Proof!

I spoke with a few people yesterday that went to check out the house that the cat is trapped in, one being the supervisor at Animal Control, another a city cop who I just love to pieces, big animal lover.  Both went and heard nothing.  I've heard that cat the past two mornings when I am there at 5:45 am., as I heard it again this morning.  These two folks - well, its not that they don't believe me, but its hard to fight for something when you aren't sure of the circumstances, which I can't blame them, but with me hearing the cat, and knowing that there is no one living there, I have to think the worse!  Anyways, here is my proof - I was able to get a picture of the kitty in the window, apparently its gone from the attic to the main floor.

My cop friend phoned me this morning and we are trying to reach the owner, as listed, of the property.  Hopefully she can go to the address listed, and find out if the owner is going there to feed this cat or not.  Not even sure if the owner lives at the address we have.  If I weren't in Newark today, I would be at this listed address, and trying to find out from neighbors if no one was there, if this person lives there.  We need to start somewhere as legally, if the authorities think the cat is being fed, then no one will do anything.  But we need proof, or I need proof.   If this cat HAS NOT eaten in days, I will be sick. 

The other news:   A very, very kind human being in my circle - Julie who runs Another Chance Pet Rescue stepped up to the plate yesterday and offered to take the very very pregnant kitty.  Her group is very familiar with birthing cats, and have had a great success at getting the kittens adopted out when ready, at Petco.   I know I push my limits, and I am forever grateful to her for this offer.  I pulled up to the location this morning ready to grab this sweetheart, but lo and behold, she was not amongst the other four cats that did show.  I thought to myself that I would carry on, go to the other 12 spots, and swing back on my way home.  I did, and voila!  She was there when I returned.  I gently grabbed her by the scruff and brought her to my waiting car and plopped her big fat belly into the carrier.  She is in my 'custody' now, but will hopefully go to Julie's soon.  Turns out she is a very very sweet young girl.  Loud purring after the initial fright.  Here she is in the carrier:

Let me say one last thing.  How can people live with themselves in this neighborhood knowing that this cat is walking around outside ready to give birth to perhaps three - six kittens out in the elements.  HOW?  There are so many cats there.  I need help in trapping and neutering in returning these poor animals before they reproduce again.  So, this is a good good thing, and I am happy to leave this post today on a happy note!  I will continue to find out about this cat that is abandoned on Hayward.  Will let you know!  Also, took so many more pictures this morning, but leaving you with a picture of Jackson, who is the kitty that sits on my chest in my heated car each morning before I have to let him back out.  He needs a home!

 

I Get So Emotional Baby....

I was never a big Whitney fan, but thats my favorite, and it does get me emotional when I hear it, and I felt this way this morning.  I went through a range of emotions, anyone would with what I see.  Not only did I see a new VERY pregnant cat, that let me feel her belly, but I had nothing to transport her in, nor no where to take her except where I am going to have to bring her tomorrow if I have no other choice, the shelter.  I will NOT let her have her babies on the street.  And I cannot think of anyone else who will take her.  Not even the rescue groups will help me.  They tell me they are inundated.  So, I go from that, to the next street where little girl Muffin, who has something baking in her oven, is, and by the way, the clinic cannot see her for a month, and that will be too late, and then I am off to the house where the cat is trapped.  I got a call from Ron around 11:00 am. yesterday, an officer with the Animal Control Services, who said he would go there, and all he could do is leave a note for the tenant - who doesn't even live there anymore - and after 24 hours, he would call the Humane Society, who tells you that it could be between 48-72 hours before they get a chance to respond.  Of course, the cat will be dead of starvation by then.  Anyway, the cat was crying faintly this morning, again, and I walked around the house, shined my flashlight in the windows, and called 911.  I will continue to do what I have to do to help this poor animal. 

If anyone knows of anyone who can help out with any of these situations, these suffering animals would be most appreciative!

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.

911

Yes, after a few months of giving them a break from me, I had to call again this morning.  As I was leaving my fourth spot, and just before I was getting into my car I heard a faint meowing....  I am really glad I checked it out.  I got closer to the sound, and looked up into the third story window of the house next door, shined my light and there was kitties eyes illuminating in the window.  Poor thing.  I shined my light inside the windows - the house sits upwards on a hill, so couldn't see at eye level, but I could see the house was empty.  Damn people.  They left their cat when they moved out.  How cruel.  I gave my usual name and number and asked for a call back but doubt I will get that so I will be following up until I get an answer today.  I will call so many times they will have to come arrest me.  ha.

Another situation on hand.  , the little girl kitten I named Muffin, not much older than six or seven months, I suspect she is pregant.  I will be calling Habitat for Cats today to ask for an appointment at their clinic for her, and pray I can get someone to transport her as this is the difficult part for me to do with my very busy full-time job.

As  I mentioned in my Saturday post, I have not seen either sick kitty in days, so there is no news there.  Jackson and Jimmy await me each morning and beg me, in their feline way, to take them home and out of their misery. 

The good news:  Its Monday, and its a weatherless day, and all 13 locations that I feed in - all the kitties have full bellies. 

This is a picture of Jimmy, one of the sweet kitties that runs to me in the morning before I can even get out of the car.  Sweet boy.

I must tell you about the fundraiser I attended yesterday, when I have more time this week.  Wonderful people!  But so lucky as they are all part of groups, whereas  I do what I do all by my lonesome.  Will report more tomorrow!  Have a GREAT day!

Snowy Saturday

Yes, when you are all in your snuggly warm beds this morning at 5 am., the winds were howling something fierce outside, and the snow was pelting.  It was not a good night for the kitties out there.  I made the best I could for them this morning, but it will be a miserable day for them.  The snow is just coming down, and the wind is still whipping.  I did not see either sick kitty, the severe one, nor the one that is getting close to severe, but very sweet.  I was going to pick up pills from someone who offered them to try to give to these cats yesterday but my day got away from me, so I wound up searching in my cabinet and found some old pills and pocketed them, hoping to give one or two the the sweet sick one, but he wasn't there.  I have to tell you about that certain spot also.  I have mentioned about a nutty person that must go there during the day and rearranges things, and leaves crazy food and containers.  Seems to have a good heart!, but you can tell there are some apples missing from the basket!  Well, I had a door as a lean to on this porch and under it I placed straw, and put a carrier at one end of it with towels and blankets to protect it.  Recently, the door has been moved to different spots, and sometimes thrown into the yard.  Each time I would set the porch up again the way it originally was - I know the cats were using it.  I knew their security was being disrupted each time this person did this, but I couldn't stop it.  Finally, earlier this week, the person did it.  He/She finally broke the door in half and it was strewn in the yard.  Well, the next day, I left a note on the back of a paper plate stating something like "You won - did that make you feel better?  You took the only warm shelter these cats had and broke it - I am sure God is proud of you" - something like that.  Well, do you know, the next day, half of that door was placed over the straw against the house.  Somehow, I got to this person.   I am still in shock, but I feel better knowing that this person actually has a conscience!

I wanted to say one more thing, and then I am going to go read my cooking magazine that just came in the mail, and relax.  I wanted to say that there may be some folks who would like to see me try to pill the very sick kitty rather than have it euthanized.  Here is my take:  This cat, is very very ill - It would take many days of treatment to make it well.  Due to the chances of this cat getting the treatment, and the severity of its illness, if I were to ask this cat what would it choose, life on the streets where it has to struggle and suffer every day to make it on these very dangerous and miserable streets as a very sick cat, even a healthy one, or to have it life end in a humane way, without suffering, I am sure this cat would chose the latter.  I don't do euthanasia on a whim.  I know when its right and when its wrong, and I've done both, and I feel this time its right.   Show me the person who can take this cat in and make it well, and then I have a choice.

TGIF... For Sure...

It was a very long week - it just dragged, didn't it?  I have the day off, thank the Lord!  I need these three day weekends to regroup.  I get all my cleaning done today, grocery shopping, and then I can really enjoy the two day weekend after that!

No sign of the very sick kitty out there, but there sure are a lot of other ones!  I can hear their labored breathing, but none as bad as the very sick one, except for one.  At one of my spots, where the crazy person goes during the day, there is a very sweet kitty with snot coming out of its nose.  Its getting very sick, and I am sick over it.  This cat would easily go into my carrier if I placed it there, but its got no where to go.  I will not go into why I can't take another cat into my home, but please know if I could, I would.  And some might say, why can't you try to pill the cat yourself?  Well, if I had the meds, and if I were able to do that the first time, the cat would be so spooked it would be frightened of me for some time.  Its happened before.  If I put the pill in the food, it might work, but I need the meds.  But remember, these cats are going downhill quickly too.  He is sicker each day. 

I wish someone could help me and take in a sweet sick kitty - and that includes Jackson, who was waiting for me again as always.  Its so hard for me to leave these guys in the morning after I feed them.  Its just so hard. 

I am going to a fundraiser on Sunday with my friend Kristin.  There should be a lot of different groups, some that do what I do but have help by others, which I don't.  I am on my own.  I hope I am able to connect with someone that can help me.

I will post if something good happens this weekend, otherwise, have yourself a good one!

PS, attached pic is one of the kitties I feed - Jimmy.  He has a collar, but a lot of these strays do.  He is definitely a stray, lives under a porch on Third.

Spread the Love

Goodmorning. I have seconds this morning as I have to drive an hour to Newark for work.  No fun.  No sign of very sick kitty this morning.  I tried, with one hand holding the carrier, and the other the food.  I have no idea where he is.  When I first go back behind the house and close to the board, I listen for his breathing, which you can definitely hear.  And then I shine my flashlight under the board to see him, and he is usually sitting there.  I wonder if cats can die from this, and I wonder if he has.  I pray for him each day that he is not suffering. 

The other cat that I have to feed near the street when I first get there so that he doesn't disturb my trapping of sick kitty behind the house I've named Jackson.  He just looks like a Jackson.  This morning Jackson, as I got into my car very disappointed once again, followed me and climbed right in.  He always stands on my chest as I am sitting there with the car running, luxuriating in the warmth and loving the heavy petting!  :)  Its a crime I have to leave cats like this.  I beg of each and every one of you to spread the word, to your friends, and then their friends, and the friends of their friends, and the friends of the friends of their friends - ok, I know....  but you get my drift.  Please spread the word far and wide about adopting a cat.  They don't deserve to live in outdoor conditions that they are barely surviving in now.  They are throwaway cats by ignorant people, and they need loving homes.  Spread the word.

To Feed Or Not To Feed - That Is The Question

First, I had help this morning to try to trap the very sick kitty. We were both at opposite ends of the board, with the trap stuck in one end, and me at the other, and the gaps secured so the kitty couldn’t escape. Well, as I went to open the board and shoe the cat toward the trap, the cat was not there! Of all days, when I have the help, the cat was not there. I don’t know where the poor baby went, but I will try again this Saturday when I have help again. I will try again tomorrow, by myself, who am I kidding. The suffering of an animal is something I cannot handle – I will keep trying. I will keep you posted.

On the subject of people who think its wrong of me to keep feeding homeless animals and not having them spayed or neutered, let me give you a few facts. Unfortunately, unwanted animals are a part of our society. They are the kittens that were dumped because they grew up, started being inconvenient and stopped being cute; and the cats that were too expensive (difficult, annoying, problematic) to move when their owners did and were, therefore, abandoned.

I can tell you that they way these cats live, especially in this area that has harsh winters, its inhumane. If people don't feed them, they are gaunt and starving. They get killed by cars and dogs. Diseases run rampant. They are better off euthanized peacefully than left to live on the streets, freezing and starving.

The answer, of course, is yes, you should feed strays. Since cats became domesticated they are no longer wild animals that can fend for themselves outside. They don't survive very well outdoors on their own without human intervention.

I have had many many many cats neutered. Most of these cost me from my own pocket. Many were discounted, and many I paid full price for. The majority of those I found homes for because I couldn’t bear to put them back on the streets. And the others I have had to put back on the streets, and it was heartbreaking each time. I won’t get into all the specifics trying to defend why I can’t spay or neuter all of these cats I feed, but I can tell you there aren’t enough people like me out there trying to make a difference. I need help in many ways, some friends would say mentally - ha ha, but for those that criticize me, step into my shoes for one day and you will see the difficulty I have in even getting out there to feed the 40+ cats I do each morning in all weather conditions, let alone trapping them, bringing them to one of two clinics we have for spaying – one open only one day a week and cat must be there at 8 am. and picked up at 2 pm., the other is once a month, and you are on a waiting list, and both a distance to drive. And I have a full time job.

The best that stray cats can usually do is to eat from garbage cans. Every now and then they may find a mouse to eat, but in general most stray cats are starving. Especially during the winter.

A lot of people are reluctant to feed strays for several different reasons. One of these is the idea that strays will breed out of control if you feed them. The truth is that strays can breed out of control whether or not they are fed. Not feeding stray cats will NOT reduce the stray population. Even very hungry cats can still breed and then they will produce starving and unhappy little kittens.

Also, remember that it isn't the cat's fault that he or she is a stray. Often strays are cats that have been abandoned by their owners for some reason. Other times, the strays are born outdoors to other stray cats. In any case, it isn't the cat's fault that they have no home. Also, cats are intelligent animals with feelings and individual personalities and it is cruel to let them go hungry.

So, I guess my point is, don’t criticize those that feed cats. Do something to make a difference in your own neighborhood, or help someone else in theirs. Lend a hand to help.

Help

I tried again to trap the kitty with the serious upper respiratory infection.   The kitty stays under a board against the back of a (lived in - and permission given to feed there) house on a warm blanket.  The past two mornings I've placed the trap at one end of the board, and go to the other side and with my foot coax the cat to move to the end with the trap.  He was almost in it this morning but jumped through the gap that was open next to the trap.  I need another body to help me.  This is very upsetting to me each time.  Saturday morning, I actually cried on my way home.  I don't often let this get to me, but this cat is really getting to me.  I've seen a lot of severely injured cats - where they've been hit and their eyeball is out of its socket, or bitten by something where they have a huge bloody wound on the neck, or been in a big fight with some other animal, but never one like this just plain sick, not able to breathe well.  Its really getting to me.   I have a hard time asking for help, but if anyone knows anyone that might be willing to get up and help me at 6 am., it would be awesome.  Thats the time I arrive at this spot.  I have to be at work one and half hour later, so its a fast situation.  Of course, I would have to drive the cat to the emergency hospital for euthanization, which is another sad situation in itself, but one that I know is the right thing, rather than just turning my back on this cat and leaving it to suffer.

There was a news report about dogs being euthanized here in Rochester because there are so many unwanted and abused and neglected ones out there, and they are being brought to shelters.   And here we have puppy mills happening in our country.  Its sickening.  I hope people get involved at the very least by never buying from pet shops, and never buying from a breeder.  If you want a purebred, go to the rescue shelters, you will find them there, and for the price of getting them spayed, you will save yourself a lot of money.

Tomorrow I want to address what someone mentioned to me the other day that someone mentioned to her about me =  Why is she feeding these animals when all she is doing is helping them to reproduce?  Can't WAITto get into THAT!  HAVE A NICE DAY!  :)

Choices

This is something I don't have the luxury of having  --  There are some terribly sick cats out there, and there is no one offering to take them in and care for them since Nancy, my Webster angel, did a month or so ago with five of them.  Bless her heart.  I have spent the past four morning trying by myself to trap a very very sick kitty at one of my spots.  He has severely labored breathing, yet is waiting each morning for me under the board, on top of a warm blanket.  He won't let me come too near him.  I placed the trap just under the board so he basically couldn't get out one side, and I had a freshly opened can of tuna inside to lure him, but I then remembered that he probably cannot smell the tuna due to his severe congestion.  I left and came back just before I finished my rounds.  I wonder if cats can die of suffocation when filled with their own mucous (sp?).  I am going to try placing the trap down again tomorrow, and going towards him from the other side to force him in - pray that works.  If I am successful, he will then go to the only choice I have - the emergency hospital for euthanization.  I have no money to care for him, nor do I have a place for him to heal.  Very sad that thats the only choice I have - Rochester is such a small city - we don't have enough people to care and love and foster animals.  I have had Another Chance Rescue group help me in the past but I believe their foster people are filled to capacity.   I've been on my own rescuing cats now for close to a year, and have four in my house that need adopting too.  Its just too much. 

We have an epidemic out there folks.  For each spot I go to, I hear a labored breathing.  None as bad as this poor angel I've been trying to trap, but its getting worse at each location.  I'm praying for a miracle.

Nutty Friday

My morning was crazy.  I wound up sleeping past my alarm - til 5 am., which I never do.   I scrambled around to make it out the door to feed the kitties at 5:20 (five minutes late - I am so rigid!) - of course, teeth brushed, make up on, and hair swept up looking decent.  I will never be accused of keeping a man waiting!

My plan was to try to trap the very sick kitty this morning, so armed with my trusty smelly tuna, I quickly did the first half of my route and went on ahead to Second where the sick kitty was.  I knew this would be tough because there is a cat that lives under a porch there that was dumped, obviously, due to its sweet nature, and starving each day, and quickly runs to me, and I knew this cat had a good chance of going into the trap.  But I placed food down for him, and then I heard my name called.  It was Kenny G., the dude I met a year or so ago on the streets, breath always smelling of alcohol, riding his bicyle.  Kenny used to be married to a doctor, had a son that was shot a few years ago, and obviously something took effect and he because sort of a homeless alcoholic.  He has a good heart.  I took him home and made him breakfast once, and gave a him a good warm coat (and a beer).  He will NEVER forget that.  He gets tears in his eyes when he sees me, and thanks me over and over again and tells me what a good person I am.  He says he brags about me to all his friends, and will defend my safety to the end.  Wish I had him as a bodyguard, but thats another story.  Anyways, here I am running late to begin with, and he is scaring the kitties by being there - they are used to just me and the quietness of my visit.  I talked to Kenny for a few minutes, and then went to the back area and there was the kitty, under the board/shelter, breathing erractically and wet all over his nose area.  I ran for the trap, set it on the driveway, prayed the cat would come to it, went on my way to finish my route, and came back.  The wrong kitty was in the trap, and as I watched, the cat got out the trap!  I have a very bad trap.  Anyways, I was running late to begin with so I had to leave.  The poor animal.  I will try again tomorrow, although this trap I have is not very good.  I will have to try to figure something out.

Grave Matters

I am beginning to feel like no one is reading my blog anymore, I never get comments ---  I hope someone is!  Although if no one is, writing each day is cathartic for me.  Plus, its a sort of journal for me to keep track of all the cats I've rescued.  I still wish I had enough money to buy a decent camera to take pictures of what I see - last time I took my camera I couldn't figure out the flash - my cheap Kodak camera by the way.  I don't have money for squat these days, nor any day.  I spend so much money feeding these cats, caring for them, washing, drying, my washer and dryer is shot.  I've got to get a break someday, soon I hope.

The grave matter I was referring to is a cat that I just discovered yesterday on my second to last stop in the morning.  From this spot I have rescued MANY cats, and have had a few neutered and returned too.  Just recently Nancy took in two kitties we trapped that had upper respiratory infections, and are doing fine now.  I am hoping she will send me some good pictures of them soon.   Anyway, there is a cat that there is very very sick.  You can hear this cat's labored breathing a mile a way, as he came close to gobble the food I placed down I noticed wetness all around its nose area.  Now I want to get this cat and relieve it from its suffering.  I would have to take it to the shelter here in Rochester, where it would surely be put down.  But I would do this in a heartbeat to relieve the suffering of an animal.  Its a frightened cat, not sure if I could call it a stray or a semi-feral.  But I would have to trap too many others before I get this one.  Or at least I think thats how it would work.  There is a very sweet stray there that got in my car the other morning begging me to take it home.  Crawled all over me while sitting there in the car.  He/she would be the first one to get in the trap.  And after seeing that cat in the trap, all the other would be frightened.  So there goes one day.  To my critics for not trying to trap more, keep in mind I have just so much time each morning before I have to get ready for work.  Work is vital.  I have to have a paycheck to feed these cats.  I am just sick over this situation.  I wish I had help.  This cat is also infecting the others, I know.  Please pray for this cat.

Wanted: A Forever Home

Happy Valentines Day!

All my little babies are dry, snug and fed.  It was a mild morning, the towels I layed down yesterday were dry, and the crazy person did not disturb one of my spots that I find in a disarray every other morning just about.  This is an abandoned house - or boarded up I should say - on a very busy corner in the hood, near the public market.  You would think daytime activity would be noticed, or you wouldn't want to be noticed, but this crazy person leaves crockpots with crazy food stuff in it, platters of crazy stuff - I use the word crazy because the food is indistinguishable!

Anyways, I did take a lot of pictures, but some just turned out hard to really see whats going on, and what the shelters look like.  I share a few here.

I mentioned the shelter I had to take Emma to on Saturday in Buffalo.  I was just overwhelmed by the sense of goodness I felt when I walked in the doors. And it didn't smell!   There were different rooms for each type of kitty.  There was a room just for FIV kitties, and a GP room (general population), and a room for recovering sick kitties, and the room that newbies are brought to for observation before they are placed.  Also, there is a room for kitties on their way to the stores for adoption!  This place is awesome, and its something we lack here in Rochester.  AND they adopt out so much that they do accept kitties most of the time.  Its WONDERFUL.  As usual, running out of time, but I do want to share more about this place with you, and my vision of what we could have in Rochester if only we had the funding for it.  A lot of cat lovers would be very relieved to know that these beautiful strays on the streets now would have a forever home.   We just need to pull together for this one common goal.  Have a great day!

Broken...

hearted...  thats the way I've felt all weekend.  We had over a foot of snow Saturday and Sunday.  I personally love the snow, I love to drive in it - especially before the plows are out in the morning, I love to shovel it, and I love to play in it, but for the cats, thats another story.  I see these poor creatures come out of some pretty rough spots trying to stay warm and dry - the locations where I don't have a shelter, or an ideal one - which is few to begin with - some of the snow is higher than the cats, so they have to try to navigate through it, and when they get to where they are going, the food that was left there is now covered deep with it.  I got a lot of towels over the two days that were snow covered and wet and frozen, and layed a lot of dry ones down.  I shouldn't complain because its been a very mild winter, but days like these, where I am sure these cats are overstressed, and my toes are frozen after the first half hour of being out in the temperatures in the teens and 20s.

I asked someone to rate me on positivity the other day, they said they would give me about a 7 or 8 being on a scale of 1 as negative and 10 as positive - they said I didn't get a 10 due to my sadness when its bad out weatherwise.  Otherwise, I do consider my self a very happy and positive person.  I have hope for the future.

I also visited a shelter in Buffalo this weekend - yes, I had to take Emma (Cynthia now as she was named by the neighbors who cared for her while we tried to find her home) there due to no response from anyone to take her.  No one claimed this little homeless stray.  The shelter is a no-kill shelter and after I left, I realized this place was what I dream of for myself.  I will tell you about it in my next post as I am so late getting myself out the door for work.  I have high hopes that Emma/Cynthia will be a very happy kitty after she gets out of 'observation'.   Ten Lives Club is amazing.  I will tell you more, and share some pics I took this weekend with you tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Dog Days...

The following letter was written by a good friend of mine.  Kristin and her husband have done a lot for me, and I am so grateful to have them in my life.  She found me through my blog, and has built shelters for me and donated in so many ways.  Kristin lives in the sticks, and has seen a lot of sad things regarding animals and the way' country folk' keep their animals... She wrote this in hopes of changing a dog's life - the dog lives just near her home.  I commend her for doing something - too many people turn a blind eye in this world when there is an injustice in front of them either out of fear, selfishness, or ignorance.  Thank you Kristin, for trying to make a wrong right.  I will keep you posted if anything comes out of this!  Here it is:

February 3rd, 2012


Hello to you. Although we have never met, I am a Churchville resident and have been for many years. I live on a neighboring road and I often walk my dog along Palmer Road as part of my routine. I noticed recently that you have acquired a small dog. It makes me very sad whenever I see him or her and it is for this reason that I am writing to you. I hope that you will take a moment to read this. I would like to say first that I am just a fellow human being who is by no means perfect and that this letter is written with humbleness, with my hat in my hand so to speak and my heart probably too much on my sleeve. I can only hope that this message will be taken in the kind and respectful spirit in which I write it.


I see that your dog appears to be an outdoor dog as he or she seems to be out whenever I happen by – which is at various times due to my work schedule. I also see that he or she has a nice house and a run which lets me know you must care for your dog very much. But it breaks my heart to see him or her alone, day after day, night after night, knowing how much dogs need and want attention, companionship and affection. I understand that many dogs cannot be in the house during the day when the owner is at work. I myself tried this with my shepherd years ago and she chewed through my mattress one day, right down to the springs. When I got home, it looked as if a bomb had exploded in my mattress. Needless to say, she spent her days happily in her pen while I was at work. So I truly understand the need to have your dog outside at various times. What I am hoping is that you may consider bringing your dog in when you are home during the day and at night. A dog tied up alone for the vast majority of its life is a sad and lonely animal. Dogs are pack animals and do not like or want to be alone. Sometimes they may not want other dogs around but they always want human contact. A life spent tied to a small house all alone day and night - except for a few minutes of contact when someone brings you food and water is sad life for any animal, let alone a dog. I think of the excitement your dog must feel when he or she sees you walking towards him and then his unhappiness when you walk away and he or she is alone again. There is no doubt that dogs have emotions. They love us, want to please us, and want to be with us. Dogs can think and feel - feel pain, sadness, and loneliness as well as love, loyalty and happiness. If they did not, they could not be the wonderful pets they are as well as police dogs, hunting dogs, military dogs, companion dogs for the blind and disabled, search and rescue dogs, and therapy animals for those in hospitals and nursing homes and schools. There is a reason there are no search and rescue lizards or police fish. J And regardless of what job they do, at the end of the day, they need to be taken into the home and treated as the pets they deserve to be. There are many misconceptions about certain dogs losing their abilities if they are not kept outside – guard dogs, hunting dogs, sledding dogs. But this is untrue and if you check any reputable website it will explain why.

I can only imagine the joy your dog would feel to be brought in at night with you, to curl up next to you feeling warm, safe and loved. I think you too would find you love having your dog with you, to play with or simply be by your side. It would not take much to change the life of the wonderful creature now tied up alone in the backyard.

I know this may not be easy for you to read or even consider – I know it has not been easy for me to write. But I think that in this world that can be so heartless and cruel to both people and animals, we should take every opportunity we have to make it a kinder and more loving place. So, I truly, truly have not written this to offend you or anger you in any way. Just to offer some food for thought about your dog’s living situation because I care very much about the happiness of people and animals. Also, if it helps knowing how others view this subject, the lawmakers in 3 states (Texas, Nevada and California) have passed laws making it illegal to tie up or pen a dog for more than a certain number of hours a day. Not too many people know about that. Our state as well has a proposed law limiting tethering which has not yet been voted on. The city of Canandaigua however, already legally limits the number of hours a dog can be tied up or penned. I know other cities have similar laws too.


I hope that maybe you will consider what I have said and decide to bring your dog into your home and your life a little more. The kindness you show a dog will always come back to you and is never wasted. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I know it’s kind of long.

I wish you nothing but the best ~

Sincerely,
A fellow dog lover


(Kristin did give an e-mail address that this person can contact her at).

Emma

This is Emma. This young very thin very friendly female was at my doorstep on January 29th and is lost. No one responding to ads. Please, if you know of anyone that can take her and give her a good home, please let me know. She has been kept in a bathroom by my neighbor for two weeks now and has to be moved this Saturday. Please give her a chance.

I Can't Get No... Satisfaction

I can't get nooo -- satisfaction, but I try, and I try, and I try, and I TRYYYYY  sorry, I got carried away singing to the tune of the Stones...  love that Mick!

I was thinking about things this morning.  Someone left me a three small bags of cat food on my porch overnight last night.  I don't know who, but hopefully they will reveal themselves so that I can let them know how grateful I am for their kind gift to the kitties.  Someone also sent me a note with a monetary donation in the mail yesterday, which also brought me to near tears.  Such selfless acts - to want to help the animals I feed in any way they can.  It really makes me emotional when I get these few and far between gestures.  My eyes are not going to see my computer very well today because when I tear up, my contacts get all oogley.  So enough of my emotions!  But back to the subject, for someone who doesn't make much money, devotes her paycheck, after paying bills to helping animals, and really does live paycheck to paycheck, and most of the time does not get a break with food, donations are just so appreciated.

I saw most of the normal kitties out there this morning.  The first spot I am resorting back to feeding under a tree next to the road.  I had four food bowls down, with five kitties.  One had to wait.  I have only so much food to bring withe me in the morning, and have to ration, so I felt bad for #5 but what could I do?  I can't ever be in a position where I run out of food at #13 spot.  And its happened pretty much.  Didn't have much to leave at that point. Also, at each of my spots, there is on average one cat that will come up to me for a pat.  So, right there, thats 13 cats that could be adoptable easily, if only given the chance.  I am hearing sneezing from a few, if only I could treat those. 

On another funny note, I was at Wegmans last weekend and pulling up the checkout kid, with my six 16-lb bags of Dad's dry food, one 16-lb bag of Purina Indoor formula -for my own cats, two 24 -pk canned BuJu and Ziggy for the homeless kitties, one 40-lb box of litter -for my own cats, me and the kid struck up a conversation that started with cats!  Well, he thought I had told him I feed homeless KIDS and had started to tell me he had a few friends out on the street and that they were probably very grateful for me.  That was kind of comical.  He didn't have a clue that there were CATS on the street that didn't have a home.  These cushy kids from the burbs...  ah, bless them.

Enjoy your day!

A Rescuer's Creed

I shall be a believer of all that is good in man and of all that is deserving in animals. I shall plead for their lives, campaign for their safety and uphold their right to a natural death. I shall seek out the injured and the maimed, the unloved, and the abandoned and tend to them in their last days. I shall not forget their place in the hierarchy of life, nor that we walk in each other's paths. I shall bear witness to the wonder they bring into our lives and to the beauty they bestow upon our souls. I shall renew their spirits when they are waning, bind their wounds when they bleed, cradle them when they whimper, and comfort them when they mourn. I shall be near them in their hour of greatest need - a companion and friend when the time has come. I shall watch over them and console them and ask that the angels gather them in their arms. From the creatures of the earth I shall learn the fruits of compassion and undying love, and I shall be called the beloved of God. In their company I shall indeed be blessed. ~

The Monday Scoop

Lots going on, but number one, the kitty that showed up in my yard a week ago yesterday, the one that my neighbors have been keeping in their tiny bathroom, has been given a reprieve.  She was all set to go to a shelter in Batavia but neighbors wanted to keep trying to find her a home for one more week.  They will not give in to take her, and I myself CANNOT due to many circumstances, but she is just the sweetest, most loveable little lap cat that deserves a home, not a cage in a shelter.  As it is, I am still trying to find homes for Rufus, Midnight, Buster and Buddy.  They are all awfully sweet kitties too, just so deserving.  Speaking of kitties needing homes, as I pulled up to Second, the kitty that
I told you about that has to have been dumped, because she is just so friendly, yet she runs out from under the porch where she most likely stays at night - I have temporarily named her Violet. 
She actually got into my car this morning, first onto my lap, then to have a sniff around the car, and then back to my lap again, just craving to be petted.   This is heartbreaking.  I will get a picture of her tomorrow.  This is heartbreaking because I know there is a home for the little bathroom girl, and Violet, but people aren't willing.  Open your hearts and your houses for one of these sweet cats, you won't regret it!  I am willing to pay for any vet expenses I have to to get one of these cats a home. 

Speaking of vet expenses, my Thunder, who has the large lump, and was urinating blood, went to the vet on Friday.  $476 later, he has a bladder infection.   The lump he has is most likely a large fatty tissue. 

Another note, on my route at the first location, I've been feeding under bushes for about 7 cats.  The people that own the bushes must have come out yesterday and found the bowls and trashed them.  Back to the corner under the tree by the street for these little ones this morning.  So sad.  So many nice kitties there too.  Don't these people on this street realize that all these animals are in need of some sort of comfort, let alone to be fed?  How can everyone on that street turn their backs on these creatures in need?  I have no where to feed these animals come snow storm time.  And it will come.  I must find a solution!

Friday

I have a vacation day, which is wonderful.  It allows me to have a REAL weekend.  I get all my chores done today and tomorrow I get to relax a bit.

News about the emaciated kitty I rescued about a week or so ago.  He is unneutered, so was scheduled for spaying, but after they saw him, they said he was too thin to put under.  Was told to fatten him up.  Well, he had a visit to a vet to check him out and have him tested.  His results:  ringworm, ear mites, heart murmur, FIV, and Feline Leukemia.  My poor baby.  We don't know what we will do with him.  Nancy, who is caring for him, wants to try.  She has hope for him.  I would not be getting the popular vote here.  I feel he is at his end.  But I have to say I am so grateful to Nancy for trying.  She is keeping him separate from the others she's recently rescued from my route, and will work with him with the meds he's been given.  I am also very thankful that I got him off the street.  Can you imagine, suffering like that out there.

The little girl kitty that came onto my property last Sunday will most likely go to a shelter in Batavia.  Its a no-kill shelter, and I feel terrible about it, but no one else has stepped up to the plate, except of course my sweet Bonnie, but she has enough right now to worry about, so I don't want to burden her if I don't have to.  I have to get her out of my neighbor's bathroom.  She is so lonely and isolated in there. 

So thats the news, nothing good - but lets hope for good stuff tomorrow!  Have a great day!

Desperate Measures

Well, its another day and I have to drive about 40 miles outside of Rochester to an affiliate of the hospital I work at.  I love the drive, but its extra wear and tear on my car that I don't need.  And its a little over a quarter tank of gas, approximately half a tank to get there and back.  I take the back roads to cut down on the stress level I feel when I have to drive and people insist on either going under the speed limit or they feel the need to drive in the left lane, the passing lane, even though they are not passing anyone.  I am not aggressive, but I am a good driver and I like following rules.  I like to break them occasionally too, but I tend to follow them more.

This morning was slightly odd, normally its rather dull, but I encountered a young man who came out of the front of the house where I feed in back of the house.  There was a car with two young women waiting for him, and as I got out, he said to me, where do you deliver from?  I was confused, and I said 'uh - my house?" and after a few more words, I told him I fed the cats and am friends with Wally (as this was in front of Wally's house).  He said a few unintelligible things, but was OK, and got in the car and took off.  I could tell he was nice, in that brief exchange.  And off I went to feed the fluffy one that waits for me between the two houses there.  At my next few stops, nothing unusual, Big Red was waiting for me, as well as Talky.  She meows a lot when I just pull up, maybe happy to see me? 

But at my next stop on the corner, I could tell something was off.  Its the spot where I see some crazy dishes and stuff and this person moves my stuff around, and now, this morning, the second carrier I've placed on the porch was gone, and the door I had propped up against the house with straw under it was thrown to the front lawn.  Who ever goes there each day and moves things around is a nutcase.  I would LOVE to drive by there sometime and see who is doing it.  Again, I am fearless.  I don't know if thats good or bad.  But the other thing I am is CAREFUL.  So, don't worry Mom...  :)

The kitty I found on Sunday by my garage is still being cared for by my neighbors, but they must move her out of their bathroom soon, and its just not good for the kitty to be in such a tiny enclosure for over five days now.  Still trying to come up with an alternative to taking her to a shelter.  I was told about a no-kill shelter in Batavia.  But then she would be in a cage, of they can even take her.  This is the SWEETEST little kitty in th world.  A real lap cat.  Very young and very thin.  Her picture is a post or two ago.  Please pass the word.  Have a wonderful day.

Six O'Clock News

How did the word "O'Clock" ever get its name?  Whats the origin?  Is it because clocks are round - so there is your "O", and clock, is something that tells time?  Not sure, but its a curiosity to me...

I was thinking this morning, when people ask me how many cats I have, and I say more than enough, and actually, its not too bad of a number, but I have four more than I should have right now - Rufus, Buddy, Midnight and Buster - and they need adoption in a bad way, and until that happens, I cannot rescue any more from the mean streets of Rochester - but in reality, how many cats do I have?  I would have to say over 50!  Thats because of the amount of cats I am feeding out in the streets!  I have a friend who actually does have over 50 cats at her house.  She manages fairly well, to take care of these animals, and maintain her professional life, and her personal life.  Its not something I could ever do at my personal space namely my home, but she manages.  I applaud someone like this but I realize I am sort of in the same situation by caring for this many cats.

Some other news, the cat that showed up outside my house on Sunday, that clearly is lost, is still holed up in my neighbor's bathroom, waiting for a new mommy.  She is a sweet little petite thing, picture posted yesterday, and also posted on Craigslist and the newspaper.  I had two calls, one from each, but no such luck.  One woman lost her cat a month ago when it jumped on a furniture delivery truck!  When she called the furniture place to see where their next delivery was, they wouldn't tell her.  Would love to know the name of that company and never use them.  This woman is looking for her poor kitty named Baby for a month now, and she and her boyfriend are sick over it, as I would be.  Another had e-mailed me the night before, and the next day her kitty showed up.  Thank God. 

My own babies are hanging in there.  They all have issues, some are just bratty, but some are really sick, and I don't have the money to properly get them diagnosed, so I love them dearly each and every day and pray they stay happy as they are now.  Life is tough, but when you have an animal to hold and kiss and snuggle your nose in their fur, its a little bit easier!  I love my babies!