The Value and Importance of Adopting Rescue Cats - Part 2

Sasha's story:

Sasha, rescued in the street from an on-rushing car

'Here is Sasha. He just loves everyone. He is 2 years old now, neutered and has all his shots up to-date. I call him my Christmas Surprise because I was on my way downtown 2 years ago when I heard a kitten screaming just ahead of me. To my horror I saw this tiny kitten, no more than 5 weeks old, in the middle of the street just as a car drove right over him. I quickly ran over to this terrified little kitten thinking that I better rush him to the vet when he gazed up at me with those big saucer eyes and seemed to say: I’m lost, please take me home?

As I looked him over to make sure he was ok I realized I had something of a problem. I already had Xena and I wasn’t looking to get another cat. But then again, Xena was just turning one year old at the time and she did seem quite lonely when I had to go out. There was no one in sight and it was getting dark and very cold. I had a choice to make. My heart wouldn’t let me just toss this helpless kitten aside in a snow bank where he would freeze to death or land back on the road and get squashed by a car for sure or a dog may get a hold of him or someone may find him and be cruel.

But as I was holding this tiny kitten in my arms he started to purr and crawl inside my coat where it was warm. Suddenly it came to me that it was Christmas Eve!! All my life, growing up as a child, I had always wished for my very own kitten in a basket with a big red bow, just for me! Never got it. I realized then that if I had not gone downtown that night, I would have never found this kitten and the outcome for Sasha would have terrible – he would not have survived and would have died a hideous death. But I brought him home and in a few days Xena accepted him and now they have bonded.

But all I can say is: an Angel must have been watching over this tiny, helpless kitten that night and brought me there to save him and bring him home on Christmas Eve --- of all nights! Sasha found a home that night.

Hey, who says: miracles never happen and a child’s wish was fulfilled!'

Next is Maya's story

Catspaw

 

The Value and Importance of Adopting Rescue Cats Part One

I received an email from my cousin in Ontario, Canada and she has given her permission to share an important issue with you; Here is the first of her three stories:

'I thought I’d share a story with you about my cats. You can post this on you blog if you wish. Maybe this story will make someone think twice before they abandon that kitten or any animal and at least bring the animal to an Animal Shelter where it has a chance to survive and find a good home.'

I HAVE THREE BEAUTIFUL ‘RESCUE’ CATS

XENA: My Sweetheart

When I adopted her, I was told that someone had found a box of 4 kittens in the bush and brought them to the Shelter. The kittens went into foster care because they were so young and when they were old enough to be adopted, they landed back at the Humane Society.

I adopted Xena from the Humane Society in 2010 when she was just 6 weeks old. She is 3 years old now, spayed and has all her shots up - to date.

She is such a sweetheart who is so quiet, your lucky if you get a peep out of her throughout the day. She is very good natured. I am not sorry I adopted her.

Adopted from a Humane Society in 2010

Xena is not unlike the strays, throw-aways and colony cats here on the diary that I have rescued and re-homed. Tomorrow's story is about Sasha.

Catspaw  

Do You Have Feral Cats Where You Live?

Believe it or not, cats are not native to all parts of the world and in many parts of the world, feral cats are the descendants of domestic cats that have been left behind or simply abandoned by travelers and visitors to a particular country. As a result, these feral cats can and probably do cause harm to foreign environments by preying on local species in the same way as they do in our back yards. This may be especially true on isolated islands where ferals have sometimes had a substantial and deleterious effect on the local fauna such as damaging trees and other plants that the native species use.

A clowder of feral cats and kittens

"Feral" is the word we use to refer to an animal that is not friendly when approached by us but it can also be applied to any domesticated animal that has been without human contact for anywhere from a long period of time to its lifetime. Hissing and growling are their self-defensive behaviors which, over time may change as the animal, whether "feral" or "stray", begins their journey towards a mutual trust between the humans that choose to provide food, water and care and the feral cat(s). 


Feral cats and strays differ only slightly in their behaviors especially if the stray cat has not been completely cut off from human interaction. Feral cats, born and living outdoors without any contact or care by people have been tamed to the point of being adoptable provided they are completely removed from their wild environment before their truly feral behaviors have been established and set into their personalities. Such behaviors are set while the kittens are still being raised by their mother as she teaches them to avoid human contact and that people are something to fear.

Feral cats display defensive behaviors and postures towards any person who ventures to come too close to them, then they run and hide.

Feral kitten eating a rabbit

Lifespans of ferals are difficult to determine with any kind of accuracy. One study states a median age of 4.7 years with a possible range somewhere between 0 to 8.3 years; yet other sources claim a mean lifespan of a meager 2 to 8 years before death, rarely from natural causes. For contrast a people raised cat, at birth, has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years for a male indoor cat with females living usually, a year maybe two longer. Some domesticated cats have lived until the grand old age of 25 years being well cared for by their human companions.

Ferals take their toll on native Australian Cockatoos

Throughout the Age of Discovery passing ships released a few rabbits onto islands with the idea of a future food source for other travelers that stopped there. Very generous but ill conceived as over time they multiplied out of control by eating through their habitats so cats were introduced to keep their numbers down along with the mice and rats. The cats tended to favor local species over the rabbits; they were both ecologically naive to the islands and much easier to hunt. Then their numbers began to increase dramatically and they colonized the islands themselves; the very people who introduced both rabbit and cat saw them as pests to be exterminated. A completely human caused problem with the animals losing on all sides! Do we not have the sense not to create situations like this? Or to resolve them without the usual cruelty that we inflict.


Our historical records date the arrival of ferals in Australia to be somewhere around 1824. In spite of this its been suggested that they have been in Australia long before the Europeans settled it; they may have arrived as a result of Dutch shipwrecks back in the 17 hundreds or years before that arriving from present day Indonesia on Macassan fisher ships and trepangers who frequented Australia's shores during the past century. However they arrived, anywhere in the world, feral cats have not lead a charmed life. Rather, its been a very difficult life with nothing but hardships and unkindness from their environments and, most often from human contact. 

They deserve better and its up to us, who claim we care, to rescue and tame them, to provide medical care and a safe home for these 'lost' cats to live out what is left of their lives in relative safety and comfort. Even the wildest feral can be tamed with enough time and commitment - I have managed, these years since, to tame a few; some of the barn cats on the farms and diaries I have lived on had feral cats that eventually came around to my gentle care of them. I have even managed to find homes for a few that finally realized they could have the life of a domesticated cat. Its worth pondering on the next time you see a cat in need, whether a feral, a stray or just lost and frightened. Remember, the responsibility is yours.

This feral won't go hungry today but what about tomorrow?

Catspaw

!!! Scaredy Cat !!!

So far today ~ its only 9:23 am ~ I haven't heard anything but I thought I'd post anyway. 

The computer I'm using has very little ram so I can't download my Picture program or the pics I have on my camera but I can tell you about this one silly barn cat.

Black cat on fence post

This is not Scaredy! This cat looks far too sure of himself.

We call him Scaredy and for good reason. He's a black, half wild and half wanting to be babied barn cat who, the first time I had him in, freaked when I closed the door and went on a rampage running pellmell from living room window to patio door smashing his nose into a bloody pulp in the process as panic set in. He's quite recovered now, I'm happy to say and comes in only if I drag him in, then he's happy to be in. Right now he's sitting on the top part of the sofa where Sassy usually is ~ the second I move from my chair at the computer he's down and running toward me. He'll stay put as long as I don't move! 

I think he's been picked on by the other barn cats since he was a kitten because he's scared of them and my cats and very insecure about being round them if I'm not close by, but he has improved in that since I've been having him in. Used to be all he'd do is hide under the couch and never budge to come out, now he's on the sofa in plain view so he's improved that way. 

Handsome Cat!

On miserable weather days I have the barn cats in, those who want in, like today. He does have one sibling, a brother who is kind to him so he isn't completely bereft of friends. Emerald is doing her bit to keep the barn cats in line and reminding them just who's house this Really is! Her growing can be heard behind every stick of furniture I own!! 






Here is to getting that bloody computer back a second time and having it work for the rest of the year!

Catspaw

~~ GRRREAT NEWS on the Stray Homefront ~~ You Heard It Here First!

Something remarkable happened over the weekend!


Cat Action saw my Ad on Kijiji. Cat Action PEI has offered to take the remaining kittens; spay them, give them their shots and tats, then foster them until someone wants to adopt them. This is BIG NEWS ~~!!


I have had only three emails showing interest in them and have only heard from these people the one time. No one has called to come see them or shown any more interest than the emails. I realize these people might well be interested in adopting them but I still have heard no word from them.

In light of this Grand News and as of 1 pm today, the kittens ~ whom I now call Mutt and Jeff ~ will be in the hands of Cat Action! I will miss the little tikes. They've attached themselves to me and follow me around the house like puppies now. They can be sleeping soundly on their favorite chair but the minute I move from the computer, they are up and following me wherever I go. Should I sit on the sofa, they are up and into my lap, curl up and go to sleep with me petting them. In the mornings, they are up on the bed to greet us. Something our four are decidedly against as that coveted spot belongs exclusively to THEM! 

Going to Cat Action Today at 1 pm

Say Goodbye to them here! 

Today they go to a better place where they will be given more care than just the food and shelter I can provide. 

Merrill and I are very happy things have worked out this way. I will keep the Kijiji Ad up until Cat Action comes to collect them at 1 pm today, then I will change it to reflect what has happened and where people interested in adopting them can find them.

The one underneath found a home March 31st

Thanks for your comments, emails and phone calls regarding the kittens. 


Catspaw

Stray Cat Strut ~ Again.

The little dark tabby kitten who came in on the 29th out of hunger and desperation.

I posted an ad on Kijiji for the kittens; 174 visits and one call came so far. Not everyone is looking for kittens! My hubby found a third kitten in the barn hayloft very early this morning and brought her to me. She is light grey like the other. I should mention here that these are no ordinary cats. They have unusually long legs and very large ears. In fact they almost look part jack-rabbit. They are not deformed in any way and look perfectly normal for cats but they are quite unusual. So much so, that I am having difficulty finding a breed like them on the web and both my husband and I have searched. I am going  to edit my Kijiji ad and add this information into it. 

The sibling the dark tabby brought over yesterday. She is not ready to trust people so easily and runs for shelter whenever I move.

They have successfully survived the winter but only just without human intervention. Even the colony cats have to be fed in winter as there is no prey for them to hunt. They are just beginning to come around and trust me but their hesitancy shows they've been hurt and abused. The barn cats, in staking their own territories out, do not want them around and although there is food for the colony cats, they don't share it with these strays. So these three have suffered abuse from there as well. The fact that I can 'feel' their rib cages, back bone and tail bone testifies to that. 

These kittens need homes and they need them now. If you live on Prince Edward Island, Canada and are interested in them, Please contact me by leaving a comment in the box and I will get right back to you. 

Updated today. The grey kitten on the far right is the sibling my husband brought in this morning. She was hidden in the barn hay loft for warmth. He had to crawl in to get her. All three are pictured here.

Don't let their fur fool you, they are skin and bones. Please take a look at my Kijiji Ad using the ID # 367392593.


Catspaw

PS: Merrill just told me the only reason she was found in the hayloft is because she was crying so loudly! Her siblings were gone and she was alone. If they have been eating anything, its to sneak down from the loft and eat barley that that they find on the floor of the barn.

Stray Cat Strut ~ Again.

Two skin and bone females have been discarded at the dairy or they have found their own way here. This one came in without hesitation yesterday evening so hungry she could barely eat! She could not decide what she wanted more, food or affection and I couldn't give her enough of both. 


My cats were not at all pleased to have her in 'their' house but they know its what happens around here and if they misbehave, outside they go to cool their paws for awhile. 

This morning there were two! The dark kitten brought her sibling, another female, light grey in color. In this pic, she got the flash in her eyes. Both are half starved and very wanting for affection and attention. Either they've been on their own for awhile or their former owners threw them out, denying even their basic needs of food and shelter and they have not been able to find another kind caregiver since. I can feel every bone in their little bodies, they are so thin!


If there is anyone out their interested in giving these two a home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, where I live, I'm posting an ad on Kijiji for them.


Catspaw

A Cat's Prayer

I am very sensitive to animals and I never have really understood the reason until today. Everything the Lord made in creation reflects His honor but because we don't recognize God in our lives we don't see His hand in creation. When we dishonor animals and creation we dishonor, not only our Creator and Savior but ourselves. When we debase any part of the earth, we debase ourselves. However there are some pockets of God's creation, like animals because of their innocence, that remain untarnished by us and its these that some of us are sensitive to.

The growing mind, filled with the love of Jesus, searches creation for the message: God the Creator be praised!  Because of our spiritual and natural gifts each of us is able to see and hear them in particular areas more than in others. For me, its animals. And we are enabled to take this creation material and identify it, shape it, reconfigure it or in other ways use it so that God is further glorified. The carpenter works with wood; the physician listens to the body; the musician shapes sounds; the educator trains youth; the researcher analyzes, innovates and implements with the elements of the universe. We develop our minds for these tasks and rejoice as we do them for all that God is revealing to us out of His loving and forgiving heart.

What is your toughest decision today?  Pray over it and search God's word for advice. Its there for the accepting.

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle

Here is the story I've just started working on... As promised, I will post a part of it every day to every other day so come back again to read the next exploit in the adventure that Sailor undertakes in his journey to uncover the mystery of the ruined castle.

Chapter One

Sailor hesitated at the edge of the enclosed lake, from this vantage point he could see what he'd journeyed here for. The old dilapidated white fence was still leaning against some trees on the other side; it would be a small matter to attain the castle side of the briny, he just had to travel from rock to rock all the way around. It was late autumn and nature was browning up before winter struck, but there were still some trees with green left on them. The sun was so warm and soft as it illuminated the ruins of the baked and brown castle that Sailor felt himself starting to doze. But No! He shook himself awake, he had to ford the lagoon and reach the monument by nightfall at the very latest, everything depended on it now. 

Can you find the white fence?

 

Catspaw

Barn Cats And a Yellow Lab

I might have told you this before but we live on a small dairy that is also a registered cat colony and there is one dog, a yellow lab who also calls it home. Its not immediately obvious that its a cat colony because most of the cats wander across the road into the bush and the dairy itself is fairly large. Many of the cats have been spayed and neutered but there are a few who refuse to be caught, so every spring a certain amount of kittens are to be expected. For those females who will allow it, the owner's wife takes care of her and the litter but there are some that are feral and are content, it seems, to remain that way. Its a job to even find the little ones when they are of age to be fixed and traps have to be set for them as they are not all people-friendly.

One of Rory's buddies

The barn cats follow him everywhere

Rory, the yellow lab doesn't like anyone to notice the fact that he likes the cats. They are always around his feet and follow him wherever he goes. He gets very embarrassed when its he's being watched with his little buddies. Its funny to watch him almost trip over them when the larger kittens are walking in and through his legs because he's so careful not to step on them. 


Rory is a big lovable mooch but he's also terrified of thunder and will mow you down if you're in the room with him; strangely, he won't hurt the cats.


Catspaw