Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Need Advice
We had two litters of kittens in the past. We took both to the organization PAWS. Upon being told they were a wonderful organization we felt okay with placing them in their facility for adoption. Monday I have mama kitty scheduled for girl-ectomy. Upon making this appointment I discussed the kittens we have now the volunteer of the spay/neuter clinic; telling her they are almost 8 weeks and we will be taking them to PAWS for adoption. We called PAWS just today and were told they are having an adoption event this weekend. (I found that odd that they inferred our kittens would be up for adoption this weekend given that is not enough time to have them fixed and ready). And then my heart sank as our conversation continued (on the phone with the spay/neuter clinic, not PAWS) . She informed me she used to volunteer for PAWS. And that, yes, they used to be very trustworthy. Within the last year they went under new management and it has become very shady. **disclaimer- just this one PAWS establishment, not all PAWS shelters; as I have heard they are wonderful as a whole. And as this one used to be as well, our kittens were adopted before (she attested to this as she was volunteering there during this time). She went on to tell me under this new management at this paticular shelter they now euthanize almost all kittens anymore but tell you they will be adopted. Can this be? Really! She told me she quit volunteering for them because the management was so horrible and would not budge when it came to euthanizing kittens and or cats. So she left as did many board members. Good for them!! But now I sit here sick to my stomach. Our kittens are 8 weeks. They are ready to be adopted. I don't want to run an ad in the paper because I know sometimes weirdos will try to take them and feed them to their snakes or worse, dog fight stuff. But she is checking into a paper she trusts for us. Still, i dont know. She advised me I could try the Humane Society as they have a better reputation for no-kill and for placing kittens in PetSmart/pet stores reliably; however they only take from within their county. So if we opt for that, we will be looking for someone we know within that county to help us if we take them there. I just do not know what to do. My stomach turns at corrupt places that will lie (and she told me she has personally heard them do it over and over) to people by telling them what they want to hear all while presenting a facade of caring. Any advice on a safe haven I can bring the kittens to in the KY area? We already have 4 cats and two outdoor cats. If we could we would just keep the kittens but we just cannot. Why cant there be a safe place for all kittens and cats in this world? I may have rambled on or written in mixed sentences; sorry, i am just beside myself so i hope this whole post was literate. Advice?!?! And YES mama kitty IS getting fixed on Monday. We will not go thru this again. Ever. Letting go of the kittens for placement is hard enough without worrying if they are actually being adopted. And taking them away from mama kitty just tares me up. No more. For those who has placed kittens , where did you start? Did you try the humane society? I do not know of anyone personally looking for kittens either and our local vet said they don't have adoptions :(
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12 comments:
First, I'd contact the Cat Blogosphere website to advertise what is going on at your local PAWS. There are a LOT of activist bloggers and maybe we can get something accomplished with the current "regime" in your area.
Second, The CB can be a great resource for getting kittens adopted...
Good Luck and I've got my fingers crossed for you.
I agree talk to the CB and maybe they can get the word out and find some homes.
I think you'll be able to screen people if you put an ad in the paper. You just trust your instinct and you'll know if they are legit.
Yeah, just because some calls for an ad doesn't mean you have to adopt to them. Charge them a fee too--that will weed out a lot of the weirdos!
If you are on Facebook, you can look at the Save-A-Cat app there and do a shelter search: http://apps.facebook.com/save-a-cat/#!/save-a-cat/shelters/search
You might find others in your area you could talk to... and if that particular PAWS is in there, maybe you can complain about them? Other than that, what the others have already said - and yes, charge a fee for the kittens! You get better adopters if you put value on the kitties (who, in reality, are priceless anyhow).
i say the humane socity i got to kittens from our local humane socity and were planning on getting a dog from ther to they take good care of the pet they have with play areas and everything with getntal hands and they make sure the the animals get nice loving homes, id say the humane socity is ur best bet.
also ask ur freinds chances are they might want a little kitten of their own and with 2 bright sids one you know there not gonna be wirdos and two you can stil visit them.
Has anyone informed the PAWS headquarters about this kill policy in the local PAWS shelter? I think it would be good someone did. It can really shake your confidence to find out such a dreadful thing about an organisation you trusted previously. But it's good that you found out now rather than later :(
How about widening your field with the vets option a bit. Maybe sit down with the phone book and contact all the vets in say a ten mile area? Maybe they could be persuaded to put the kittens up for adoption. If they could, photos and a little info sheet on each kitten would take away the need for the kittens to be present at the vets. If the staff referred people onto you (their clients who they know) then you could do invite interested parties over to meet the kittens at your home (always best I think) then do a homecheck yourself. I'd charge an adoption fee that included the cost of spay/neuter/vacc' and you could get that done before the kittens go to a new home. I know it's a lot of work, just an idea, and that way you'd be sure that there was no way each kitten would end up reproducing.
Good wishes
Whicky Wuudler
You have done brilliantly looking out for the mummy cat and getting her spayed when her owners don't bother about her.
Oh, dear, what a horrible thing to learn but better now than after you turned your kittens over to them. What they are doing it totally wrong and we wish this could be righted. We send lots of purrs and tail wags for their safe placement.
PS - we added your link to our post today.
How terrible. I have another idea - go to petfinde.com and put in your zip code. It may lead you to rescues in your area that you didn't know existed. But know that they may be full up. I have a kitten I caught in my neighborhood and a local group can't take him but agreed to post his info on petfinder for me. Any little step might help you find them homes. I will be thinking about you all!!!
I would try placing the kittens myself, if you can have them spayed/neutered and up to date on shots and then ask an adoption fee that covers that.
We would be happy to help you get the word out. We could put pictures and contact info on our blog or just link to a post you do on your blog about the kittens. You can contact us at alasandra (at)cableone (dot)net
Everyone has made good suggestions - CB, vets, other shelters - so sad this shelter is not trustworthy. Sending purrs it will work out for the best.
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