Advice to Cat Rescues

To my friends in rescue, here are three easy steps to alienate your supporters:

1. Beg for money from supporters for an ill cat and then NEVER give an update on the cat. Supporters like me love to wonder if the cat lived, if the money helped, etc. I'm not suggesting that a daily update is needed -- I know you guys are busy -- but maybe a simple post about the cat a week or so later would not be too much to ask.

2. Beg for money from supporters for cats, while claiming you are broke, and then bragging about the flat-screen TV you just bought on your personal page. Again, supporters like me love to wonder if the money we donate to help cats has actually helped you live a more comfortable life. As a corollary to this, if you are so desperate for cat litter and I want to buy cat litter and have it shipped to you, what is the problem? My little evil mind just wonders if the problem is cat litter can't be exchanged for movie credits on cable to watch on that big flat-screen TV.

3. Beg for money from supporters and NEVER bother to thank them. Supporters like me love to be ignored and taken for granted. I don't expect nor want a public thank you, but a simple email or PM with "TY" would be enough.

Are any of these three things too much to ask? No. Not in my world. I work hard for my money and, while this sounds childish, I would like to believe that if I give your rescue some of it, that you would appreciate the sacrifice. After all, I have bills and my own cats with vet bills to pay too.

Donating to Cat Rescues

My blog -- my rant!!!

I'm a wee bit annoyed and frustrated with many of my fellow cat lovers.

I support a Persian rescue called Chapelhouse Persian  Rescue in the UK.  I do so for several reasons.  The main reason is this rescue takes in cats which would otherwise be destroyed -- the cats that other rescues have refused, the cats with serious medical issues.  These are the types of cats that I rescue -- the unwanted. There are not many rescues who will take on these kinds of cats as most rescues want only healthy cats they can quickly adopt out.  So, I greatly admire this rescues work!

Another reason is Chapelhouse is in the UK.  This is far enough from me so I don't end up visiting and bringing home cats.

And a final reason is the director, Cheryl-Anne and I have become friends.

Right now, Chapelhouse has 3 different appeals to raise money to save and care for 6 Persians.  I have posted about this on several cat sites and on Facebook.  And I have received some interesting replies.

I can't afford to send them money.  Really?  You recently bought an very expensive _____ and you normally have 1-2 drinks from Starbucks, but you can't afford $5?

I don't know how to send them money.  Try poking the PayPal button.

Why don't they save the cats first instead of using emotional blackmail?  Two main reasons.  First, if they get the cat and can't raise the money to treat it, then the rescue gets to watch it die or put it to sleep.  Second, most people won't give if they know a cat is safe.

They should focus on saving healthy cats.  Fine, then you would agree that Anya, Wendy, Clarissa, Isabel, and Dante should never have been saved either.

So, if you would like to donate to Chapelhouse Persian Rescue, here's a link Chapelhouse Persian Rescue Donations

I'm not saying everyone must support Chapelhouse, but please do two things:

1. Find a rescue/shelter you like and support them.
2. If you won't support a rescue/shelter, don't hide behind bogus excuses.

The War Between Rescuers and Breeders

I was looking at various groups on Facebook the other day and became totally disenchanted with both rescue groups and breeders.  Both factions were calling for the other side to be "put to sleep" or "hung".  Both claimed they had the best interest of the animals in their decisions.

Here's examples from both sides:

Let's kill the breeders!
A lady buys a kitten from a breeder.  The kitten arrives and seems fine at first.  Then the kitten gets sick.  After a week or so, the owner takes the kitten to the vet whose diagnosis is girardia, coccidia, and ringworm.  After 2 months, the kitten is still sick so the owners give the kitten to a rescue.  The rescue publicizes the story, including the breeder's name, and the rescue supporters call for the breeder (and all breeders) to be put to sleep.

The breeder is then contacted and told about the group trashing her name and reputation.  The breeder, an older lady, decides to quit breeding.  The rescue supporters celebrate.

Interestingly, the rescue and its supporters fail to notice that the breeder had not been contacted previous to this about this sick kitten, to understand girardia, coccidia, and ringworm could have come from other cats that the owner has or from being allowed out in the garden, and to ask why the owner did not contact the breeder immediately or take the kitten to a vet upon arrival.

Let's kill the rescue groups!
A rescue takes in a sick cat -- no definite symptoms, just diarrhea and a high temperature.  The cat gets sicker and after 2 days is seen by a vet, who makes no clear diagnosis but wants to run more tests.  The tests are done and more tests are done.  The rescue finally is informed that the cat probably has FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) and the cat is put to sleep.  Some breeders then criticize the rescue for torturing the animal for a week by trying to treat it, for spending money on a lost cause, and for being idiots for not recognizing the disease at first.

What the breeders fail to understand is that when rescues get an animal in with no history, it takes time to figure out what is going on, that if a rescue doesn't try, then they will be criticized for not trying, and that FIP doesn't always come with a bloated belly of fluid.

Both sides in these little wars are myopic and irrational.  You can not try to add any rational comments or questions because you will then be the target.

And sorry, it's stupid!!!

I've done rescue.  I've got a number of breeder friends.  Perhaps because of this I can see the bigger picture.  Namely, both sides need each other.  The people supporting the rescues want specific breeds of cats for their own pets, and so they need breeders to continue to breed.  Breeders need rescue groups to take in and rehome purebreds (perhaps their own cats) which irresponsible owners dump.  What both sides should agree on is that backyard breeders and shady rescue groups are the problem, but this is too fine of distinction for most people involved in these 'discussions'.

My biggest fear is that all the good, ethical breeders will be run out of business, leaving only the backyard breeders who often abuse their animals.  This will then allow the rescue groups and animal rights groups to get passed draconian laws about keeping pets, such as the registration and inspection of all homes with pets.

Yah, so breeders and rescuers, please just keep fighting so we all lose.

Rescue vs. Adoption vs. From a Breeder

If someone wakes up tomorrow and says, "I want a Persian," that person can get a Persian from one of three main sources.  Each source has advantages as well as disadvantages.

1. Rescue

Anya

The person can go to a county or city animal shelter and get a purebred Persian.  So isn't this adoption?  Usually no, I would classify it as rescue, because most county animal shelters around here are overcrowded and have a very high euthanasia rate.  In some shelters in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, the rate is 70% or higher for cats.  These cats are give 3-5 days and then put to sleep.  So, yes, this is rescue because the animal is on the edge of death.  When I got Anya from a Los Angeles City Shelter, she had hours to live.

Advantages:  Any cat you take in, you have saved their life.  You may find a total gem of a cat.  And yes, there are plenty of purebred Persians in shelters, from 3 months to 15 years.  Most cats are about $50, with huge discounts for older animals.

Disadvantages:  The cat may be sick -- even terminally ill because the former owner could not face putting the cat to sleep.  I once drove to see a white cat, but when I got there the shelter vet tech told me he was suffering from advanced kidney failure, dementia, and incontinence.  It was sad to leave him, but he had no future and, the only reason I left him, he seemed unaware of anyone or anything around him. Sometimes the illness is apparent, but sometimes it is not.  Chances are almost 100% that the cat will get a respiratory infection.  You will know nothing about the cat's history.  And something that is bad in my world, the cat will be vaccinated whether you want it to be or not.  Your choice of cats is limited to what is available at the time.

2. Adoption

Spencer

The person can contact either a private rescue or a no-kill shelter to get a Persian (or maybe even an individual list a cat on Craig's List).  You will have to answer questions about your home, maybe your vet, other animals, which the rescue can use to approve or deny you.  Rescues vary greatly in the amount of information they want -- some will even require a home visit before and after adoption.

Advantages:  The cat will already be screened for major health problems.  Some cats will come with histories and/or papers even.  Most cats come with a guarantee for health and a return policy if the new cat doesn't work out.  Since rescues can remove the best cats from shelters, these cats are in better condition, younger, and friendlier than from public shelters.

Disadvantages:  The price can be the same as for a public shelter or considerably more.  Some private rescues have adoption fees of $300+ for a purebred.  Some of the information may be wrong.  Spencer was adopted from a shelter -- the owners had surrendered him and said he was 2 years old, but that they had him for 3 years.  Like with rescue, many of these cats will come with an URI.

3. From a Breeder

Peaches-N-Cream

The person can locate a breeder and contact the breeder for availability.  Usually people do this if they want only a kitten, and not even a young adult.  The cat, if from a reputable breeder, will come neutered/spayed, with vaccinations and papers.

Advantages:  The person will know exactly where the cat came from.  If it's a kitten, then the person will not have to deal with problems created by someone else.  The cat should be healthy.  The breeder is usually a great source of advice on how to care for the cat/kitten.  If something happens and the cat needs to be rehomed, most breeders will take their cats back.

Disadvantages:  The cost is higher -- $300 to $1000 for a pet quality, more for a show quality.  (Retired queens are usually rehomed for much less.)

As you can see, I have cats from all three sources.  I don't see one being better than another, although I would caution a new-to-cats person not to knowingly adopt a sick cat from a public shelter.  (It takes years of experience to be able to nurse some of these cats back to health.)  Each has it's pros and cons.

And I'm not one to say "You must rescue cats -- not buy them." My only requirement is that the cat is loved and cared for the remainder of its life.  Too many people adopt or even buy a cat, forgetting that getting a cat can be a 15 or more year commitment.  

Cats: Picky Eaters

I am somewhat shocked by the number of people that have cats who are described as picky eaters.  I feed mine a variety of meats and they quickly eat their portions (and look to steal food from other cats).  Once I get a cat transitioned to raw and barring a medical/psychological problem (like Clancy's mouth or Isabel being hand-fed for a while), I've never had this problem in ~20 years of feeding raw. My cats eat all their raw quickly, with no hesitation.  I only have one cat, Anya, who doesn't eat with gusto and there are other issues with her. 

So, I got to wondering -- why?  What do I do that these other owners do not do?  Or vice versa.

I think they have ignored a few basic ideas:

1. Cats prefer kibble because of the crunch. If they have access to kibble, they will gravitate to it instead of raw. James and Tolstoy grew up on raw but they go nuts over kibble as a treat. So when owners try raw and kibble, eventually the raw loses because it's not crunchy. Most raw feeders I know feed only raw with occasional treats of crunchies.
2. Cats like stability. If you present a cat with a new food every day or two, the cat gets confused. By constantly changing food, the cat learns that a new food may appear in a day, so if it is not fond of the first food, wait a day and it's a different food.
3. Cats need time to adjust to new food. It does take 5-14 days for a cat to fully adjust to a new food. If the owner gives a new food and then replaces this food before the cat is adjusted to it, the cat's body never fully adapts to any one food. When a cat’s body is not adjusted to the food, the cat is not comfortable and so comes to associate food and being uncomfortable.
4. Cats' appetites vary for a variety of reason. A cat will not eat the same amount each and every day. If a cat doesn't eat everything for one day, so what? In the wild, cats do not eat 2 meals a day, every day. It’s not uncommon for small cats to miss meals for 1-2 days, yet domestic cats are ‘required’ to eat constantly by owners.
5. Specifically with raw, cats will overeat raw when first introduced. This I believe is a response to the nutrient-rich nature of the raw and the nutrient-deficient state a cat is in when put on raw. The cat's body discovers the raw has all the nutrients the old food did not, so it eats more to catch-up. After a while, once the deficits are filled, the cat resumes eating a more normal amount. But then the owner panics because the cat is eating less. (This nutrient-deficiency may also be related to cats going from one food obsession to another -- when the shortage becomes severe enough, the cat refuses to eat it, knowing it will get something else, which hopefully will solve that shortage.)
6. Cats take months to years to break the grazing habit. With grazing, a cat never develops an appetite because it never is hungry. Many cats will eat out of boredom. When transiting a cat, breaking the grazing habit is the hardest -- much harder than kibble to raw actually. It takes firmness from the owner not to sneak extra treats or small snacks or only leave the bowl of kibble out at times.
7. Cats do pick up on owner’s anxiety about food.

So, you take 2 or more of these, do it to a cat for a while, and you get a picky eater. I know some owners don't want to accept this, but I've seen it in newly adopted cats and I've seen it in cats owned by people I have helped with their finicky eaters.  A lot of the problem is what the owner does.  It's not hard once you understand the 'rules'.  I've taken in cats which I was told only will eat Brand X food or starve to death. Guess what? 6 months later, they are on raw and eating fine with gusto.

Now, I have had cats who are picky eaters because of energy imbalances. (Yes, I know it sounds New Age, but western medicine sure doesn't have all the answers for cat care.) I have used homeopathy to remedy energy imbalances. It may take months or even a year, but usually I have had success and in the process, it also got rid of other issues and the cat becomes more eager to eat.  But I believe these cats are few and far between.

A Very Special Gift

A very dear friend of mine created a scrapbook of one of my cats.

Miss Maggie Moo was a rescue Persian.  She had been used as a breeding queen and then literally dumped.  When I adopted her, she weighed 3 lbs, had huge cuts on her skin, and an infected uterus.  She then lost an eye to herpes, and had to have 2 corneal grafts on the other eye to save it.  She lived with me for 16 months, but in the end, her body was too damaged to survive.  She died in my arms.

And despite all the abuse she had suffered and all the pain she went through to save her eye, she never stopped loving me.  The night before she died, she curled up to me as if to say goodbye.

Maggie was very special.  And Cynthia captured that in the pages she created.

If you would like to see all the pages, plus more of Cynthia's outstanding work, she has a blog at:
http://cynthiascardcreations.blogspot.co.nz/

Book Review: Shadow Cats

Shadow Cats:  Tales from New York City's Animal Underground by Janet Jensen
ISBN:  1580627528


This book chronicles the journey of its author from someone concerned about stray cats to manager of feral cat colonies. Along the way, she rescues and cares for many cats, while learning many lessons. Many of the stories in the book are humorous, some very tragic.

The passion of the author and of other rescuers comes through clearly in this book. I found it very heartwarming that in a city like New York, known for its toughness, there are networks of people dedicated (sometimes to extremes) to save cats which will never be pets to anyone. For people outside cat rescue groups, this book is a fine introduction to what it takes to rescue cats, both financially and emotionally.

My biggest complaints with this book are the overall writing and organization. In many places, the writing could be more clear, more descriptive, more detailed. She missed many opportunities to elaborate on humorous situations or to explain why certain actions were more appropriate. The book is generally told in chronological order, but this is not always adhered to. Some chapters seem almost to have been inserted later, to fill out the book. Maybe it was her passion and her emotional connection to the subject that led the author astray, but I would have liked the book more had it been better edited.  A minor complaint is that I wished she had included more details on handling these cats -- taming a feral cat -- so that I could learn something useful when dealing with my traumatized shelter cats.

Overall, this is a good book. Someone had recommended it to me and I'm not displeased that I bought and read it.  I probably will not read it again, because of some of the tragic stories -- stories which I take too much to heart. If, however, someone came to me and asked for a book about cat rescuing, I'd have them read this one so they understood more of what they were getting into. (  )