12/29/2024
If love cats please read.. long but good educational advice.
Got stray cats in you neighborhood? Read this post.
Since Monday, we've had repeated calls to take feral cats as good Samaritans trapped these animals to get them out of the cold in an attempt to give them a better life, perhaps in the spirit of the holiday. While we applaud their compassion, we need to educate the general public and therefore repeat one of our most powerful posts:
Let's make this ABSOLUTELY clear: FERALS HAVE NOWHERE TO GO!
🚫 There are NO SANCTUARIES.
🚫 There are TOO FEW BARN HOMES.
🚫 They are NOT ADOPTABLE.
🚫 They CANNOT BE TURNED IN TO A SHELTER; they will be EUTHANIZED!
LEAVE THAT CAT IN ITS TERRITORY! 🐾
We were contacted by a caring good Samaritan who had been feeding a tabby in her yard since summer. Within the past few weeks, a black and white kitty showed up as well. Now that freezing temperatures have arrived, the good Samaritan wanted these feral cats TNRed and brought indoors/adopted immediately. IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!
⚠️ DO NOT WAIT if you see kittens/cats in your community!
The black & white kitty turned out to be 14 weeks old; had he been rescued when he was first spotted months ago, he'd be someone's indoor cat right now. The tabby was 11 months old and had already experienced it's first winter. Both of these cats are unsocialized and therefore unadoptable; there is nowhere for them to go but back outside to their home territory. NO RESCUE is going to take a feral cat, and NO ADOPTER is going to want a cat that literally bounces off walls and climbs the curtains. This makes the good Samaritan unhappy, but it's reality. The good Samaritan has now been educated and will contact us sooner the next time a community cat crosses her path.
🚨 EDUCATE! Act swiftly on kittens, TNR ferals. ZERO DELAYS! 🚨
We must educate others that they cannot wait when they see a litter of kittens in their midst or an intact feral crossing their path. Rescue the kittens; TNR the ferals. The clock is ticking—don't delay to take action to give these animals a better life and keep the community cat population in check. 🐾💪
➡️IMPORTANT NOTE: A feral cat MAY be socialized with patience and over time IF the cat is willing; we have socialized plenty over the years. We are talking about the good Samaritan's expectation that the cat should be immediately adopted. This is an UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION.