ig·no·rant
ˈiɡnərənt/
adjective
- lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
"he was told constantly that he was ignorant and stupid"
synonyms: uneducated, unknowledgeable, untaught, unschooled, untutored, untrained, illiterate, unlettered, unlearned, unread, uninformed, unenlightened, benighted; More
- lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular.
"they were ignorant of astronomy"
synonyms: without knowledge of, unaware of, unconscious of, oblivious to, incognizant of, unfamiliar with, unacquainted with, uninformed about, ill-informed about, unenlightened about, unconversant with, inexperienced in/with, naive about, green about;
More on that later. In the meantime, the highlights of the weekend! REMEMBER TO CLICK ON PICS TO SEE UP CLOSE!
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| POPTART! |
Saturday morning, I found this little babe on Parsells Avenue. I walked up to feed at this shelter I have on the front porch of a vacant home, and this little one looked up at me from the plate that had only a few morsels left from what I left there the day before, and walked toward me. I scooped her up faster than you can say Poptart! I named her Poptart. AND she is being adopted! I would guess her age about 7-8 weeks old. Her new mommy Doreen lives in Connecticut and will be meeting my friend Kristin, who has offered to drive Poptart to meet Doreen half way next weekend. I couldn't be happier. Doreen will give Poptart the love and care she deserves. Little one was dirty, and has ear mites. But playful and loving! Doreen actually drove here last summer and adopted Leo, if you all will recall. Great lady. Poptart will join a feline and canine family, who will love her to bits once they meet. This morning I let her out, she was so lonely in a room by herself. I've never seen a kitten run as fast as she did. Zip here, zip there! She loves to play! What a happy little tyke! :)
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| SIMON (Stash) |
Simon was adopted on Saturday. A great girl named Toni fell in love instantly. Her favorite... Tabby Tigers and Black Kitties! She adopted two kitties from me in the past, and is a great mom to three little humans also! :)
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| A view inside my PENNSYLVANIA shelter (has withstood the test of time here - weather, mean people trashing it, etc.) This shelter has been here for over 8-10 years at this location. Big Red and four others are its residents. |
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| PENNSYLVANIA Kitty (couldn't wait for me to leave) |
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| CENTRAL (MAILBOX) KITTIES (I purchased a new 10x12 ft. camo tarp to place here - so maybe it won't be so obvious come spring) |
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| SULLI waiting for breakfast (Central) |
About this picture above. Someone, a while back, must have thrown this little black mouse play toy inside this shelter off Central Avenue. Each morning its there, and this morning, I found it on the plate of food. I have a cat that will find my hair ties no matter how hidden they are, and place it in the food. Whats with that? Even the homeless street cats do this obviously. SO SWEET.
Two kitties above. I was offered two spots for TNR (Trap Neuter Return) by a wonderful rescue group Friends of Ferals. The clinic was at the Rochester Community Animal Clinic and it was run by a group of veterinary students. I am sure there was a certified vet there, but I was able to trap one of the males on Melville (who was chasing Melody while she was in heat!), and another male on Central. That was Sunday morning, and they were released Sunday evening. Always hard for me to let them go.
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| Another view of PENNSYLVANIA shelter |
I posted something on Facebook when someone mentioned little Poptart being found with a flea collar on. Someone mentioned that it had a flea collar on, and maybe it was just lost, and maybe I should take it to a shelter in case someone was looking for it. Here is what I wrote:
The kitten is dirty. It had a plastic flea collar on. It was 4:15 am. It was a very poor, crime ridden street and the kitten was at my normal shelter eating. Just as I wouldn't leave a child under those circumstances, I couldn't leave that kitten. Its not lost... It was cared for by someone that shouldn't have animals because they can't care for them properly. That's why I've been doing this for ever... Because of uneducated ignorant people. This baby is not lost. Its found!
This person did not like the fact that I used the words ignorant and uneducated when speaking of the fact of someone placing the collar on a kitten, and letting it get loose.
Here is the post in response to my post so you can see where I am coming from here.
I have to say I'm so disappointed in the judgmental attitude of this. "Because of uneducated, ignorant people". Maybe they don't know how to take care of a cat but based on the collar, I'd guess they were trying. Do you honestly think that passing judgement and condemning the people is more helpful to getting cats off the street than educating them on the how to care for it?
What do you think will happen when they can't find their cat? I'm thinking there's a good chance they get another one and still might not know how to care for it.
"No one who cares lets a 5 week old kitten out." Again, not true. Unless you witnessed them intentionally let it out the door then you have no idea that it wasn't an accident.
I really though more highly of you Janine. I 'm truly horrified to have seen this side of you.
You don't put a flea collar on a tiny kitten, number one, and number two, you don't let a kitten get loose. This particular location is also two houses down from Crazy Lisa, who has been charged with animal cruelty a number of times. I won't mention what she has done to animals, but its horrific. I have been feeding and trapping, and rescuing on this street for over 10 years now. I must have rescued at least 30 cats on this street alone. Look back on my blog and you can count for yourself, all the sweet cats that went to loving homes. My shelters have been removed, and destroyed countless times. I have asked people if they will allow me to place shelters there, but am turned down each time. This is the street, if you will recall, where I placed cardboard signs on several trees for passers-by stating "doesn't anybody care?" - I have seen so much sadness in this area, but I continue to try to get them all neutered and spayed and rescued. I have had altercations with residents where the police had to get involved. Its NOT a nice street, there are MANY ignorant and uneducated people, and even if they were educated, most of them still HATE cats because that is the way they were brought up!
Now at other locations, where there is more ignorance and little education about cats, there are very decent people who admire what I am doing and have no problem with what I am doing. And some even allow me to feed on their property!
A collar does not mean someone cared. Ignorance is placing a flea collar on a seven week old kitten (this one was wrapped so tight, her neck so tiny the collar was wrapped around it twice), and allowing little ones like this 'run out' of the house. And it was 5 am. Most of these people don't value human life let alone an animal.
I will say it again, don't judge me until you have walked the gazillion miles I've walked over 20 years doing this. I welcome anyone to walk with me some morning. See what I see.
OK, that's it. Rant over. Off to work.
OH! Here are some pics of our little Melody, and Poptart! Lets get them adopted!
The kitten is dirty. It had a plastic flea collar on. It was 4:15 am. It was a very poor, crime ridden street and the kitten was at my normal shelter eating. Just as I wouldn't leave a child under those circumstances, I couldn't leave that kitten. Its not lost... It was cared for by someone that shouldn't have animals because they can't care for them properly. That's why I've been doing this for ever... Because of uneducated ignorant people. This baby is not lost. Its found!
This person did not like the fact that I used the words ignorant and uneducated when speaking of the fact of someone placing the collar on a kitten, and letting it get loose.
Here is the post in response to my post so you can see where I am coming from here.
I have to say I'm so disappointed in the judgmental attitude of this. "Because of uneducated, ignorant people". Maybe they don't know how to take care of a cat but based on the collar, I'd guess they were trying. Do you honestly think that passing judgement and condemning the people is more helpful to getting cats off the street than educating them on the how to care for it?
What do you think will happen when they can't find their cat? I'm thinking there's a good chance they get another one and still might not know how to care for it.
"No one who cares lets a 5 week old kitten out." Again, not true. Unless you witnessed them intentionally let it out the door then you have no idea that it wasn't an accident.
I really though more highly of you Janine. I 'm truly horrified to have seen this side of you.
You don't put a flea collar on a tiny kitten, number one, and number two, you don't let a kitten get loose. This particular location is also two houses down from Crazy Lisa, who has been charged with animal cruelty a number of times. I won't mention what she has done to animals, but its horrific. I have been feeding and trapping, and rescuing on this street for over 10 years now. I must have rescued at least 30 cats on this street alone. Look back on my blog and you can count for yourself, all the sweet cats that went to loving homes. My shelters have been removed, and destroyed countless times. I have asked people if they will allow me to place shelters there, but am turned down each time. This is the street, if you will recall, where I placed cardboard signs on several trees for passers-by stating "doesn't anybody care?" - I have seen so much sadness in this area, but I continue to try to get them all neutered and spayed and rescued. I have had altercations with residents where the police had to get involved. Its NOT a nice street, there are MANY ignorant and uneducated people, and even if they were educated, most of them still HATE cats because that is the way they were brought up!
Now at other locations, where there is more ignorance and little education about cats, there are very decent people who admire what I am doing and have no problem with what I am doing. And some even allow me to feed on their property!
A collar does not mean someone cared. Ignorance is placing a flea collar on a seven week old kitten (this one was wrapped so tight, her neck so tiny the collar was wrapped around it twice), and allowing little ones like this 'run out' of the house. And it was 5 am. Most of these people don't value human life let alone an animal.
I will say it again, don't judge me until you have walked the gazillion miles I've walked over 20 years doing this. I welcome anyone to walk with me some morning. See what I see.
OK, that's it. Rant over. Off to work.
OH! Here are some pics of our little Melody, and Poptart! Lets get them adopted!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
*If* the person who put the collar on the kitten cares, there will be posters put up looking for the kitten. If there is, you will see them and you can 'fix' the situation by returning the kitten and educating them about the collar and kitten confinement.
ReplyDeleteUntil you see signs that someone is actually looking for this kitten, I'm with you.
Janine, I have noticed that it does not matter how well-educated people are...many of them...when they get an animal...their brains turn to s#*t! Yes, many people are "ignorant" and that can be fixed. Unfortunately, there is no fix for "stupid". Every time I hear "The cat got out" I want to scream. No, some idiot either deliberately let the cat out or was just plain careless. About the only way it is an accident is if the carrier falls apart, someone breaks into a home and leaves, a screen/window fails, or some other home disaster. Cats can be trained to stay away from entrance/exit doors when they see a human there--mine are. Also, flea collars are not safe for any cat. I can understand that some people adopt on impulse and know nothing about cats (which is what I did back in 1997), but I immediately started a cram course by going to the library and researching basic cat care/behavior and veterinary issues for cats. You do not have to be rich to do this...the info is free...and there are great websites on these subjects as well. Some people are just too lazy to learn or think "It's just a cat"...not that important...and for those, no amount of education is going to fix things because they don't want to know. You did the right thing. Sorry that you had to take heat for it. Rant over.
ReplyDeleteJoel here - I apologize if my comment started a flame war on Facebook. I will keep those comments concerning whether a cat you rescued may have an owner looking for them to myself.
ReplyDeleteVery happy to see snatch and pop-tart get adopted so fast.
You truly are a guardian angel for these kitties.
Looking forward to the next chapter in my feral cats of Rochester story.
😇
Janine has every right to Rant if she so desires. First, this is her blog! More importantly she is out in the trenches daily in the wee hours of the morning in all sorts of weather while we are sleeping in comfort. Janine has stated on numerous occasions her blog is like her personal diary. She want's to share her daily missions with us so we can understand better what she does and what she has accomplished I imagine. It is her prerogative solely to describe peoples actions as she interprets them. I have personally learned the hard way that sometimes it is better served if we keep our critical comments to ourselves. Janine sees a lot of neglect and abuse on a daily basis and if she refers to the people that are causing it as stupid or ignorant so be it. Keep up the Excellent work (Cat Angel)!
ReplyDeleteWalt Simoni
I found an 11 or 12 week old kitten in my yard. Figured it had to be a feral or stray. His ears were chewed up from mosquito bites, had teeth marks in his head from something trying to get him, he was roaming day & night. So I took him in for a spay. Turns out he belonged to a moronic neighbor. I returned him and tried educating them to keep him inside, as coyotes, fox, and raccoons are roaming close. "He meows all the time to go out." I printed articles from the Internet about dangers of cats being outdoors, talking to them about buying him toys & playing w/him to keep him inside so he doesn't get eaten. That lasted exactly 4 days. He 'disappeared' for good shortly after. If you are looking for something to provide you comfort and it looks pretty, buy a stuffed animal. Real animals need love & care and they EXPECT you to care for them. Letting a baby kitten outside with a flea collar wrapped around its neck is not someone that should have an animal, they should try a stuffed one first. Nice job Janine!
ReplyDelete