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Well me and my mother was driving to a family reunion today and took a directon from our neighborhood road that we dont usually take, but since we were heading to my uncles house, we went out the other way... about two miles from home we topped the hill (the speed limit on this road is 35 mph, but most people go 45-65 mph and its a curvy 2-lane) and there was a kitten (about 7 weeks old) on the yellow line! I honked the horn and slammed on the brakes (my mom had not yet fastened her belt and almost threw her up on the windshield) and it just stopped! I turned on the blinkers and mom got out and it was just standing there in front of the tire! Mom got it and got in the car with it. We honked the horn at the house where it was at, but no one came out and there were no trespassing signs up, so we dare not to go on the property. We brought the kitten back home, put in the pet carrier, then went on to the reunion.
NOW, here is the story before - about 3 weeks ago, my mom was heading to my uncles on night on the same road and at this same house, the same kitten (and a black one) was in the road! She honked and they ran... so this is at least the 2nd time in 3 weeks that the white kitten had been in the road! Its a road we rarely take and have already seen it twice, so no telling how many times its been in the road... I cant believe it has not been ran over. So... with that said, do we take it back? Its obvious that the owner of the mamma cat does not care about it, or why would they let it outside when they live right on a road where people go 50-60 mph and over a hilltop?? The kitten is not wild and had been well fed, so that is a little strange, someone has been feeding it and handling it. Its small, I didnt think it was weened yet, but it was eating soft cat food like it was out of style and drinking water.
With that said, I put on my Facebook that we were needing to find it a good home (we already have 5 cats and 6 dogs that we have already rescued over the years and kept, so we simply cannot take anymore in). It wasnt long that a lady that I work with (a wonderful Christian lady and a pet lover) said she wanted it, as she had been wanting a kitten and felt that the Lord had sent it to her.
I want it to have a good home and it will now, but being the person I am, I wonder if the person that it may have belonged to is wondering where it is, but they obviously didnt care much about it since they left it outside knowing they live on a dangerous road? Maybe they were wanting someone to get it? There were two houses there, so not sure whose cat it belonged to, maybe it was a stray cats kitten... who knows?
Well anyway, the kitten is here now, warm, full belly and will have a new loving home this week when she comes to pick it up. I feel we have done the right thing.
You did do the right thing. I would have done the same thing. If they CARED about the kitten it would not be outside in the first place. Thank you for caring enough to save the poor kitty.
Most likely the kitten was born to a stray/feral cat. Before I could catch a young female who'd been visiting my property since July of last year, she made a love connection and gave birth to six kittens late in the winter. (Over time the mom and five of the young 'uns were trapped. Mom eventually accepted me 100% and is now a lap cat with a home. The five captured kittens were all caught in time to be rehomed. As for the sixth, after some extra effort she was finally TNR'd in July and is now under my roof too.)
Assuming the litter has always lived outdoors, ya done good. The folks whose houses are there obviously didn't care enough to take the necessary steps to keep them safe.
As for the kitten being well fed? Momma cats, whether feral/stray or not, do an amazing job. The one in my story, who's now named "Blaliko" in honor of her coloring, raised a beautiful and healthy brood. I and some other "soft touches" in my neighborhood helped by leaving food and water out for her. But even without that those cats find a way.
Thanks for the replies... a little late getting back to this. Things didnt turn out well for the poor kitten. Turns out that the lady that wanted her wanted to keep her "outside" and only keep her in a night in the garage and even told me she had cats that had been killed on her road! With that said, we decided not to let her have it. We had actually decided to keep her, as we had already grown attached to her.
Well a couple of nights after I originally posted this, the kitten acted like she was dying in the cage. My dad got her out and was petting her and finally got her to snap out of it. We got her some worm meds and have been giving them to her, but she had a couple of more "seizure" episodes a couple of times within that week. Well she seemed to be getting better and was running around and even eating well, drinking well, etc. Sadly however she passed away last weekend on Sunday morning.
She had eat only about an hour before she passed. My dad let her eat and was going to let her out of her cage to play, but when he went to get out out she was laying there on her side... he went to get out out and she was already stiff. I dont know what happened unless there was something already bad wrong with her, I dont know. We were all very sad though and my parents wrapped her up in a cloth and placed her in a shoe box and buried her up next to our 9 year old beagle that passed away in 2006. My mom even put a little note in there with her saying we loved her and sorry we could not save her.
She had the cutest little face and was very lovable. We didnt have her very long, but I miss her very much.
RIP little kitty... sorry for the blurry pic... this was taken with a cell phone and this was a night she was running around in the kitchen). She was so happy and never even had a chance at life. So sad the way things work out sometimes.
Please forgive the judgmental post above, I think the writer meant well but I felt the guilt trip full force. You may not have had the money available for veterinary care and did what you thought was best. No one should fault you for that.
Before I was adopted by Blaliko and Seteria, I was owned by a cat - who had been rescued - for 19 years. "Weasie" was brought to me as an early Christmas surprise on 12/04/92. Her brother from the same litter was part of the surprise. "Puppy" and she were as close as could be, chasing each other all through the house and play-fighting one minute then snuggling together and grooming each other the next. Just ahead of a blizzard the following March, Puppy went outside and never came home. Weasie grieved heavily for several weeks but then went back to her usual sweet crazy ways. She remained an indoor/outdoor cat all her life, making new friends right up until the week before she died of liver cancer this past January. Folks are quick to pounce when they hear about a cat's being given freedom to explore beyond their home, but Weasie wouldn't have had it any other way. When I tried to confine her she went so far as to pee on rugs and tear down wallpaper. (She may have had PTSD from whatever had befallen her in her first 4-5 months of life. Her and Puppy's family of kittens was found in a box that'd been dumped in the lobby of an apartment building.) Not once did she ever get struck by a vehicle or mistreated by anyone. The only bad encounter I knew of was when some bratty kids threw rocks and dirt at her as she snoozed indoors on a sunny window sill. And she became notorious throughout the neighborhood, introducing me to many persons who became friends of mine too. I know about all the sound arguments for keeping cats in close quarters, and indeed Puppy might've been still alive today had he not ventured out that late-winter morning. But Weasie wouldn't have had quite the amazing life that she enjoyed had she been restricted.
Having noted that, I want to do what I can to convince Seteria and Blaliko that the indoor life is the way to go. (Both have already earned some notoriety among the neighbors, but being rescues themselves they're still very much on the shy side.) So far so not-so-good. They still get anxious to be turned loose; some progress is being made nonetheless. Maybe once winter sets in my work will be easier. For now Blaliko continues to prefer being at large during the coldest part of the day. And Seteria is still her "shadow."
ALL of which is to say... no one should be putting guilt on anyone else before "all the facts are in" - and even after, for that matter. If City-Data (or, as I call this forum, Kitty Data) had been around in 1993 I'm sure I would've caught H.E.double-L for letting Puppy leave the house, more so for continuing to let Weasie stay indoor/outdoor.
In all of its trials the kitten knew you had the best of intentions. For "she knew what it felt like to be loved." And she probably did better by your not leaving her with the other person who was originally supposed to adopt her. Take some consolation from that if you can.
Weasie still makes her presence in my existence known once in a while, no matter that she's been gone for almost a year. Your kitten is probably sending signals also. People will of course scoff at the notion, but I've experienced it and it's real. There are individuals out there who claim to be able to communicate with deceased beings. I take that with a grain of salt, hold onto my money, and recognize the signs for what I choose them to be.
For children it's suggested that they be taken outside on a starlit night to "pick a star" to represent their pet that died. As far past childhood as I am, I selected a star for Weasie last New Year's Eve when I knew her days were numbered. When the moon's dark enough I look for it and talk in its direction. The now-5-year-old girl who lives upstairs loved Weasie, so I gave her that tip and she tells me when she's seen the star she picked. There's no "proper" way to remember a human or creature who's no longer with us. But that could be a way to keep the kitten in your heart.
Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of things - yes, the meds were from the vet (that we highly trust) and given as prescribed, the kitten was only in the pet carrier (that I referred to as a cage) when the dogs and other cats would come in the room for only a short while because we didnt want her to get hurt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leanansidhex
I'm so sorry. It must be very traumatic for you and your family. At least she knew what it felt like to be loved.
Thank you very much leanansidhex for the kind words. Yes, it was very sad for us. Thanks again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy
Please forgive the judgmental post above, I think the writer meant well but I felt the guilt trip full force. You may not have had the money available for veterinary care and did what you thought was best. No one should fault you for that.
Before I was adopted by Blaliko and Seteria, I was owned by a cat - who had been rescued - for 19 years. "Weasie" was brought to me as an early Christmas surprise on 12/04/92. Her brother from the same litter was part of the surprise. "Puppy" and she were as close as could be, chasing each other all through the house and play-fighting one minute then snuggling together and grooming each other the next. Just ahead of a blizzard the following March, Puppy went outside and never came home. Weasie grieved heavily for several weeks but then went back to her usual sweet crazy ways. She remained an indoor/outdoor cat all her life, making new friends right up until the week before she died of liver cancer this past January. Folks are quick to pounce when they hear about a cat's being given freedom to explore beyond their home, but Weasie wouldn't have had it any other way. When I tried to confine her she went so far as to pee on rugs and tear down wallpaper. (She may have had PTSD from whatever had befallen her in her first 4-5 months of life. Her and Puppy's family of kittens was found in a box that'd been dumped in the lobby of an apartment building.) Not once did she ever get struck by a vehicle or mistreated by anyone. The only bad encounter I knew of was when some bratty kids threw rocks and dirt at her as she snoozed indoors on a sunny window sill. And she became notorious throughout the neighborhood, introducing me to many persons who became friends of mine too. I know about all the sound arguments for keeping cats in close quarters, and indeed Puppy might've been still alive today had he not ventured out that late-winter morning. But Weasie wouldn't have had quite the amazing life that she enjoyed had she been restricted.
Having noted that, I want to do what I can to convince Seteria and Blaliko that the indoor life is the way to go. (Both have already earned some notoriety among the neighbors, but being rescues themselves they're still very much on the shy side.) So far so not-so-good. They still get anxious to be turned loose; some progress is being made nonetheless. Maybe once winter sets in my work will be easier. For now Blaliko continues to prefer being at large during the coldest part of the day. And Seteria is still her "shadow."
ALL of which is to say... no one should be putting guilt on anyone else before "all the facts are in" - and even after, for that matter. If City-Data (or, as I call this forum, Kitty Data) had been around in 1993 I'm sure I would've caught H.E.double-L for letting Puppy leave the house, more so for continuing to let Weasie stay indoor/outdoor.
In all of its trials the kitten knew you had the best of intentions. For "she knew what it felt like to be loved." And she probably did better by your not leaving her with the other person who was originally supposed to adopt her. Take some consolation from that if you can.
Weasie still makes her presence in my existence known once in a while, no matter that she's been gone for almost a year. Your kitten is probably sending signals also. People will of course scoff at the notion, but I've experienced it and it's real. There are individuals out there who claim to be able to communicate with deceased beings. I take that with a grain of salt, hold onto my money, and recognize the signs for what I choose them to be.
For children it's suggested that they be taken outside on a starlit night to "pick a star" to represent their pet that died. As far past childhood as I am, I selected a star for Weasie last New Year's Eve when I knew her days were numbered. When the moon's dark enough I look for it and talk in its direction. The now-5-year-old girl who lives upstairs loved Weasie, so I gave her that tip and she tells me when she's seen the star she picked. There's no "proper" way to remember a human or creature who's no longer with us. But that could be a way to keep the kitten in your heart.
Take care.
Thanks very much for the kind words goyguy and the rest of that post. Good to know some people understand. As mentioned above, the meds were given to us by our vet that we always use and as prescribed. They seemed to have thought she was too bad even before we found her since she was running wild. We have put alot of trust in this vet and use them with all of our pets. With our furbabies, it seems like over the past year its been price is no object as we have spent over $10,000 in vet bills most of which were from the "rescue pets" we saved. One dog alone (that we found on the side of the road last Christmas) had three surgeries this summer that was over $4000 and we had to pay up front. I have a post about him somewhere on this forum. He is doing excellent. Then our 11 year old cat had to have surgery on his leg... that was another $1500 - then there has been a $1000 bill here and a $1500 there for the other dogs including our 17 year old rescue dog we have had for years. We do all we can for them, because they are part of the family.
Well thanks again to all, I am going to retire for the evening.
i'm so sorry. but at least that little kitty didn't die anonymous in a ditch. how sweet of your mom to write a letter like that.
everytime i think people suck, i remember how many people are out there doing things like thus. it really is amazing and you are my hero today.
Thank you... that was very nice! Yeah we felt we were doing the right thing by bringing it home. I was just very sad we could not save it. We really did all we could and did what the vet said. I think it was too far gone when we got it. We did give it love and a loving home what little time it was here.
We really love animals. About this time last year someone had abandoned a beagle on the side of the road and my dad stopped and got it. Turns out that he had major medical problems and he had to have three surgeries. We even had to take him to a speciality animal hospital 120 miles away for one of the surgeries. We will keep saving where we can and find homes when we can.
Thanks again - its good to know that people appreciate what you do.
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With that said, we decided not to let her have it. We had actually decided to keep her, as we had already grown attached to her. 
no one should be putting guilt on anyone else before "all the facts are in" - and even after, for that matter. If City-Data (or, as I call this forum, Kitty Data) had been around in 1993 I'm sure I would've caught H.E.double-L for letting Puppy leave the house, more so for continuing to let Weasie stay indoor/outdoor. 
I take that with a grain of salt, hold onto my money, and recognize the signs for what I choose them to be. 
