Pet Lovers

[Constance2]

I'm sorry, but I need to vent as this is making me so sad I could cry.  Yesterday on a local site similar to Ebay, I saw in the Free section that someone was giving away an older, chubby cat.  The original owner went to live in a retirement home.   The person who was giving away the cat already had a few pets of their own and just decided to give this newly acquired cat away, for FREE no less!  A horrible thing to do!

 Not only has this poor cat lost it's loving owner, but it now risks being placed in a home where it may be abused.  It breaks my heart to see what happens to beloved pets when their owners become too sick or old to take care of them properly.  If I was younger and in better health myself, I would love to start a rescue for pets whose owners have died or became too incapacitated to care for them.  It would provide comfort to the owners to know their pets would be cared for lovingly and properly.

And a last thought:  You should NEVER, EVER, EVER list an animal in a free ad!!!  There are ways to properly screen potential owners and many good questions to ask.  Don't ever just give away an animal to anyone who shows up at your door.  And, always do followups, asking for contact information.  If people don't want to give you that information, then do not give them the animal.

[vermint]

So many pets end up in shelters or rescues when their "person" dies or becomes to ill to care for them...it's just sad! You know they have to be upset & confused. It's very difficult to place adult or senior pets, too. Hopefully the kitty you saw will get a home where she is safe & loved. Like you, I'd take them all in if I could!

When my MIL passed away almost 6 years ago, no one in the family would take  her beloved cat...we are talking 5 children and a number of adult grandchildren here. We already had two cats, but took her in anyway. She doesn't "play well with others", and the male cat I had at the time absolutely HATED her! My girl kitty tried everything to make friends, but no go. After six months, we brought her to our office, where she's ruled the roost for the last almost 5 1/2 years.

We'll be retiring in the next couple of years, and if Missy is still with us (she's about 10 y/o now), we'll have to take her home with us again. The cat that hated her is gone to the Bridge, so I'm hoping she'll at least peacefully co-exist with the others.

[Nightowlz]

Hopefully they will find a good home for the cat. Some people just don't care & should never own an animal like my next door neighbor. He has 3 dogs now & 2 are vicious. The other dog is his daughters dog & it's in a small caged in area in the back yard because the other 2 dogs would kill it. One of the vicious dogs killed a small dog that got through the fence last summer. The dog was slinging it around like a rag doll. Their dogs have never been to the vet, no shots, never had a bath etc. They don't have proper shelter from rain or cold.

My dad has had a poodle since I was a little kid. This last poodle he got he was not sure if he should get another dog or not due to his age. I told him not to worry that I would take the dog. He also has 3 cats which I don't know what will happen to them. I know nobody in our family wants them. I think I'm allergic to cats since last time I was at his house I came home with a sinus infection or that's what I was told I had. I know it was from all the cat hair whatever I had. My dad also takes care of lots of strays & all their kittens. They will wonder what happened when he is not here to take care of them. He takes these strays to the vet to be spayed & neutered. When he can not find homes for the kittens he takes them to a nice place that is a no kill shelter. Sometimes people take them off his hands before he is able to get in the door to leave them. That's probably where we will have to take his cats.

[JavaQueen]

It is upsetting if you love animals. When I was a child, we had kittens and puppies that needed homes. (This was small town America.) We would make a sign and hope someone would stop.

Yes, my mom also would place an ad in a newspaper.  This was considered better than some of the other grim alternatives.  In the country, they used to bag them and drown them or abandon them.

But at least they are attempting to place the cat with someone that wants it. How is that any different from the use of media to place animals? Local TV, Twitter, Facebook?  Youtube? Flyers? If they adopt from a shelter, no guarantee that they wouldn't go to a psychopath.

It is sad and I hope Kitty finds a loving home soon.

[chrystaltree]

I can certainly understand that there are situations in which a person can no longer care for a pet.  Sometimes it's illness, sometimes it's financial and sometimes it's because a person moves into a residence that does not allow pets.  Life happens.  I agree, no one should EVER post an add like that and give an animal away to a complete stranger.  NO way!  Ever.  Just this morning on the news, I saw a story about a cat who was shot through the body with an arrow.  And that cat was in his own backyard.  There are horrible, horrible, crazy people out there.  If you call the Animal Rescue League and ask, they will help you find a no-kill shelter in your area.  If that isn't a possibility, it's better to take the cat to the Animal Rescue League.  While the cannot find homes for every animal, some really are not adoptable.  They do an amazing job of not just finding homes for pets but matching the right pet to the right owner.  We ourselves do not have the skill set or the access to do that.  Simply knowing someone's name, address and license plate number doesn't mean a darn thing.  I have a little bit of experience with that.  My brother's girlfriend claims to be a cat lover.  They have been together for 6 years and in those years, she has had at least 7 cats.  Somehow the cats either "disappear" or she decides that they are too troublesome to keep and claims she found a home for the cat.  Apparently she took  a couple of her castaways to Animal Resue League when she didn't want them anymore.  Well, they  keep computerized records.  When she went there this summer to adopt a cat....they refused.  She's on a list of people they will not let have an animal.  They have a record of all the cats she has ever "dropped off" and she's ineligible for adoption...ever.  They also require a drivers' license (or state i.d.) and a notarized statement from a landlord that animals are allowed in an apartment.  A co-worker once failed that criteria.  Her lease stipulates no animals and her intent was to sneak a cat into her apartment.  No permission from her landlord....no cat.   

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I just gave up a job due to circumstances that changed, which would not  allow me to let my dogs out during my lunch break.  The rescue I adopt from will not allow anything but payment for animals, on the premise that one must be responsible.  I love my dogs.

[Constance2]

Our pets can become like our children for we love them so very much.  My little dog is ever by my side and I'd feel horrible if I lost her.    I am older and always pray I outlive my pets for I doubt anyone would love them as much as I do.

 I also feed every critter and bird that comes around.  When I read that squirrels can live 4-5 years, but usually die of starvation in their first two years, I am more diligent to provide food for them.  It takes a lot of money to buy peanuts, corn, etc., but I don't want anyone or any creature God has made to starve to death.  

[Constance2]

I was on a pet rescue mailing list years ago and read about a man that had taken his elderly mother in since she couldn't care for herself any longer.  He put her cats out on the street to fend for themselves.  Talk about heartless and cruel!!!  The cats lost their owner, and then, though they spent their entire life indoors being loved and cared for, they were tossed out on the street like trash.  That poor old woman!  I canjust  imagine the care her son gave her if he could be so cruel to her beloved pets.  So sad...

[ID2]

Why does giving a cat away for free insinuate that its going to go into an abusive home? There is absolutely no reasoning in this way of thinking. If I were looking for a cat I'd jump at the chance of getting one for free! And this cat would have the best home forever.

[luvmyteddy4]

I worry about the same thing since I am ill and no one to take my pets. I finally made arrangements with my wonderful vet who said he would take them and find them homes.  

The problem is not having anyone know if something happens to me in time. I leave the pets food under my bed in containers that I know they could open if they were starving. It is a very difficult situation to worry about all the time but I don't know what else to do. I have left a note in my house just in case.