From commentor Bella:
I boarded my horse at a county park in CA, which became a dumping ground for unwanted cats and dogs. A couple of us joined forces and started trapping cats, fixing them, and getting the tame ones to an adoption group. We got over 120 cats and a handful of dogs out of the park (and fed the rest.) A man who walked his dog there knew that I did this, and flagged me down one cold Sunday morning to let me know he’d found a tiny kitten crying by the gate. I had no trouble finding the little tabby, 3 weeks old at most, because it was not so much crying as shrieking. My guess is mama was moving the litter and was late coming back for this one.
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I put her in my car and ran into Walmart to get some kitten milk and a syringe to try to feed her, which mostly resulted in milk all over the kitten, as she never did stop wailing. I called our rescue lady and was soon on my way over there. As luck would have it, she had a nursing mama who was willing to accept the newcomer, and the kitten was soon warm and fed, and a couple of months later she was adopted to a good home.
A cat rescue lady I know got a call from a park ranger in Tahoe about a pair of kittens found in an RV. The family in the RV had set out from Santa Barbara, a trip of 500+ miles, unaware of their stowaways. They opened a compartment et voila — these two kittens, who were about 6 weeks old and not socialized to people. They must have lived in there for some time, as the white one later showed signs of being afraid when in an open space, and he may have had some brain damage as well. He later got a home but is still on kitty prozac.
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The black one was wild and unadoptable. He came home to the cage at my house for what I thought was an overnight stay. He was destined for the barn where I boarded my horse, but that cage was occupied, so he had a layover. He was so wild that I couldn’t even get him out of the carrier and into the cage — I actually had to tip the carrier and nudge him out with the handle of a wooden spoon, and he bit the guy who put him in the carrier. The next day, I was petting him. I swear he looked at me as if to say, “oh, it’s YOU! I don’t have to act all feral n’shit.” That was almost 3 years ago and he’s still terrified of other people, but is really a total lovebug.
stuckinred
Wow,great story!
R-Jud
Bella, you’re terrific. And a horse person, too. I love me some horse people. Thanks for the smile.
Mary G
Those pictures are priceless, and thank you for saving so many kitties!
This is more cute pictures of pets in the snow in Chicago this week.
Bella
Thanks for the kind words. So many great stories from that place. Our first group effort was a litter of kittens…one of the ranch workers heard crying and found 4 kittens floating down an irrigation ditch. Mama must have had them in the pipe, a safe place until it was time to irrigate the pastures. Their eyes weren’t even open yet. He fished them out, we waited until they were old enough to trap, and got them and their parents.
We also trapped a starved dachshund in a cat trap after trying to catch him for 2 weeks. He has a great home now.
Sko Hayes
I don’t know why people think horse barns are great places to drop off cats!
Where I used to board my horse in NC, we had all kinds of cats and kittens (and the occasional dog) dropped off. Once two purebred Himalayans (they look like long haired Siamese) showed up! It helped that I had a good connection to a vet, so we got them spayed or neutered and then adopted out (the Himalayans were adopted by the vet).
Our barn cats were very tolerant of newcomers, fortunately.
Ranger 3
The mother cat abandoned her kitten for the same reason all mother cats abandon their kittens… she felt like it.
And if the helpless kitten ever grows to have kittens of her own, it will do the same. It’s who they are, it’s what they do. I will give you credit, though, for not blaming Israel.
I close in reminding readers that all resources put towards the welfare of cats are resources diverted away from lonely, homeless dogs. If you can live with that… then God help your blackened soul.
Linda Featheringill
@Ranger 3:
Oh my. Why don’t you go back to bed and try the world again a little later?
Most animal rescue people try to help needy individuals outside of their “specialty.” Dog rescurers will help cats and cat savers will help dogs.
harlana
Bella, you are a saint. Ranger, dogs kill cats – they viciously hunted down my mother’s cat and killed her. However, unlike you, I love all god’s creatures and don’t blame them for their natural instincts. I’m partial to cats but I love dogs, too. I can’t believe anyone could be so hateful and cruel as to make such a vicious comment. It is you who have the blackened soul, but I don’t particularly care whether God helps you or not.
Linda Featheringill
Love the smell of curses in the morning.
harlana
@Bella: Thank you for sharing your story and also the pics of those precious, helpless little babies. The fact that so many people believe pets (both cats AND DOGS) are disposable absolutely breaks my heart. Bless your heart for working tirelessly to have these animals spayed and finding homes for the ones who are social and crave nothing more than food and love.
harlana
@Linda Featheringill: Well it’s pretty damned trailer-trashy to come on this thread and brutally insult this fine woman’s work.
stuckinred
@harlana: Dogs kill cats and cats kill birds. So it is written, so it shall be.
stuckinred
@harlana: And guess what, the moron is getting exactly what he wants. Ignore shit like that.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Bella:
If there is a heaven, your place in it is assured.
Ranger 3:
Fuck. You. Strong letter to follow.
Ash Can
Brava Bella! Kitten rescue stories are a great way to start the morning!
harlana
@stuckinred: Nah, I usually do but I couldn’t let that one pass. It would have been an insult to Bella not to defend her, however trollie the bait may be.
Luci
Is there any chance Ranger 3 is trying to be funny? I grant you, it’s not a great attempt, but if it WAS an attempt at humor, I think the not blaming Israel part of it was a bit clever. Ah… well, on second thought… likely not. I guess any humor in there would be inadvertent at best. :-s
Bella… you are doing super work, and it warms my heart to see you do it. My sister and I spend all the extra money we have on cat food, litter, and such for my mom’s cats, which are a mix of indoor, outdoor, and strays that show up needing a home. Oh, and then there are the neutering fees too. We’re on a NO MORE KITTENS campaign too, and it’s working pretty well. I talked to a lady who came to my rummage sale a couple years ago who was doing the same thing with farm cats on a farm she and her husband had, and she gave me tips for the most effective ways to go about this. Anyway, I think anyone who is able to help and does so is wonderful! :)
harlana
Well, completely OT here, but Paddy Paddy Buke Buke is on Morning Ho, feeling pleased that the President has announced Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, putting to rest any suspicions that he is Muslim.
((cough))
harlana
And poor ole Andy Cooper got smacked upside the haid.
Cliff
How about a nice Doggie in the snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia_HC8BTMy0
Maybe that will help.
Molly Loves snow as you can see.
JPL
Bella, What a nice story. Reading about rescues always make me smile. Thanks.
Comrade Mary
Oh, what great kitteh rescues!
(No, iPhone, I typed “kitteh” and I meant “kitteh”, thank you. )
JPL
OT I just got an email from Roku about updates and they are now streaming Al Jazeera/English channel. I’m not sure how much it costs but it’s a great marketing strategy.
Anya
If you wanted proof that the war loving crowd does not care much for democracy, you should’ve watched MSNBC this morning. The embarrassing display of tweedy and Joe scarborogh as they cried for Mubarak and condemned the Obama admin for being crass and disloyal to a brave friend. It was sickening. Scarborough even claimed that we’re leading Mubarak’s lynching. So to recap, democracy is only for the west, unles we’re using it as an excuse to invade a Muslim country. And millions of young men and women demanding freedom and a better life should be ignored, for a despot but small borderline racist teabaggers without any clear message should be lionized. I fucking hate the media talking heads.
Amir_Khalid
@Ranger 3: May the spirit of Scarlett the mother cat haunt you in your dreams.
MazeDancer
Bella, What an uplift you brought with your wonderful stories. A gift to read. Thank you for them. Thank you for all that you do for kitties.
Those teeny kitten pictures had me smiling for so long. And how fabulous your black kitty knew he was home. You’re a treasure.
debit
@JPL: Oh, awesome! I’ve been watching the youtube channel and would much prefer my tv. Thanks!
Sean
I once watched a documentary about stray cats in Rome. I remember there was a Mother and Daughter cat who both had litters of kittens at the same time. At some point, the Mother cat got seperated from her litter–I don’t remember why. If enough time passes, the maternal instincts dissipate. When the Mother cat later stumbled upon her litter, she didn’t seem to recognize her offspring.
However, the Daughter cat, still caring for her litter, came across the abandoned kittens. Assuming that her litter had somehow doubled, she combined the litters and raised them all.
wonkie
Heroic story–120 is a lot of cats! I’ve been working on a colony of thirteen for months–so farhavenot caught the feral mother who is the main producer of new additions to the colony. So I really can a[ppreciate the time and effort put into caring for wild and dumped cats.
I think Ranger was joking. Too early in the morning for snark and hyperbole.
WereBear
@Amir_Khalid: Good one :)
Paul in KY
@Ranger 3: I can live with that.
kideni
@Cliff: Love it! I assume you were skiing to keep up with her? And impressive camera work combined with balance — I know if I tried to follow the dog like that I’d be falling all over myself.
Mnemosyne
For people who work with ferals, I’ve heard of an interesting thing that some vets are starting do: if you manage to trap an adult male who’s too wild for adoption, they will do a vasectomy instead of neutering him. That way, the cat will retain all of his territorial instincts and keep other, intact males away from “his” females, but he won’t continue to father more kittens. It sounds like an interesting way to handle the problem.
Cliff
@kideni:
I’m on a bike with homemade studded tires, without the studs it would be impossible. I keep getting queries ’bout those tires, I’ll take a pic of them soon.
the camera is mounted on my helmet, the tricky bit was when she was running next to me and I could only look outta the corner of my eye to see where I was going.
Culture of Truth
The next day, I was petting him. I swear he looked at me as if to say, “oh, it’s YOU! I don’t have to act all feral n’shit.” That was almost 3 years ago and he’s still terrified of other people, but is really a total lovebug.
That’s like my Tiger except it took at least a month for him to even let me pet him. Now he loves attention.
Comrade Mary
@Mnemosyne: And it probably sounds (relatively) awesome to the owner of those decorative balls, as well.
asiangrrlMN
@Bella: You’re doing an amazing job with these poor kittehs. Love that you adopted the black beauty (and he looks so elegant all stretched out like that). Keep up the good work.
@Mary G: Thanks. Those pics made me smile.
@Cliff: Love the Mollster. I cracked up at you shoveling the snow and her rushing into it so she could dig frantically in the new stuff.
Cassidy
I’m a sucker for the older cats that no one wants. Especially when they won’t come to you knowing they’ll still be in the cage after you leave. When the wife and kid’s dogs go, I’ll probably get a couple.
moe99
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014119359_dogescape04m.html
This was a fun story to read today.
Phoebe
I do think Ranger 3 was trying to be funny. People who take one side [cat vs. dog] always hyperbole up the feud. It’s what they do.
Poika
We have had a lot of luck catching cats with a standard live trap. My dad caught five cats on the ‘farm’ last year and got them all fixed. He left them outside, as there are plenty of places for shelter, my family already has WAY to many cats, and we have already given away so many cats no one wants them anymore. This is what sucks about living in the country… people dump their ‘pets’.
That being said, being a city dweller, there’s PLENTY here in the city. Here, we only trap kittens, as plenty of people still let their cats roam outside. I would never do that, but when we did it when I was a kid, the cat always had a freaking collar with a tag.