Thanks!!

Thanks to everyone who commented on that last post. I was surprised when I come home from work and read them. Thanks!

I wanted to do one more post on pets. I have had the fortune of having some great pets. Today I live in the country and we have about 3 acres that we mow. It gives the pets plenty of room to run without being near a road. I use to live in the city. I lived in Daytona Beach, Florida for awhile. Moved to LA- California. It is a lot harder to have a pet in the city.

I have met many people who feel that it is OK to drop unwanted pets in the country. These people think that someone will take them in. Most of my neighbors, including Nancy and I, already have too many animals. We can't take in anymore.

Every so often, I will see some strange cat show up. The poor thing is terrified. Some cats are so thin you can see every bone in their body. I have no idea how long they have been without food and water. People think cats can hunt for mice and feed themselves. That is true, but they are competing with other cats in the neighborhood. Cats are very territorial and the land has already been claimed by some other cat. They will fight with this new cat until blood is drawn. Nighttime is the worst. Coyote's will gang up on a cat.

My one neighbor is an avid hunter. He hunts everything. Turkeys, deer, rabbits, even squirrels. If a cat spends too much time on his property and disturbs his pets, he will shoot it.

Another neighbor of mine is a farmer. He takes in many cats. He might have ten cats at any one time. This farmer uses the cats as pest control. He feeds them just enough so they will stay around, but he basically starves them so they will hunt mice, rats, and moles. His cats look like little skeletons. It is borderline abuse, but that is the way his family has done things for generations. Besides, if he didn't take in all these cats, the poor things would have been hit by cars or killed by coyote's.

It may sound like I am being petty, but this is way out of hand. Nancy and I had one cat die yesterday. We have another cat that showed up starving and pregnant. "Who would drop off a pregnant pet?" This poor cat was being attacked by everything. We had to take her in. We have two male cats right now that are hanging around. They must be brothers because they cling to each other. "We can't take in anymore pets."

I will take a walk on the property in the evening. I find these two young cats hiding under a bush near the road. It just breaks my heart. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. "These two males are waiting for their owner to come back." The owner isn't coming back.

It costs about $10 to run an ad in the newspaper. I would say please try that first. You may be surprised and find someone to take your pet. If not, please take them to the animal shelter. I know it is a hard thing to do. But it is better for the pet.

Dropping a pet off in the country is NOT a humane thing to do. These pets are not prepared for all the wild creatures out there...AR...

PS.. Here is a picture of the babies the female stray had. We found homes for all of them. The mother is still here.. She is a house cat now. (if you click on the bottom black section it will give you a bigger picture.)