Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Rescue & Rehoming => Rescue & Rehoming General => Topic started by: Desley (booktigger) on March 10, 2007, 13:53:46 PM
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Some of the 'old-timers' from CC will remember my rather odd neighbour - I dont talk to them that much anymore, but she collared me today to see if I had space for an unneutered tom cat - which I dont, and we wouldn't put an unneutered tom in the cattery at the mo cos we have a very recently neutered tom in there, and the chances of them getting on are rather slim, but if we could get him neutered and kept a few days till the smell wears off a bit, we could risk it. She then told me that he has been where she works for 4 months now, at first he would run away but now he comes three times a day, and she has already de-flead him cos he was covered - yet is only now thinking of getting him in somewhere, and that is only cos the hospital where she works is closing down soon. I know a lot of you on here get these kind of calls on a daily basis, but the reason why this is worse is that this neighbour did cat rescue work for 10 years - from trapping them, to finding homes for them, she only stopped when we got a CP branch as she didn't like the people who run it. I would expect that kind of conversation from Joe Bloggs, not someone who is supposedly knowledgeable about cats and knows what an unneutered cat can do. She is going to get him neutered and keep him separate for us - but then said she would prob do it in a couple of weeks when she has a week off work - god knows how many females he will get too in that time period, esp as we are nearly the middle of MArch.
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I agree it takes some understanding, especially as anyone ever involved in rescue should know better.
Also why leave just because you don't like the people who run it? I didn't particularly like previous Co-ordinators but for the sake of the cats I stayed.
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Exactly - if it was someone with minimal cat knowledge, I could understand it, but not someone who did it for 10 years - and as there was no CP branch, she did have to do a lot (although I can't comprehend how she fit in the number of cats she had in the size house!!).
I personally think it is a very poor reason, you should do it for the sake of the cats, and not for the people you have to report to - she didn't even go to a different role or anything, the only thing she does for them now is buy a few cat beds once a year, doesn't give them any donations, membeshp fees or help with fundraisers. Admittedly I stopped my SO to them, but that is cos I did it for 2 years and wanted to help a different cat charity, I do still pay membership fees and go to fairs if I dont have any fundraisers on.
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:omg: I remember your neighbour well Desley :censored:
I hope something can be worked out for this wee man. As you so rightly say he has probably got to a few females especially at this time of year >:(
I must admit I don't think my faced fitted with our local CP. I passed the home visit but they were not pleased that I intended to keep my cats indoors.
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Yeah, I knew some people would!!
Well, Patches is going to his new home tomorrow, so I shall tell my neighbour I can take him, but can only guarantee I will have space for a couple of weeks, I dont want to have to say no to emergencies while waiting for him!!
Can't see why they wouldn't be happy with that - I dont have that much contact with my local CP after a slight issue with my last foster - it really is their loss though, I am so much happier with the charity I now foster for.
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I passed the home visit but they were not pleased that I intended to keep my cats indoors.
That is stupid, Surely they must have had some cats that required an indoor home or would have been happy indoors In any case I if they hadn't I bet one would have come along soon. I know we have loads of cats suitable for indoors and I and all my fosterers except Virginia on the farm keep our cats in at all times.
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My thoughts exactly Ela. In the end I got Muppet from the RSPCA.
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Just snapped a bit at my neighbour, she came to give me an update!! They tried to catch this cat yesterday and failed, so she said she would leave it a bit - I didn't agree, this cat is unneutered and we are already at the middle of March, I dont want it left much longer, so suggested a trap, she wasn't keen on the idea, but said that she would consider it - only prob is that she is in work this week, and then off for 2 weeks, so it could be 3 weeks before she gets chance to try. I did have a bit of a go for this cat being left for 4 months, we could have had him in, neutered and poss homed by now, she went on about how she is doing something, which is better than the rest of the people at work - which is true, but she did cat rescue for 10 years, she knows the score. She went on about how he had so many fleas they were dropping into his food, so I said had he been wormed - she said no. So I informed her that that needing doing, and you can get a spot on treatment - she proceeded to tell me that she knows he has worms cos of his fur, yet obviously hasnt tried too much, or she would know that you can get a spot on treatment by now. I brought up the subject of FIV/FeLV and she told me that it is in the area, so we are going to cover the neutering cost, and she is going to pay for the blood test - she was willing to hold him while we had space, but she would have to have him in a dog cage, and if FeLV is in the area, I wont allow that, in case it puts her two cats at risk - at least here, I have a completely separate room for them. So god knows when she is going to get him.
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Cant someone else catch this cat?
One thing I dont understand but sure you can explain........how can you tell if a cat has worms by their fur?
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Well, when I had a 'dig' she told me that no one else cared about this cat- then later told me that there are other people who feed him when she isn't there (she works in a hospital, which does explan why some people had issues with her encouraging him by feeding him)!!
I am assuming she means cos his fur is in really poor condition, but that contradicts what she said about him looking miles better than he did when he first came - he has put weight on, she thought it was cos of good meals, but I pointed out that not only does he have worms, but could have other health issues due to being unneutered. Hopefully someone who has experience with worms and cats (I dont) can explain that comment more Gill!!
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We seem to have had a few calls recently with people who seem a little ignorant to the needs of the cats - it is really disappointing sometimes!
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I know - it is more annoying with my neighbours background, she isn't someone who doesnt know anything, and things like this do make me wonder about some of the rescue cats she helped. But her comments about worms are the kind of thing I have to deal with, and it is why most of my help goes by the way - she knows they have x and y without a vet visit, yet doesn't always do anything - and this, like other situations, shows that she is quite out of date with things, she could have had a spot on wormer and got him wormed by now. Mind you, she could have also trapped him, had him neutered and then let us work on gaining trust once he was in a home and safe, rather than make him wait outside for 4 months before she had gained his trust. She annoys me soo much!!
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Which hospital Desley?
Can't believe with 10 years experience the poor thing has been left out for so long.
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ERm, North Manchester? I think that is its name. I know - she said to me last night that as they are going to be closing soon, she wanted to get him somewhere safe - I told her I didn't care about them closing, he is unneutered, so needs to be brought in asap, and I dont really care if that means trapping him or not. She tried to say that he doesnt' go off for days finding ladies, but he has only been there in the winter so far, I bet that changes when the weather gets a bit nicer (but hopefully he wont still be there)
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I was just curious - I thought it might be Birch Hill because alot of that is derelict/closed down/boarded up.
Why is she against trapping him? Do you have a trap you could offer her?
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Gill, you can tell in horses if they have worms by their coat, but you see the other signs too eg. pot belly. Im not sure its a way to diagnose a cat!!
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Thanks Milly ;D
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Dawn - not sure she is against trapping him, she prob just wanted to do it without the stress of a trap first - but she shouldn't have left him 4 months trying to gain his trust, it is better to do that once they are neutered an in a home environment!! I actually forgot to ask the rescue last night if we have a trap, we should have, but if you saw the state of the rescue's garage at the moment, who knows where it is!!
It definitely isn't the best way to diagnose worms in a cat, but it stands to reason he does purely cos he had a large amount of fleas. It is just typical of my neighbour to 'know' these things, yet not deal with them.
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My first cat was a feral kitten my mother (a nurse) rescued from hospital grounds. She was beautiful!
As to the fleas/fur thing, could your neighbour have seen rice grains moving around this tom's bottom?
Wonder if she was kicked out of CP? She seems very unwilling to care for this poor cat.
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Possibly, she just said she knew from his fur!!
Not according to her, and it isn't the impression I got from the CP (I am an ex-fosterer for them too) either. I have been fostering for less than 3 years now, yet this will be the 4th cat I will have had to either push her to do something, or go over her, cos if it had been left to her, they would have been left on teh streets (and all 4 have been unneutered), yet she said on Mon that spay/neuter is the only way we will deal with teh overpopulation issue!! I dont get what goes on in her mind at times.
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Hmm North Manchester General Hospital isnt closing as far as I know and Im sure we would have had something in the local paper. Maybe its just her section she means. I hope you can sort something to catch him soon
love
Tab
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I could have got the name wrong - it definitely has North in the title, and you get to it as though you are going to Middleton from Rochdale, and then turn off, not 100% what the area is called, just know it is a half hour drive from us!! It could just be her part, she works on the psychiatric ward.