euthanize". The staff reasoned with him how he was much too young and there is nothing wrong. He finally relented and they were able to get a specialist vet who uses endoscope to see if he can retrieve it (he's donating his services).

My dilemma is: I'm more than happy to whistle blow him, but while doing that, I may very well be taking down the very thing that's there to help the animals. Last time a corrupt CEO was outed to the general public for making in excess of $225K, their donations plummeted (rightly so).

I believe what the manager's doing is wrong, just to save his hide to keep within budget. I think people should know that while they claim they are no-kill, they certainly are not. But I don't want to hurt them with people losing their trust when their donation rate has started to come back up.

I really need to win myself the jackpot so I can open up my own sanctuary of unwanted animals, much in the same vein as Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

thanks for reading.

[Biciclista]

you've got to whistle blow. that's just not right. It's possible that this policy could get the city in a LOT of trouble.

[badger]

well, the City has its own animal control, which only deals with dogs. The SPCA is a different entity, and I guess they can claim whatever they want. A lot of municipalities have done away with spca because they are corrupt, but the one here will stay as they own the land the buildings are on.

I was speaking with someone about this and he said it may be very difficult to prove they aren't euthanizing "unadoptable" animals. I suppose I can contact someone from the media and plant a seed and they can do their due diligence in terms of legality.

[JennK13]

Wow! I don't think they can advertise as "no kill" if they are indeed euthanizing - legally anyhow.
As far as it possibly getting shut down and losing donations because of the corruption, I don't know what to say. We had a "corruption" issue here at the local humane society. So far in debt, mismanaged funds, embezzlement, etc. The people who were running it tried to sell it to some local municipalities to take over, citing all the donations and how big the name was to get those funds, but couldn't show any tracking of the finances. Several cities backed out completely. A couple others continued their talks and I believe ultimately bought the facility, but not the name (which is what they said was the real "money maker").
Fortunately here, there are several other no kill shelters that animals could go to - though, it's incredibly sad that there is 1) more than one, and 2) a need for even more because of the number of animals out there.
I can't even go into shelters - it just breaks my heart. I want to take them all home and love them. I think something has to be done, though. How many perfectly good animals are being put down???

[smilingcat]

Hi Badger,

Though you are not in jepardy of losing a job by whistle blowing, others there who are supporting their family, the paid employees, may suffer. So before whistle blowing to the public, I would highly recommend that you go over the operational manager and have a serious word with the board members. If the manager is part of the board, he must be left out! You will get their time and attention. You may have to threaten to go public about misleading information and that the facility has killed the family pet even though the families were promised that their beloved pet would find a loving home.

We have had our share of problems with municipally run shelters and only with media coverage threat, did they correct the problem. Yours, unfortunately, is not an isolated incident. It is very sad situation. At the least, inform the local cat rescue group that the shelter is a KILL-SHELTER and not a NO-KILL. Get the word out to the rescue group and GET A CONTACT NUMBER FROM THEM SO THAT SOMEONE CAN COME IN ON THE DAY TO "ADOPT" out the cat. Some groups have managed to "adopt" out the back door to save the lives of kittens and have successfully adopted them out.

If the board fails to fire the operational manager or change his behavior, then you will have to whistle blow. False claims made to the public, and killing of beloved pets has to stop!

[badger]

I actually found a pretty juicy bit of info in that there is a code of ethics committee, and that there is a whistle-blower protection. So, I'm writing a letter to the chair of that committee to request that she look into the manager's current practise of choosing euthanasia far too quickly and easily over saving the animal.

I won't be going to the media, I don't want to hurt the ones who need the help the most (animals).

[Biciclista]

good for you!! thank you for the cat nation...