cat rescue question

[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.