Marley Finds a Place, and How About NOT Just One Litter

Marley has successfully been placed at Pets Unlimited in San Francisco where he can live free roaming in the FIV+ Ward until he finds his own home. Yeah Marley!!! And a special thanks to D, L, and Pets Unlimited for making this happen.

If you see yourself in this next part, or this was you the other night, and you get angry, good, I want you to be. You're lucky you ran into the volunteer you did and not me. If I had been the person you talked to in person, or complained to on the phone, you wouldn't have gotten ANY satisfaction out of our conversations, and all of us who volunteer here 100% stand behind our volunteer trying to talk you out of letting your cat have just one litter. And you calling to complain that one of our volunteers was rude to you because she tried to educate you on spaying your cat? You must be kidding me. That volunteer is the nicest most non confrontational person I've ever met.

The IDEA that anything she said was in the least bit rude or condescending tells me you know you're wrong, and are uber sensitive to anyone trying to talk you out of what you want to do. And you're going to school to be a vet tech? I wish I knew what school - I'd call them and ask them if they do any education on the pet overpopulation problem. The fact that you are actively attempting to work in the veterinary field and still think its even better than a half baked idea to let your NON PEDIGREED NON SHOW NON SPECIAL cat breed just floors me. And your claim that because you're going to be a vet tech somehow makes you more knowledgable than the rest of us? Get over yourself!

I hope that your school sends you to the shelter, and makes you volunteer there to practice your "life saving skills". Go to the shelter and talk to those employees about being the one to decide who lives and who dies when the cages are all full. Ask them about how heart breaking it is to have to euthanize healthy, adoptable cats and kittens when they are out of room. Ask a rescuer how we really feel about opening our homes to dozens, if not hundreds of cats and kittens every season and cleaning up after them, sometimes bottle feeding them, nursing them through sickness, and placing them in loving adoptive homes. Yes we love it. We wouldn't do it if we didn't. But it's not so much about loving the actual activities. I mean really, who can really say they LOVE cleaning litter boxes? Who really LOVES getting up every two hours to bottle feed orphaned kittens? Who really LOVES giving up their weekends to lug cats around to various locations hoping they will get adopted? We do it because we are passionate about our cause, and that's what it takes to get this done.

We are not crazy cat ladies. We believe that we can make a difference, and for the most part we do. We adopt out hundreds of cats a year, TNR hundreds more, provide low cost spaying and neutering for the general public regardless of income requirements, and educate educate educate. Then someone like you comes along and we want to yell at you and lose our minds. Because we KNOW what can and does happen by you having "just one litter". Every life that your cat creates is a life that somewhere else must be taken because the reality of our life is that try as we might, we are not a No Kill Nation and animals die by the millions as a result of there not being enough homes for all of them. But instead, we calmly walk away so as not to offend you, and yet, still you are offended. Offended to the point of calling and complaining. Well guess what? YOU offend ME. So how about you give me your boss' name and number and I'll call him or her and tell her all about it. Like I said you're lucky it wasn't me you ran into.

I have permission to cross post this note written up by another one of our rescue friends. She says it better than I ever could.

I am not God.

But, those of you who allow your cats to have kittens make me play God.


But, those of you who view your pets as disposable – a commodity to dump on someone else when you move, get into a new relationship, or have a baby (which none, by the way, are valid reasons) – make me play God.


But, those of you who get a new puppy like the one you saw on TV and then just throw it in the backyard are a part of the problem. A year later when the puppy has grown into a dog and jumps on people, barks, and digs because YOU did not bother to train it, you try to dump it on someone here on Craigslist and threaten them with “if you do not take it, I will be forced to take it to the pound” (as if it is our fault that you cannot make a commitment to your animal) – you make me play God


On Saturday, I watched an operation that should have never had to happen. I watched a cat who was at least half-term with a pregnancy of six kittens get spayed and the kittens thus aborted. I watched the vet tech inject each kitten with the pink solution that would end its life if the premature birth had not already done so. The vet said to me with a catch in her throat that this was the least favorite part of her job – a necessary evil that went against the oath she took to do no harm.


Those of you who are horrified should be. Those of you who think I shouldn't write about this, I think you should get out from under your rock. You should be horrified. You should think about it before you go to sleep tonight. People should know. People should be horrified. If it prevents ONE death, it is worth it. It is not fair for me to carry this burden on my own. I am just like you. I have a “real” job (not animal rescue), a family, a life. Now we are sharing the burden.


It is ALL of our problem and hiding from it is making it worse. If you own an unspayed cat, the blood of those kittens is on your hands. Unless you can provide (not find, but PROVIDE) a home for every kitten you bring into the world, and the kittens of those kittens, and their offspring infinitely, then your cat needs to be spayed.


Why wasn’t she allowed to have her kittens? Well, it wasn’t my decision and I am glad it wasn’t. But, I was at a shelter with three rooms full of cages stuffed with adoptable kittens who are already born and aware. There were two other rooms filled with adult cats who also needed homes and who statistically (at this shelter) only about 3% of them would make it out alive. Where would those kittens have gone? There was no available foster home to take them. There was no cage to put them in and keep them for the eight weeks it would take to get them ready for adoption. They would have just added to the over-population of cats that already exist and who do not have homes. Did you know that each and every one of us would have to own 45 cats to give a home to those who already need it? Yes. 45 cats. That means a family of four would have to own 180 cats. Not possible.


Back to my God playing. Every time I walk into a shelter, I hold the power of who lives and who dies in my hand – I play God. I know how many foster homes I have open and how many kitties they are able to take. I know what I will have the best chance of getting adopted. I walk into a shelter able to take X number and there are at least 5 times that amount who need me each and every time. But, I can only help some. I point and with my finger, I decide who lives and who dies. By choosing only some of them, I leave others behind to die. Those of you who give up your pets make me play God and I hate you for it. Maybe my God will be able to forgive me for not being able to save them all.


Those of you who blame the shelters for killing the cats… what else are they supposed to do? They can only house so many. When they keep getting brought it, where are the ones there supposed to go? There is not some magic ranch that they can go to. Those of you who take your cat to a “no-kill” shelter are just taking the place of one of the cats from a kill shelter who could have gone there if you had honored your commitment to your pet. Your cat took the place of one who will now die. I hope you are proud.


If you are going to adopt a pet, then adopt it with a commitment to keep it for life – FOR LIFE. That means when you move, you find housing that accepts pets (the worst excuse EVER is that you are moving and your new place does not accept pets – find one that does. I have multiple times, so have many other people.). That means when your new boyfriend/girlfriend/alien doesn’t like cats you tell them “too bad.” It means when they are allergic, you tell them to take medication or deal with it (only 1% of those allergic to animals are SO allergic that it means they cannot find a way to deal with it because their medical condition is that serious). It means when you are having a baby, you get someone else to scoop the litterbox (or wear gloves) and you teach your baby to be kind to the animal. It means you be an adult and make a commitment. There are NO excuses. None. I have never heard a good excuse so yours does not move me. No matter how you think your excuse is different or better than everyone else’s, it is not.


575 animals are put to death every HOUR simply because there are not enough homes for them. You decide – are you a part of the problem or a part of the solution? You have to be one or the other. We know your cat/dog/bunny is special. We know it is tempting to let them procreate so that you can have a kitten/puppy/bunny JUST like them. But, there are 575 kittens/puppies/bunnies dying every HOUR because there are not enough homes for them and they are special too – go adopt a special one and be a hero. If your friends/family/neighbors want one too, go adopt from the same litter and you will have a family of lives that were directly saved.


SOLUTIONS:


So, you want your kids to experience the “miracle of life”???… go to petfinder.com, search your zipcode, contact any/all of the rescues listed and volunteer to foster a pregnant animal (or place an ad on Craigslist saying that you are willing and able to do so). Everyone wins this way. At most you are responsible for food and litter (sometimes even these are covered) and the rescue pays the medical bills. You help a rescue save a mom and a litter that they otherwise would not have room for. Your kids get to watch the whole process and the rescue finds homes for all of the progeny and makes sure that they will be spayed/neutered before placement (much easier to get this done if you are with a rescue group than the average Joe) so that they will not contribute to the overpopulation problem. (This is, on average, an 8-10 week commitment. This is a perfect summer break project for your kids and summer break, coincidentally falls right in the middle of kitten season when rescue groups are desperate for help in this area.)


Your kids want a pet and you don’t? Don’t give in, compromise. Contact a rescue/shelter and offer to foster a dog/cat/guinea pig until it is ready to find a home. It also counts as community service and most places would be happy to write a letter for graduation requirements or college resumes. Your kids get to borrow a pet and you do not have the commitment so when you move/develop allergies/have a baby, you do not have to worry about what to do with the pet you do not want any more because it has already gone back to the rescue and been adopted to someone who does.


Want to have your pet spayed/neutered but just cannot afford it? There are a TON of low-cost options everywhere. Fix Our Ferals (happening this weekend in Oakland) is FREE for cats (who cannot afford free?). If you live in San Jose, you can get your cat done for $10 and your dog for $30. Not your area? Post and ask where you can go – someone will know the low-cost options for your area. Still can’t afford it? Post an ad here on Craigslist and ask for a sponsor. We’ve all gone through rough times. I bet you someone will offer to pay for it just to prevent the potential births. Then one day you can pay it forward and do it for someone else. We were able to get 5 cat spays paid for last Saturday from a woman who had the money and wanted to make a difference because someone had helped her over 20 years ago. Since, it is estimated that a female cat and her offspring can, in 7 years, be responsible for 420,000 kittens, this one woman – in theory – prevented the births of 2,100,000 – over TWO million new kittens. THAT is a big difference. She is a hero.


Copyrighted September 2008 -- Permission to crosspost granted