Friday, May 18, 2007 , the wee hours

Adventures in animal rescue

Last autumn I registered a nonprofit animal sanctuary with the state of Nevada.  I was caring for an increasing number of foster kittens, and if nothing else, having a nonprofit would allow me to buy supplies at a discount.  My intention was to eventually register with the federal government, be a 501(c)3 corporation, and then I’d be allowed to donate to the charity myself, and deduct my fostering costs completely.  I haven’t done the federal application yet, but just being registered with the state has garnered me some good discounts on pet supplies, a Petfinder account, and even four donations.  That’s all great, except I didn’t realize how much attention the Petfinder account would bring to me.  I’m now running a part-time animal rescue business, if only on paper, because I spend hours each week answering emails and phone calls, trying to convince people to not give up their pets.  When the situation is desperate, I then spend more hours trying to help the caller place their pet somewhere, usually by listing it under my Petfinder account while they continue to “foster” it. 

The phone calls and emails involve a lot of behavioural counselling when folks are honest—I dealt with a woman who had three female cats who sprayed, but who really didn’t want to give them up.  I gave her some suggestions and haven’t heard from her, so I hope that’s a good thing.  Other people aren’t so honest, and it still ends up coming down to a behavioural problem.  One woman wrote a sad email about how she didn’t have time for her beloved cat, who was home alone all day, bored and lonely.  When I suggested the woman get her cat a companion, or just some toys, the woman blurted out that she had a second cat, but the second cat was nice and liked to be petted, while the cat she wanted to get rid of was surly.  Uh-huh.  She eventually broke off contact with me, but I’ve no doubt she was planning to dump the grumpy cat off on someone and then get herself a cute new kitten.  Cuz yeah, the world has a huge demand for middle-aged, surly cats—they always find new homes instantly.  I recently had another sad story from someone who claimed to be disabled and who could no longer afford to care for her cat, which may or may not be true, but it was eventually revealed that the cat she wants to get rid of isn’t neutered, and sprays in the house.  That cat will be another prize at an animal shelter.  I offered to put a Petfinder listing up for the woman with the surly cat, but I said I would have to describe the cat as potentially having a difficult temperament, and that was where the discussion ended.  I wasn’t going to lie to to a potential adopter.  The same with the woman with the unneutered, spraying cat—I’m offering to help her get the cat fixed, but I’m not immediately listing it for adoption.  Neutering may or may not fix the spraying problem, and who wants to adopt a cat with that issue?  I’ll work with the current owner to help remedy the problem, if possible, but I’m not going to be a party to passing the problem along to someone else.

One situation which nagged at me all this week was the case of a paralyzed kitten (it had no use of its legs).  The person who had it didn’t want it, and the vet didn’t know if it would regain use of its legs as it got older, but thought there was a chance.  I really wanted to take that kitten in to try working with it with physical therapy, massage, etc., and yesterday I was told that the kitten had a seizure and died.  Just like that.  It was a load off my mind, but it was still sad.

What surprises me most is how incessant the calls are, even though I don’t do any advertising.  This week I’ve had two phone calls, one to place a cat and one to place a kitten.  Last month I had a guy leave a phone message saying, “I need to get rid of two dogs… where do I bring them?” I didn’t return his call.  I had someone call me and ask if I had room for a Bloodhound, despite the fact my Petfinder page says I can’t take in dogs.  It also says, No phone calls, but some people just love the phone. 

My current “big case” is a sad one.  A family has to get rid of two cats (brothers) because the young daughter in the family has developed severe asthma.  I truly believe this family has tried everything to enable them to keep the cats, and they just can’t afford to keep running the cats to the vet (to give their daughter a break), and/or the daughter to the doctor.  The cats are friendly and young and handsome and good with kids and dogs, but to complicate matters, one of the cats is blind.  So, I want to make sure the cats are adopted together, as I’m sure they have a special relationship.  I’ve had one hit on my Petfinder site—someone who was terribly enthused about the cats until she found out the case was “urgent”, and then it turned out she was “just looking” to adopt some time down the road.  Now Best Friends is going to send out an alert to their newsletter subscribers in the Las Vegas area, and maybe we’ll get a hit.  The family would like me to take the cats in and foster them until they’re adopted, but I’m very afraid of the delicate “male cat testosterone balance” in our house right now.  We’ve got six male cats under one roof right now, and only one of them sprays, and he sprays in the litterbox.  I can’t get much luckier than that, and I don’t want to tempt fate by inviting more boys to stay with us.  I couldn’t afford it, either… good cat food is very expensive, and two more mouths to feed, even for a short period of time, is too many.

So, cross your fingers that some kind soul will fall in love with Greg and Spiderman (no, really!) and want to adopt them.  I think they’re great cats.  And cross your fingers that we figure out what to do about Bunny and Carlo.  Bunny could be adopted now, but Carlo can’t go anywhere until we figure out what’s wrong with him, and I don’t want to separate them yet.  The vet says to wait four more weeks until blood work can be done on Carlo.  If his liver seems fine, and he’s just “runty”, I may have someone who wants to adopt him and his sister.  If he has a liver problem, no one is jumping at the bit to adopt a fragile kitten who will need expensive surgery within a year.  For a number of reasons, this may be the end of my kitten fostering for a while.  I’m tired, and I think Bunny and Carlo will be residing in the “kitten quarters” for a while to come. 

On a related note, I was accepted as an affiliate member of the IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants).  I believe I’m qualified right now to be an Associate member, which is a step below being fully-certified, but I’m feeling my way around the organization and getting to know people before I apply for the next step up.  My main area of interest is cat behaviour, not just because I have a house full of them, but because I’m realizing that most people give up their pets for behavioural reasons.  I’ve learned so much over the past few years through reading and observing, so joining the IAABC gives me a chance to organize those experiences, and to learn from others.  I hate to admit that I didn’t even know IAABC existed, but I was taking that class in “Feline House Soiling” on VSPN, and I was excited because author Pam Johnson-Bennet was in my class.  She had a reference to IAABC in her sig, and so it began.

Speaking of the Feline House Soiling class, it was fantastic!  I learned a lot from some really smart people, and felt really enthused about tackling behavioural problems when it was through.  I’ve got a class on cat body language coming up, which is a self-study class on DVD, and through VSPN this summer I’ll be taking a class in nutrition for cats with FLUTD, a class in triage and first aid, and a class in canine and feline pain management.  Perhaps I have a future as a behaviourist or nutritional consultant, even without Penn Foster’s help.

I apologize for spelling errors.  So, so sleepy… must get up in five hours…

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/18 at 01:32 AM
The Litterbox • (6) Comments • Permalink
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