Heartbreaker

Living in the country we have our fair share of cats that show up periodically. Sometimes they stick around for a while, sometimes they're gone as quickly as they showed up. This cat showed up Friday afternoon (although I didn't see her until Sunday). Art had left the boot room door open (as he has a habit of doing) and, later, found her trying to claw through a bag of dog food. She hissed at him and ran away, but Art figured it was just another feral cat. Sunday afternoon, I was sitting outside when this cute, loveable calico came up to me, meowing. Everyone knows I can't stand a hungry animal so I gave her a little bowl of milk. Afterwards, I was petting her and I could see that she had been through a few fights (not uncommon with feral cats) and that she was bone-thin. There wasn't a scrap of meat on her which is unusual. Feral cats might be lean, but they're not boney. It was then I noticed that she did not have her front claws. I was incensed. It was obvious someone had dumped her out in the country instead of dropping her off at a shelter. I suppose it's possible that she ran away and got lost five miles from town- we've all seen that movie with the two dogs and a cat who brave forrest and mountain ranges to get back to their families...but it's unlikely.


Here's the thing- domesticated housecats that have been raised inside and are without their front claws cannot survive in the wild. They are not barn cats that are born in a field, ditch or barn and are taught how to find and kill food by their mothers. Housecats cannot defend themselves, they don't know how to hunt and would have difficulty killing without claws. By dumping a housecat in the country you are only insuring that it will die from starvation, dehydration or killed by a preditor. I'm generally not a religious person, but I sincerely believe that animals are God's creatures. Never is an animal born evil, it is the people who supposedly care for them that cause it and it breaks my heart to see it happen so often. Whoever thought it was a good idea to dump this poor cat in the country is an a**hole and I wonder if s/he will dump their kids in the country if ever they tire of them. But I've gone off on a tangent so let's get back on course...


After several calls around Cedar county- the vet, animal shelter and police department (all of which were closed. FYI- Tipton police don't work on Sundays, so you just have to leave a message and hopefully they will get back to you eventually...). I finally contacted the sheriff's department and spoke to a lovely lady who told me that, apparently, Cedar county doesn't have 'animal control' but she would try and find someone to pick up the cat and take it to the shelter. I decided that I would just take Kitty (as I began to call her- I'm not too creative when it comes to naming cats) to the shelter and save them some time, so off to Walmart I went to buy cat food, litter, and other sundries. I put her in the boot room, made a make-shift bed and litter box, hoping she would remember how to use it (she did!) but layed out some puppy training pads, just in case.

At this point I had to figure out what to do with her. While I like cats I'm not really a cat person and, judging by the way she hissed at Buddy, she was not a dog person (er, cat). I couldn't think of anyone who would want to take a mostly-starved-but-cuddly kitty. The best place for her was the local shelter, Friends of the Animals, but they weren't open until Monday morning. This is the same place where we found Buddy and Linda and I won't go anywhere else. I borrowed my friend's cat carrier and asked my kindly neighbor if she would drop her off in the morning along with the bags of cat food and litter (I didn't have use for them and I know the shelter would). All went well and I hope that they are able to get her back to healthy and that someone will see her and take her home. So, if you are on www.petfinder.com in the next couple of weeks and see a female calico with a scar between her ears, go get her because all she wants is for you to love her.