Question about rescuing kittens

Kitty_mom

Hello everyone,

I know that there are lots of volunteers and animal rescue people in this forum, so I am asking them this question.

I went to cork this weekend to visit my friend. In her garden there were about 3 adults cats and 4 kittens (2 months old) roaming there. I asked her about them. She told me that she called a rescue centre and they said that they will catch all the cats & kittens and neuter them and then they will leave them in the area again. And that she has to pay for the neutering as well.

Is this how the rescue centre works?? I was shocked when i heard this.

My heart was very heavy after seeing the 4 kittens and one of them had an eye infection (red in one eye). I just kept thinking why won't the rescuers help them.

Please advice on what i should do? I just can't help imagining the kittens dying of hunger or something.

The Sweeper

The rescuers are helping them. It's called trap, neuter, release.

It would be great if rescues had the facility to rehome cats and kittens, but there are too many. Cats breed like rabbits, and people just aren't responsible with neutering their animals and not allowing them to roam. The pounds in Ireland don't even keep statistics on the number of cats they put to sleep - the only information I've ever been able to find on it is 'a lot more than the number of dogs'.

Your friend has a number of choices. Take on the financial responsibility of the animals herself, have them all neutered and treated for illnesses, rehome what she can rehome and care for the rest until they die. Otherwise, she can allow the rescue to do trap, neuter, release, and feed them in her garden - at least they won't be breeding, but they may well be sick or injured and die. (They may also attract more cats - strays flock to an existing colony. Word gets around that there's food!) The last option is to give them to a shelter that might be able to rehome some of the kittens, but will put the rest to sleep.

Until people start taking full responsibility for the animals they own, there will continue to be a glut of stray animals that nobody owns. There are just too many for shelters to care for and home. Trap, neuter, release isn't the best solution in the world - the cats can still become sick and injured, will continue to kill wildlife, spread disease etc., but some rescues feel it is fairer than simply culling animals that are uncared for through no fault of their own.

If you want to help more, look at taking on a couple of the kittens as your own pets. If that is not feasible, donate some money to the shelter to help cover the cost of the neutering, or offer the money to have the eye infection treated by a vet. If you cannot donate money and cannot keep cats yourself, spend time with the animals so they become more used to human contact, as then they will be better candidates for rehoming.

ISDW

Great advice as usual by Minesajackdaniels. Most rescue centres are run by individuals or groups that are totally voluntary and have little or usually no government funding. Rescues around the country do whatever they can, but it really is a bit like the little Dutch boy sticking his finger in the dyke, its more crisis control rather than management. Cats get a much worse deal than dogs, they seem to be perceived by most of the population as a nuisance and not worth spending any money on, by either getting their pet cats neutered or giving money to specific cat charities.

I can understand your shock, it is a real eye opener when you realise how animal rescue really works in this country. I think most people have the idea that there are rescues everywhere with unlimited funding and space to help these animals. Please get involved and help these and other cats yourself, I can guarantee that if you had a look around the area that you live in you would find a lot of cats in the same situation.

Kitty_mom

I would love to take them but i already have 2 of them at home and I live in a apartment. My friend is not a pet person at all. So there's a dilemma. Hubby told me that somebody must be feeding them as they live in that area.

I am more worried about the kittens. The rescuer told my friend that the neutering will be 40E each. That would 4 kitten + 3 cats = 200 E. That is a lot of money for her. She did say if it was 50 E, she would gladly spend herself. She talked to the neighbours and they weren't interested.

I curse upon the person who let their cats get lost.

The Sweeper

If your friend isn't a cat person and doesn't have the money, she needs to organise to trap the cats and give them to a pound. If she doesn't she will have a colony many times that size within a couple of years.

As stray kittens, they probably already are riddled with worms and fleas and may have other diseases, and it sounds as though they have started to pass a conjungtival infection between them. That could be a start of flu or just an eye infection, but untreated it will be very painful and may well result in the loss of one or both eyes.

But parasite-borne disease and untreated infection are just two ways they'll die, naturally thinning out their colony (and this is why cats breed like rabbits in the first place).

€40 each to neuter the animals sounds like it's already a subsidised fee - you'd pay more at the vet.

In these times of economic hardship however, she either ignores them or captures them and they'll mostly be PTS - but some of the kittens may be rehomed, and she increases their chances if she catches them while they're still little.

Adventure Pout

If you are worried about the kitten with the injured eyes, I think you should try to catch him/her and take it to the vet.
Or contact the animal rescue and explain the situation.
I don't know which animal rescue you called, but there is a very nice one in Cork that you can contact: http://www.animalcaresociety.ie/
They are great, and really come to your help without problem particularly if you are worried about an injured one.
If your friend can pay 50euro, then it is better than nothing. So try to catch at least one of the female and have her neutered. Then if you can add another 30euros, you guys can have both female neutered.
For the kittens, when the animal rescue arrives, ask them to take the kitties and find a home for them. Good luck!

Kitty_mom

Adventure Pout wrote: »

If you are worried about the kitten with the injured eyes, I think you should try to catch him/her and take it to the vet.
Or contact the animal rescue and explain the situation.
I don't know which animal rescue you called, but there is a very nice one in Cork that you can contact: http://www.animalcaresociety.ie/
They are great, and really come to your help without problem particularly if you are worried about an injured one.
If your friend can pay 50euro, then it is better than nothing. So try to catch at least one of the female and have her neutered. Then if you can add another 30euros, you guys can have both female neutered.
For the kittens, when the animal rescue arrives, ask them to take the kitties and find a home for them. Good luck!

Thank you for the information. I have just mailed them. And i hope they do help. I am prepared to pay at least half if they do find home rather than leaving them on the street after neutering.

I am worried about the kittens whether they eat. Hubby tells me that i can't save every cat/kitten but i really want to help these ones. Will keep you updated about this.