Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: Angiew on November 11, 2010, 17:39:40 PM
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http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2010/11/08/widow-in-battle-to-keep-her-27-pet-cats/
mind you 27 cats and 3 trays? :Crazy: :Crazy:
not pleased that they are not all neutered
she does have some good support from the comments
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I like the comment - 'she knows them all by name' !! as if its some big deal. Mind you I call mine the wrong name sometimes, so can't talk really lol!
£30 a week on food? that doesnt sound a lot for 27 cats really, and as you say Angie, only 3 trays! yikes! :Crazy:
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Defintely a mad catlady and not in a good way. So each cat costs just over £1 a week to feed - I'm sure they eat supermarket own brand rubbish at best. I'm sure vet treatment is non-existent :tired: - I have 4 trays for 2 cats :Crazy:
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Defintely a mad catlady and not in a good way. So each cat costs just over £1 a week to feed - I'm sure they eat supermarket own brand rubbish at best. I'm sure vet treatment is non-existent :tired: - I have 4 trays for 2 cats :Crazy:
Well I think shes doing a wonderful job, and could teach a few people some lessons. Whatever she is feeding those cats look great and are obviously loved, my only concern would be that provision has been made for them when she dies.
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I have 2 trays for 5 cats - and they are hardly ever used , they all go outside given the choice. I never believe what is written in the papers (especially the Star! :Crazy:). Ok so six are not neutered , but I wonder where these 27 cats would be without this lady?Not everyone can afford posh cat food - that does not mean her beloved pets are neglected - they are obviously loved ,which is more than a lot of cats out there!
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She said she saw some of them born - so it is probably that her fault they exist in the first place. I'm sorry but care includes proper vet care and decent food. With 27 cats, the odds are that at least a few of them need vet treatment they are unlikely to have. I would be interested to know if they even get frontlined and wormed. They didn't look bad in the picture. I guess different people have different standards.
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Maybe - but I would still rather they stayed with her then were euthanized - as that is what will happen if they are taken away. We all know there is a huge shortage of rescue space and do you really think the council will bother trying?:'(
Incidentally I spend the same as her on catfood for 4 cats! I think my boys may be a bit spoilt! :evillaugh:
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We have 6 cats and 1
demon kitten with 4 trays and one of them a jumbo tray. They are used to a greater or lesser degree depending on the weather :innocent:. I regularly clear up cat poo outside and keep areas freshly dug to encourage them to use our garden. 3 trays is clearly not enough for 27 cats.
I can see that this lady's neighbours should show concern for her welfare but she too should return the favour. She should make every effort to lessen the impact of her cats on her neighbours. She should neuter and spay those that have not been done as a matter of urgent priority. I cannot in good conscience support people who end up in this position due to not neutering. However I'm sure the news report is not a full and true account of this story. They never are and I certainly don't believe it's possible to feed a cat a decent diet for £1 a week. Just nonsense. If that's all she spends on food, what on earth happens re vet care?
Having said all that, I certainly hope she gets and accepts some help to allow her to keep the cats if the alternative is pts :(
I do hope CP are in contact with this lady re neutering.
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Apparently 21 out of 27 are neutered - how are we to know the other 6 are not kittens? Is it not possible she took in a pregnant mum? I agree she needs help , but I feel sorry for her and think it is unfair to condemn when we don't know the whole story.
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I`ve seen hundreds born but I havent allowed them to breed, afraid Purrs is becoming very judgemental of late.
I guess Mark you would class me as having low standards.
That poor woman is surrounded by people who have misjudged her and gone as far as to get outsiders to sign the petition,sorry not going to add anymore too angry.
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how are we to know the other 6 are not kittens?
I am going by the article Kirst although, as I said, it's very likely to be unreliable
"the eldest, a 13-year-old tomcat called Felix, down to the youngest, one-year-old tortoiseshell Fluff"
The article also says that she had 5 cats when her hubby died 5 years ago and now has 27. Yes she needs help. I hope it's forthcoming and that she accepts it and that she gets the others neutered asap to stop her numbers unnecessarily increasing further.
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They do look it good nick but I suspect the lady does not know help is available for neutering. The article says she has stated neutering 'is an expensive business'. I think she could do with a few vouchers. ;)
I'm in two minds... she obviously dotes on them. :) But I am not sure she has the resources to provide timely and adequate vet care. :scared: I would not be in favour of removing any, but I don't think she should gain any more. :doh:
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This story makes me wonder whether strays have turned up at her home and she has fed them and they have stayed. It is easy to be judgemental with this case and not know all the facts. When I was fostering for CP and must hasten to add had no outdoor pens I would quite often with my own cats have a total of 20 cats in my home, so that was 7 cats of my own and 13 CP cats and kittens in the house. Mine were mainly elderly, had a medical or a behaviour problem such as aggressive through the way they had been treated or being young kittens from a feral colony. They mainly came to me until they could be tamed down if feral, the elderly and ill would be forgotten about and the food, vet bills and cat litter supplied, when I say forgotten about they never actively looked for homes for them.
As to her seeing some of the cats born I would say that she maybe had a pregnant female turn up and could have been something like the Roxy situation in another thread.
With out the full facts it is so easy to judge a person and at least all the cats are being fed being it on shops own brand or not. Suppose I am also one with low standards as my food bill for the cats alone for food not including cat litter or food for my dogs comes to £31 a week, as some of my cats won't eat certain types of food.
Example have one that will only eat As good as it looks or Simply, another that will only eat Whiskas supermeat others that look disgusted if you feed supermeat to them and will only eat chunks in jelly or gravy.
I think if the lady has difficult coping to feed them all the council should assist in trying to find them suitable homes with rescues (work with rescues to try and find them forever homes) and move them from the lady as and when a home is found and also assist with getting the ones neutered that are not when they are old enough to make sure that they don't continue to breed.
I think there is a lot more to this story than is actually being told.
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As already said, she probably doesn't know about neutering vouchers so hopefully a rescue will help her out there. But the suggestion in this thread that only being able to afford supermarket own-brand food is, in itself, a failure of basic care which makes someone unfit to keep cats... :Crazy: :rofl: :Crazy:
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As already said, she probably doesn't know about neutering vouchers so hopefully a rescue will help her out there. But the suggestion in this thread that only being able to afford supermarket own-brand food is, in itself, a failure of basic care which makes someone unfit to keep cats... :Crazy: :rofl: :Crazy:
Personally, I care about the long term health of my cats, so feeding them a high cereal, low meat diet full of colourings and preservatives is out of the question. There are better quality foods that don't break the bank but so many don't bother to do their homework.
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i do try and feed mine best quality but there is only so much I can throw away. So we compromise on Whiskas or felix wet and orijen (though still on science diet provided by C4).
When i have bought supermarket brands in the past they have walked away with contempt so tbh don't even try them any more. :Crazy: If I could find a cheap food that they would eat, I would as i think most of the branded foods are pretty similar.
I do have to admit they are eating the Bozita but I remember having a lot of it before and they lost interest then so can only feed every so often.
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I can't access the article - anyone know of another link?
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Someone has kindly sent me the article as my work pc won't let me access it.
I have to say, 27 cats in a 3 bed semi seems excessive and I wouldn't want to live next to her, esp as they are not all neutered. Her comment about neutering being expensive makes me wonder whether she can afford to feed and care for them all if she can't afford neutering. From the info in the article, it sound like a case of hoarding to me. Whether she's taken in strays or deliberately acquired them all, it sounds like she's lonely since her husband died and it has all got out of hand. As to the comment re seeing some of them being born - it doesnt say whether the 6 un-neutered ones are all of the same sex, but if not then I think we can guess where those kittens came from!
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Personally, I care about the long term health of my cats, so feeding them a high cereal, low meat diet full of colourings and preservatives is out of the question. There are better quality foods that don't break the bank but so many don't bother to do their homework.
Gosh, definitely no room up there on the moral high ground for impoverished elderly ladies who don't know that they're supposed to be spending their time agonising over their internet research on high quality cat foods. Shame on them for having the audacity to think that they have the right to own and love their pets.
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Personally, I care about the long term health of my cats, so feeding them a high cereal, low meat diet full of colourings and preservatives is out of the question. There are better quality foods that don't break the bank but so many don't bother to do their homework.
Gosh, definitely no room up there on the moral high ground for impoverished elderly ladies who don't know that they're supposed to be spending their time agonising over their internet research on high quality cat foods. Shame on them for having the audacity to think that they have the right to own and love their pets.
:duel: :clap:
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Well all I can say is I am in the wrong place if I made to feel in the wrong for wanting the best of health for animals so we shall leave it there. Two arguments in one morning is enough for me.
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As much as I love to stir in all seriousness I think being able to feed your pets (and humans) top of the range organic food is good but it has to be IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.
Bog standard catfood is nutritional enough and does for 99% of cats no problem. (having just treated the fosters to some turkey pieces , though it was bernard matthews so it doesn't really count!).
:hug: to Mark.
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The whole point of this story is being missed -
Can you imagine the mess 27 cats are making if they are using someones garden as a toilet ?!
I think even I would get the hump :evillaugh:
Maybe she can off to clean up after her cats (I've done this when I neighbour dropped into convo that one of mine was "using" her front garden)
I can't see how this can be stopped without keeping the cats indoors.....Its not like she can put a nappy on them !
Must say, the house looks clean, tiday and the cats well cared for
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What I was trying to say but didn't do it very well was that I can see both sides of the story !
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I'm also in two minds about this story, one on hand I think it sounds a little like hoarding too, and it doesn't matter how much she loves the cats or how lonely she is, if she can't provide adequate care for the cats she shouldn't have so many, like others have said, I wonder if all the cats have been de-flead, wormed, and have adequate vet care should they need it. Also find it strange that people are outraged at the thought of one entire cat being allowed outside or allowed to live with other entire cats, but in this case people feel sorry for her? Again, if she can't afford to neuter them all then I think she should either look into getting vouchers or have to give them away, especially since the possible consequences of it are going to be way more expensive then the cost of the operations. Also a bit weary of the fact of her only having 3 trays, plus you have to wonder what state the back garden is in if the council have ordered her to clear it up? I think the article plays on the 'poor lonely old woman getting victimised by the big bag neighbours' angle instead of putting over an unbiased view. I don't agree with people signing the petition when they're not directly affected though.
On the other hand though, you have to think that at least being in a home is better than the cats being taken away and pts, with a little bit of help the lady could probably get some neutering vouchers, buy a couple more trays and do something to show that she's trying to clean up the cats' mess a little bit which would hopefully appease the neighbours. Like others have said too, we don't know all the facts and there might be good reasosn for some of the stuff I've pointed out but we just don't know so can only assume. I do feel a bit sorry for her but she got herself into the situation and doesn't seem to be doing much to solve it, it would only take a little bit of effort to ensure she could keep all of her cats and keep the neighbours happy.
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I agree that in an ideal world all cats would be fed on top quality grub , but the truth is that many mogs have survived , and in fact flourished on a maybe sub standard diet and it has done them no harm.................after all there was certainly no high meat . low cereal food about 50 years ago but still plenty of healthy happy cats! ;)
My grandmothers cat survived 19 years on a diet of fish scraps , milk and offal quite happily! :sick: (NAN IS 96 BTW!)
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Aaalrightie ladies, I wanna know where I can get cat food that costs only £30 a week to feed 27 cats and them still look fit and healthy. Me motor's running and am ready to stock up ;D
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You could actually just about do it on Butcher's classic tins heavily mixed with a low grade own brand biscuit to bulk it out. I know people feeding feral groups who do this. :sneaky:
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Am stunned Julie but delighted to hear it :wow:.
Have been feeding our 7 Classic on and off over last week. Well they'e eaten a tin for one of their 3 meals a day on each of 4 days and liked it. Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did) and Fred not too good in that dep't. Have to say they get good quality biccies though altho try to get Fred to eat RC renal.
Haven't tried them with fish variety of Classic recently as, last time I did, they wouldn't touch it and am only using meat varieties of Classic on and off coz last time I tried feeding only Classic for their wet food that they looked like I was trying to poison them :innocent:
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Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did) a
Never had any luck with Classic - I heard it was good for diabetic cats. I think it was JS that posted about it a few years ago.
As for cheap biccies - someone posted about B&M or somewhere like that selling 10kg of good quality dry for £8 or something. From what I remember, it was on par with JWB, PAH premium etc - ie has yukka, rosemary oil 25%+ chicken etc.
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Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did)
.... Classic - I heard it was good for diabetic cats.
Oh bum :(
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Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did)
.... Classic - I heard it was good for diabetic cats.
Oh bum :(
At least it is cereal free on the bright side. The problem is, as a rule, the higher the meat content, the higher the phosphorus - That is why Orijen & Applaws/Encore have the highest phos content.
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I left this thread because I was angry about the way this lady with apparently well cared for cats had been branded by so called intelligent Purrs peeps.
Not only has this lady been criticised but there have been certain "digs" made about intelligence and others about not doing homework which I feel were directed at forum members; well its easy to joke in idle banter but that doesnt require much intelligence just the ability to upset others. There are several people who need to learn compassion and humility.
The feeding of the 5000 with loaves and fishes and similar stretching of resources requires far more intelligence.
I apologise in advance if this has upset anyone but I am rather busy making my loaves and fishes go round at the minute and have the posters concerned ever asked what I feed to my rescues or if indeeed they are being fed enough?
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Teresa - if you know more about this, perhaps you'd like to share?
All we can go on, is what is in the article. And this lady is not a rescue. She is keeping 27 cats in a semi - by anyone's standards that is a lot of cats and I do feel for her neighbours
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Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did)
.... Classic - I heard it was good for diabetic cats.
Oh bum :(
Yup, was told on a feline diabetes forum classic's pretty good for diabetic cats that's how ours ended up eating it. (What are you saying "oh bum" for....? :scared:)
I think this is a bit of a mixed bag. Clearly the cats look healthy and well cared for. However, in a three bedroom semi that amount of cats isn't ideal on the psychological front (in my opinion).....But with the amount of cats needing homes, I think this is likely to happen more and more as people that genuinely care and want to help end up taking on more cats than is ideal for the space they inhabit. I feel sad for the lady because she clearly cares about the cats.
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What are you saying "oh bum" for....? :scared:
Just that I thought I was helping Fred's kidney probs; thankfully he is not diabetic :shy:
It looks like meat and fish content is 4% which is same as Felix and Whiskas so assume similar phosphorus levels. At least it's cheaper though :innocent:
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Another thing about Classic (sorry, this is going way off topic) - Sage appears to have a dicky tummy with most food but has very little trouble if we're consistently feeding her Classic.
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well its easy to joke in idle banter but that doesnt require much intelligence just the ability to upset others. There are several people who need to learn compassion and humility.
Couldn't find a smiley of a greenhouse
;)
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i think it depends on the circumstances. i could be in the news next! in the house i have 4 of my own cats, 1 stray, 1 feral and 8 kittens and i'm in a 3 bed terrace house but mine are fosters, mine and the stray/ferals are neutered/spayed and some of the older kittens are too. although i spend way more than that on cat food- i buy mine from the wholesalers so the cats get the good stuff abit cheaper. mine eat james wellbeloved/science plan/royal canin dry food, applaws and sheba wet food, only the best for my lot!
the lady may well have took strays and ferals in. it may well be better than being dumped at a rescue and definately better than them being pts. whatever her reasons, i think her heart is in the right place
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well its easy to joke in idle banter but that doesnt require much intelligence just the ability to upset others. There are several people who need to learn compassion and humility.
Couldn't find a smiley of a greenhouse
;)
:rofl: hit the nail on the head there Michelle!
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well its easy to joke in idle banter but that doesnt require much intelligence just the ability to upset others. There are several people who need to learn compassion and humility.
Couldn't find a smiley of a greenhouse
;)
:rofl: hit the nail on the head there Michelle!
How about a witches hat or even a pumkin yes I am onto this :rofl: Thank you all. :hug:
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well its easy to joke in idle banter but that doesnt require much intelligence just the ability to upset others. There are several people who need to learn compassion and humility.
Couldn't find a smiley of a greenhouse
;)
:rofl: hit the nail on the head there Michelle!
How about a witches hat or even a pumkin yes I am onto this :rofl: Thank you all. :hug:
Well....as they say, if the cap fits!
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Have been feeding our 7 Classic on and off over last week. Well they'e eaten a tin for one of their 3 meals a day on each of 4 days and liked it. Mark mentioned it's pretty good for puds with kidney issues (I think he did)
Haven't tried them with fish variety of Classic recently
Classic is good for cats with mouth problems too :) The meat percentage is for the NAMED variety i.e. in the chicken variety there is 4% chicken, but that doesnt meant there is ONLY 4% meat - the rest is made up of 'other' meat and derivatives. BUT, the good thing is, as others have said, it doesnt contain other rubbish, like cereals, rice, veggies, soya etc etc :)
Mine arent keen on the fishy varieties either :tired:
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[gmod][/gmod] No personal attacks please - REally don;'t want to be locking any more threads today!
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No personal attacks please - REally don;'t want to be locking any more threads today!
Apologies Kirst, but sometimes its hard to hold back :shy:
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Remember what Purrs is all about - we shoudl ALL have the same agenda and I for one feel that its getting lost. :'(
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[admin]As Kirst has said - Please stop the personal attacks, the digs and remarks at any forum members. Purrs is here to help cats in need not to host petty arguments. [/admin]
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Mine arent keen on the fishy varieties either :tired:
Weirdly, the least favourite of ours too....maybe we should start another thread about this...? :shy:
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Mine arent keen on the fishy varieties either :tired:
Weirdly, the least favourite of ours too....maybe we should start another thread about this...? :shy:
I have a cat that will turn his nose up to roast chicken, roast beef, roast pork, well in fact all fresh food of the meat, poultry and fish variety
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Oh Ellen I have four like that :rofl: :rofl:
When the first two arrived I thought......Oh well never mind................and when the birmans arrived I thought oh good now for normal cats :rofl: :rofl:
But noooooooooo they dont like it either......sigh
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I must be lucky because all of mine (including the dog) and even the ferals will eat anything!!
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Oh Gill - Birmans are the fussiest of the lot I think! Beavis has to have brand rotation as he refuses the same food two weeks in a row! :Crazy:
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Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :scared:
My two have been eating the same food and flavour now for months..........................shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dont tell them :innocent:
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Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :scared:
My two have been eating the same food and flavour now for months..........................shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dont tell them :innocent:
:evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh:
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Oh Gill - Birmans are the fussiest of the lot I think! Beavis has to have brand rotation as he refuses the same food two weeks in a row! :Crazy:
Ok mine is not a Birman but have had a cat eating the same type of meat and flavour for 21 months (due to medical condition) if she finds out there will be uproar :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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How did this turn into a food thread?! :) I think the food thing is only an issue for me because you can never guarantee a cat will eat a particular thing. What if one of this lady's cats decides not to eat what she is feeding or needs a prescription diet? Will she be able to afford that?
But the main part of the article that gets me is that this lady has 6 unneutered cats roaming free. That is not responsible cat ownership.
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Sorry! :shy: Have just read some of the comments on the article and I agree that clearly all the cats should be spayed and neutered and potentially more litter trays should be provided. I also feel that 27 cats is an awful lot in that amount of territory...BUT what are the options? The cats look loved, well fed (regardless of the budget she claims to have) and are clearly important to this woman.