how did i get myself into this

[misslissa]

as a family project we rescue rehabilitate and rehome feral cats. we just got rid of the 12 we had last round on Monday. mom and kittens went to approved homes and all left on Monday. well while i was out walking the dogs a man came to my house made my 16 year old sign a paper saying she could accept live deliveries (we are expecting a gecko by FedEx any day now)
and left her a box with a very pregnant cat inside. when i got home she was in a panic because being shipped had sent her into labor and she was under the shoe stands crying and wining by the time i could get to her she was done 6 kittens 2 dead and one with contracted tendons in both back feet
they are soo tiny i cant believe any of then survived.
i called my shelter and they called the shelter she came from and they said they wanted her out before she had the kittens so they shipped her to the only address they had, my house!
i am so frustrated by this i think i may stop fostering cats all together this a mean momma cat with a kitten i have to get out everyday and stretch his legs.
what am i gonna do.

anyway thanks for letting me rant about it i know its about cats but i still needed to vent

[jrsygal37]

I think that's pretty messed up. How a shelter who is suppose to be the protector of animals would ship a poor pregnant cat to a house, no less without the receiver's knowledge is beyond me. And, I know if I was the momma cat I'd be pretty pissed off right now so that could be why she's a "mean cat." I think if a little love is finally shown to this poor thing she'll be a totally different cat. Poor mom and poor kittens and shame on the shelter. Elaine

[My Sophia]

Oh my gosh! What if you guys had been on vacation or something and not even home?!?! Good luck with mama and the baby. Hopefully mama will realize she's got a steady food supply and no threats to her or her babies and she'll calm down quickly.

[misslissa]

in there defense they knew we wear not on vacation. i have been in contact about taking her but i had not made up my mind. it is common to ship feral cats from one shelter to an other because they don't like human contact. the thing that really kills me is that she is declawed completely. so she has no way of defending herself or her kittens it was all i could do to reach in and take away the dead ones without being bite im just so upset by the situation she needed to be handled with caution and they just threw her in a crate and tossed her in with the mail how dose that make her any better then the people who abandoned her in the first place

[Rhetts_mama]

That's just heart breaking. I'm sure she was stressed from being shipped. It just wasn't cool of the other shelter to ship her to you when you weren't expecting it. To get her out because she was pregnant and didn't want to deal with her is just beyond reprehensible.

[SophieKatesMom]

Unbelievable, as the Mom to a 12 year old feral cat or, previously feral cat I am so shocked at the way they treat this Momma cat. I know when I first got my Avery he was not acceptable to any human and he was just a baby. It has taken years of human contact (12) and he is still not accepting to all stranger.

This place calls themself a shelter? No offense but that really isn't sheltering a cat in my opinion. I hope everything works out okay for you and the Momma cat.

[Woogie Man]

I don't mean to sound dramatic, but if you or I were to ship a very pregnant cat, we would be charged with animal cruelty. The shelter should be held to the same standard.

Bless you for shouldering this unreasonable burden at this time....it's truly a wonderful thing you're doing for this poor Mama cat and her babies.

I'm curious about rehabbing and rehoming feral cats. In my area, we have a few colonies of them and what our shelter has been doing is capturing them, doing a spay or neuter and returning them to the colony. This seems to be a growing trend around the country so I was just wondering about the success y'all have had with rehabbing and rehoming. Of course, in this case, that Mama cat could never be released after being de-clawed.

I understand your frustration as I am going through 'cat issues' due to a very irresponsible neighbor. I am so mad at her but can't resist doing what I can to help these innocent babies.

Kudos to you and your family for saving these cats as you have done.

[misslissa]

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

I don't mean to sound dramatic, but if you or I were to ship a very pregnant cat, we would be charged with animal cruelty. The shelter should be held to the same standard.

Bless you for shouldering this unreasonable burden at this time....it's truly a wonderful thing you're doing for this poor Mama cat and her babies.

I'm curious about rehabbing and rehoming feral cats. In my area, we have a few colonies of them and what our shelter has been doing is capturing them, doing a spay or neuter and returning them to the colony. This seems to be a growing trend around the country so I was just wondering about the success y'all have had with rehabbing and rehoming. Of course, in this case, that Mama cat could never be released after being de-clawed.

I understand your frustration as I am going through 'cat issues' due to a very irresponsible neighbor. I am so mad at her but can't resist doing what I can to help these innocent babies.

Kudos to you and your family for saving these cats as you have done.

Catch and release in actually very common and in most cases best for the cats they will never be able to live with humans.
its cats like momma who cant survive in a colony. or cats who are not all the way feral and can stand some contact with people that are the best candidates for rehabilitation if you or anyone else is interested PM me and i will send you a set of steps to rehabbing a feral cat.

[misslissa]

and i would call authorities on the shelter but in reality we need them they have a lot of private funding and they pay for animals on death row and send them to other shelters for free so we can find them homes for good pets in mommas case 5 lives wear saved but i cant help being upset by the two kittens that did not make it.
the normal way to transport is with a car or truck i have no idea what possessed them to ship a cat and they are not answering my calls now

[stingraylady]

As horrible a situation this is, she ended up with you for a reason, I believe. You sound like a very compassionate person and will care for momma and those surviving kittens. But feel free to vent whenever.

[misslissa]

Originally Posted by stingraylady

As horrible a situation this is, she ended up with you for a reason, I believe. You sound like a very compassionate person and will care for momma and those surviving kittens. But feel free to vent whenever.

Thank you but for me its redemption. when i was young i would drag home any animal i could reach and my mom would let me keep them(not pets but strays) they never had vet care and they wear always skinny and im sure they lived with worms there whole lives to think back on it now im disgusted with myself so now i try and give back and help twice as many cats and dogs as i hurt as a child. i know i know it was my mothers responsibility but i feel no less guilty about it

and its a fun thing for me to do with the kids(full custody of brother and sister) it make them feel like a part of there community and we really have fun taming wild cats finding the toy or treat that will make them love us. it brings us closer together

[Lizzie07]

It is fantastic there are people like you who are willing to put in the time, effort and inconvienence to care for cats like this. I am sure the only reason the shelter did what they did was out of desperation. If the shelters in OH are anything like GA, they are probably overwhelmed right now. They probably hoped the kittens would have a chance if the cat went to you.

I had no idea that Fedex shipped animals like that! I am frankly shocked. How far away is the shelter and how long was this cat in transport? I'm just blown away that this is the first I've ever heard of doing that.

Also, if the cat is declawed, does that mean she was someone's pet that was turned out and she became feral? That is so sad.

[misslissa]

Originally Posted by Lizzie07

It is fantastic there are people like you who are willing to put in the time, effort and inconvienence to care for cats like this. I am sure the only reason the shelter did what they did was out of desperation. If the shelters in OH are anything like GA, they are probably overwhelmed right now. They probably hoped the kittens would have a chance if the cat went to you.

I had no idea that Fedex shipped animals like that! I am frankly shocked. How far away is the shelter and how long was this cat in transport? I'm just blown away that this is the first I've ever heard of doing that.

Also, if the cat is declawed, does that mean she was someone's pet that was turned out and she became feral? That is so sad.

The cat was shipped UPS,FedEx will only ship small animals like the gecko(30 grams) who got hear in one piece by the way.i only said that to explain why my 16 year old did not think it odd. yes, our shelters get desperate but i really dont agree with what they had done i would have drove down to get her she was about 3 1/2 hours away and they shipped her same day shipping.

yes she is completely declawed(front and back) this dose mean some one declawed her and the released her into the wild why they did not have her fixed we can only guess. but she is doing well even the kitten with the contracted tendon is doing well.