Stories of Failed Cat Rescues Worry Me
I am not a rescue.
I never set out to rescue cats.
It was an accident.
To quote my deceased sister, “…My brother accidentally started a cat rescue…” 🙂 That happened when I got involved with rescuing a colony of cats (The Henderson Cat Colony) abandoned by a neighbor who moved. I had no idea what I was getting into. Our cat count quickly got out of control while trapping, spaying, neutering, vetting, and trying to find homes for them.
I am just a kind-hearted animal lover doing what I can to help hapless kittens and cats until they can find loving homes.
However, caring for a large number of kittens and cats who require daily food, litter, and some who are always in need of medical care, is similar to what many rescues do. It is easy to be consumed and overwhelmed with their needs and care while also seeking to find homes for them.
Finding homes has proven to be the hardest task of all since this adventure took over my life.
Henderson, Texas is fortunate to have the Henderson Animal Center staff and the Rusk County Pets Alive Team working round the clock 24/7/365 to save the lives of the hapless animals who come into their circle of care and they AMAZINGLY find homes for all of them.
Shelters, rescues, and animal-loving individuals are at war with ignorance and indifference about the plight of hapless animals caused mostly by humans.
If you would like to better understand or see the battle first-hand or serve on the front lines of this war, then please consider volunteering at the shelter or rescue or fostering or helping a TNR group.
If you are unable to do those things, then please consider contributing to those who can do those things and sharing their posts with your friends and family and asking them to also share or contribute.
THE ROAD TO HADES IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
DOLLARS
Stories of failed rescues worry me because if ANYTHING happens that results in insufficient $$$ of financial support being available to meet the needs of all the cats under care, then literally overnight circumstances may become a disaster with no easy solution.
Consider becoming a Kitty advocate.
LITTER BOXES
OR should a primary animal caregiver be unable to serve due to illness or other circumstances, then without backup people to step in dozens of litter boxes that have been kept filled with clean litter and religiously scooped twice a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, could become a filthy mess in only 24-48 hours.
In less than 2 days, a formerly well-kept environment can deteriorate into conditions that a visitor might characterize as neglectful, when in fact they may have resulted from a very brief period of lack of people power.
Consider contributing for June's litter needs
CAT FOOD
Likewise, if the last bag of cat food is served and there are ZERO funds available to acquire more cat food, then cats who have been free fed 24/7/365 for their entire lives while waiting for adoption may be staring at empty food bowls and what can the caregiver do at that point?
It's time to break out the cardboard begging sign and move to the street corner by Walmart. Or In the worst case, all of the cats may have to go hungry at the very place that saved them from their original unfortunate circumstances.
Cats need to eat daily (don't we all?), and if not fed, then in a matter of days health issues can begin erupting, and not for just one or two cats, but potentially for every cat that is not being fed. If that happens, then medical needs begin accumulating.
Consider contributing to June's Food needs
When enough funds and people are ALWAYS available 24/7/365 to meet the needs of the population of cats under care at a facility, then failure can be avoided, but absent enough dollars or muscles, failure is imminent and can happen QUICKLY.
THESE SCENARIOS GIVE ME NIGHTMARES
The following is just one story of a failed rescue in Utah that illustrates the significant amount of resources that would have been required just to treat the 135 cats under care for this one issue at this rescue.
The fact that the Utah rescue ringworm outbreak was widespread in the cat population under care may suggest they unknowingly took in a cat with ringworm that spread it until discovered and then they did not have enough space, people power and $$$ required to quarantine and respond to the outbreak.
As the article points out, $27,000 are needed to resolve that unfortunate situation.
PERSONAL PET CARE
Caring for one pet or even a dozen personal pets is a big and expensive responsibility, but it pales in comparison to the challenges that shelters and rescues face when taking in DOZENS AND DOZENS of animals.
BULK CAT CARE
Taking in and assuming responsibility to care for MULTIPLE DOZENS of kittens and cats from all manner of unfortunate circumstances that are largely created by irresponsible pet owners and others who are indifferent to the plight of homeless animals, is a HERCULEAN task fraught with the daily possibility of being unable to sustain care for them or find homes for them. What happens to the animals then?
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION,
BUT IT CAN BECOME A SAD REALITY OVERNIGHT
Please help me keep failure at bay and help Henderson Cats with your contribution of any amount for FOOD, LITTER, or VET CARE.
You can see exactly what your contributions are used for on each campaign.
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