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I want to be VERY CLEAR. This was awful and it's the kind of thing nightmares are made of. I'm sharing it because it's HURTING me, and because there is a lesson in it that goes to the heart of something we've discussed here (keeping cats inside)...but if you are particularly sensitive and traumatized by stories of bad things happening to cats...well...we all are, we love cats...but if you don't think you can bear it, please don't read what I have written below. I'm serious. I care about you people and don't want to cause you pain. But I have got to get this off my chest, and telling it to people who doesn't especially care about cats is just upsetting me more, because they don't get it.
I'm going to leave a lot of space, so seriously if this is gonna bug you, now is the time to hit "back." OK?
............
I got a call from my Mom yesterday. Some of you know, I've spoken about her before, she's kind of a "crazy cat lady" sometimes...anyhow she loves cats more than anyone I think I've ever known, even though she's not the most responsible maker of choices and liver of life. That's how it goes sometimes. Anyhoo she now lives in Arkansas with my Grandparents, who are in the end stages of their lives. They've signed over their property to her, she is taking care of them. They have two dogs, a daschund and a Boston terrier. She has acquired two cats since moving there, because she can't bear to be with no cats, and they live in her room which is the master bedroom and adjoining master bath, and she's built them an outdoor enclosure too. Nice. But she knows, as I know, that it's probably unsafe for them to go out in the main house with the dogs.
Well yesterday she called in a panic, saying she needed to borrow the money (from me) to move back to Florida. She said she couldn't stand to stay there any longer. Seems the next door neighbor had a cat who had kittens, she says they are 8-10 weeks old, and they are outdoor cats. See where this is going?
She caught one of the dogs in the act of savagely mutilating one of the kittens. She got it away from the dog, but it was too far gone and died in her hands before she could get it back to the neighbor. The details she gave me about the state it was in...I won't repeat. I can't. But if I'd seen what she saw, it would make me cry for days and have nightmares for weeks. And I am not one tenth as obsessed with cats as my Mom is...so...I get how awful this was for her. She then hauled the dog into the house and threw it on the floor and went to her room to wash the blood off of herself. She said she couldn't breathe and was having chest pains, and she can't live in this house with this cat killing dog, and no one came to check on her, to see if she was even OK, and she's afraid Grandpa will throw her out of the house for flinging his beloved dog on the floor like that (although the dog was not injured.)
She hung up before we could talk it out...because Grandma was calling her from the living room.
So. This really upset me. I understand her feelings. Her parents are not going to get rid of their dogs...and honestly I don't think they should have to. After some thought, it is my position that this happened because the neighbor didn't keep those cats/kittens inside where it's safe. If not a dog, it could have been one of the many snakes or predatory birds of the Arkansas woods that did that baby in, and as horrific as it is, you can't really blame a dog for acting in its nature...even though I have no love for those dogs and I get that she won't either, especially not now. But ya know, had it been a full grown cat and a baby creature smaller than it, the results would be carnage. Our pets are predators. It's awful...but...
And I told her I have no money to lend her until the 15th, but honestly...I don't think I should lend her money at all. She won't ever be able to pay me back, and my kids need school supplies and stuff soon...I can't really afford it. And there is nothing...no home, no job...waiting for her in Florida. At least where she's at, she has food and shelter, for now.
I'm really upset about this. I tried to talk to my husband about it, but he isn't really a "cat person" (though he loves our cat)...he shrugged and was just like, "that's life." He also doesn't like my Mom, so really no sympathy there. While the logical things I said above are there in my mind, my heart doesn't buy it, and I can only imagine how much worse it is for my Mom. I'm sorry to come here and burden you guys but I just don't feel like I've got anybody to talk to, who even remotely gets where I'm coming from. I'm confused and sad.
I wish there was a good rescue in their area that could come and get those kittens. But I'm afraid if I suggest that (I will anyways) I'm just going to be told that they've got a back-woods kill shelter and those babies will be headed straight for a lethal injection, and no way would my Mom make that call. But jeez...what do you do? I hope that this convinces the neighbor to get those cats inside.
Anyways. Thanks to anyone willing to read this. I don't like posting stuff like this. But it's kinda eating me up right now.
Wow. I can understand your being upset and your mother being upset, I'm sure it was horrible to experience.
I'm with you regarding the whole "outdoor cat" thing. It's one of my pet peeves (no pun intended). That's not pet ownership; it's irresponsible and this is what happens. I seriously doubt her neighbor will give a damn about what happened, because they are already irresponsibly allowing their obviously unfixed cat to breed, and now they have outdoor kittens.
In reality, your mom would be doing those kittens and cat a favor by reporting them to Animal Control. At least that way they might have a chance at getting adopted. In the situation they are in now, they will most likely be killed by another dog or animal, or by a car, and even worse, some will continue to thrive outdoors to have MORE kittens, multiplied by however many kittens lived to breed.
Wow. I can understand your being upset and your mother being upset, I'm sure it was horrible to experience.
I'm with you regarding the whole "outdoor cat" thing. It's one of my pet peeves (no pun intended). That's not pet ownership; it's irresponsible and this is what happens. I seriously doubt her neighbor will give a damn about what happened, because they are already irresponsibly allowing their obviously unfixed cat to breed, and now they have outdoor kittens.
In reality, your mom would be doing those kittens and cat a favor by reporting them to Animal Control. At least that way they might have a chance at getting adopted. In the situation they are in now, they will most likely be killed by another dog or animal, or by a car, and even worse, some will continue to thrive outdoors to have MORE kittens, multiplied by however many kittens lived to breed.
I agree with you. And I will bring it up. I just have a bad feeling, I know my Mom well enough to have an idea what she'll say about it. If she thinks they'll be put down she won't go there. It's kind of the heart of her thing with cats, when she was a little girl she fed a little family of stray kittens under a porch, and her Grandma (now deceased of course) had them rounded up and put down. She was devestated. So she's never been exactly sensible where cats are concerned. Which also illuminates a fact...in such situations where children are involved, you need to tread carefully and coach the child's feelings through the experience. It's amazing how a situation that doesn't register as a big deal to some adults can be a REALLY big deal and a life changing event to a child.
I have three Doxies. My husband brought a kitten into our home. We kept it separated because it was obvious what would happen if we didn't. I kept telling my husband that we needed to find the kitten and new home. I told him what was going to eventually happen if we didn't. He didn't want to give the kitten up. The kitten got out, and the Doxies killed it. I was the one to have to witness it. It was very traumatizing. I can sure sympathize with your mother.
Found out today that it was the Boston terrier who perpetrated the attack. It surprises me, in a way, because the Daschund is more vicious, but yet not...because she is also so overweight, she'd have to catch a cat sleeping to move fast enough to catch it at all. My grandparents have a bad habit of overfeeding their dogs.
Mom has been locked in her room since yesterday evening when this happened. Apparently when she pulled the dog away and tossed it up on the porch, it got a small cut on its head (no other harm done to it) but it was so covered in cat blood, Grandma was sure it was the dog's blood and nearly had Mom arrested for "abusing" her dog. The cats are ferals and the neighbor didn't really care about this. Everyone but Mom cared more that she was reacting "abusively" to the dog than that the kitten was killed. I told Mom she should call Animal Control to come get the ferals, she said that when she called them about the feral dog pack harassing the area, they told her that they couldn't come out and recommended they either shoot them or poison them themselves. Apparently, "shoot, shovel, and shut up" is the rule for nuisance animals in rural Arkansas. Mom is still distraught but I calmed her down some. I told her that anything in the wild could have killed this kitten, it's not her fault for not getting there faster, and it's not the dog's fault for acting on its nature either. And while Grandma and Grandpa are ready to throw her out and she is ready to run off and be homeless in Chicago (she has been wanting to go live there) I told her to try not to make any big decisions while everyone was so emotional, and to try and counsel her parents that direction also.
Either way, I don't know how she can continue to live there, nor what she'll do if she doesn't, and surely not what will happen with the two cats she's adopted at this point. She says that her cats smell the kitten's blood on her and won't come near her, no matter how hard she washes herself.
I'm the only voice of reason in a really crazy family here and I'm over 600 miles away. It sucks.
I'm so, so sorry for both of you...your mom for having endured all that, and you for feeling helpless and trying to calm her down from so far away.
I'm afraid in the end she's just going to have to accept that the dog wasn't doing anything 'evil.' He was being a dog, and harboring anger or resestment toward him is not only unfair but unproductive. Ask her how she would feel if one of her cats caught a mouse...would she be angry? I'm sure she would be *upset*, but you can't be angry with an animal for following their instincts.
I would actually encourage her to take a different approach and try to become more friendly with both dogs. For one, it will make living there easier because she won't be thinking of him as some awful monster.
But she also might be able to work on training the dogs to be better with cats overall. She could start very small...say, bringing out a blanket her own cats use for the dogs to smell. She could associate that smell with getting yummy treats. She could also work on teaching them not to catch/chase small animals in general...if they bark at squirrels and rabbits, she can work on those behaviors. It might also calm the Grandparents down if they see her taking an interest.
Another thing she could do is work on keeping cats out of the yard. She could spray them with water if they cross the line, or try various things along the fence line like predator urine.
I think giving her something she can *do* might be helpful so she's not feeling so traumatized and helpless. Even if these things don't fully work, it would give her a project.
......Anyways. Thanks to anyone willing to read this. I don't like posting stuff like this. But it's kinda eating me up right now.
That is heartbreaking. It's so sad when cat owners like the neighbors put no value on their pets - not even get them spayed. Little kittens running loose. I can understand her anger and frustration. It doesn't sound like it's going to work for your mother to live there. What will she do if one of those dogs kills one of her cats? (BTW, that's another subject that should be covered here for everyone's benefit). The whole scene sounds very depressing and on top of it all she has no job or money to move. What happened to all the cats she had before she moved to AK to live with her parents?
Either way, I don't know how she can continue to live there, nor what she'll do if she doesn't, and surely not what will happen with the two cats she's adopted at this point. She says that her cats smell the kitten's blood on her and won't come near her, no matter how hard she washes herself.
I'm the only voice of reason in a really crazy family here and I'm over 600 miles away. It sucks.
If your mother is unable to work and support herself for some reason, be it mental or physical, she will get more help in Chicago than in rural AK. She may qualify for SSI and they will get her into some kind of housing. She would be safe in a shelter until such time they find her a place to live. Any city would be better equipped to help her than a rural or small town area. What would happen to her two cats is anyone's guess. This is a very sad story for everyone involved and certainly for the cats living there.
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I can understand her anger and frustration. It doesn't sound like it's going to work for your mother to live there. What will she do if one of those dogs kills one of her cats? (BTW, that's another subject that should be covered here for everyone's benefit). The whole scene sounds very depressing and on top of it all she has no job or money to move. 
