Dumping a kitten
Grace Short, rural Emporia
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I hope this reaches the person who dumped a kitten on Road 170 east of Emporia Sept. 2. Luckily I heard the hysterical mewing just before going in for the night. We tracked it down to a kitten about 8 weeks old. It was cold, hungry and terrified. We brought it up to the house and fed it.
To those who think dumping animals out in the county is fine, please think again. A tiny kitten is fair game to bobcats, coyotes, foxes and even large possums. If it manages to avoid becoming supper it will die a slow death of starvation unless someone happens across it in time.
The trauma to the little kitten is severe. It has cried pretty well nonstop and is hiding except to sneak out to eat and drink. It will take careful handling and lots of loving attention to get this kitten past this experience.
We have three cats, one a dump, one a kitten of a dumped cat. Since we take responsibility for our pets and get them vaccinated and neutered, we can’t afford another cat. I will make a poster to hang at the pet store and try to find a home for this kitten. That is how we found a home for the last cat dumped by our home.
Next time you have an unwanted pet, PLEASE turn it into the shelter or take the five minutes to advertise it for free at the pet store! The sheer audacity of dumping your problem on someone else’s property infuriates me. Those of us who live out in the country are not responsible for all the unwanted pets of Emporia. It tears us up when we have to put a sick or starving cat or dog down. If someone wants to kill a kitten, please don’t involve others next time!
I hope others take heed and keep their pet problems to themselves.
Comments
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justamom (anonymous) says...
That poor harmless helpless kitten. How sad. Thank you for caring enough to at least feed and water the scared thing and try to find it a home. Bless you.
September 17, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
People who care for the least among us, including helpless animals, are the best ambassadors of the human race possible. Thank you for the care given to this small creature.
September 17, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Church_of_doG (anonymous) says...
Never advertise "free" kittens or puppies. It a life has no value, sometimes it's treated that way. Seemingly "good" people answer these ads, putting the kitten in with the python for it's meal, and the puppy out to the pit bulls to "play" with, or worse. Give the kitten a flea or worm treatment, something of value then at least charge an adoption fee, sometimes that's all it takes to keep the scary people away from getting their hands on the "free" little defenseless guys.
September 17, 2008 at 4:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jcwhit232 (anonymous) says...
We also have had cats dumped on us and the last time there were three kittens and two of those poor little things were ran over down the road from us and the third one showed up on our doorstep two days later. These were not wild cats, it took me all of 3 min. to get the kitten to come to me. It was very friendly and trusting, who did it trust so much that it let itself be picked up, put into a car and dumped on the side of the road like unwanted trash? It is heart wrenching and now I have another pet to feed along with the other two male cats someone dumped on us last year, plus the one someone ran over the year before that and left for dead that we picked up out of the road and cared for until its broken leg was mended, and is now the best house cat ever. Please people, care for your animals cause times are getting hard for everyone and we can't keep doing it for you.
September 17, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
People who treat helpless, trusting, innocent animals like that are the lowest form of human life. Thank you, Ms. Short, for your compassion and heart in rescuing this poor animal. I would love to find out what lowlife degenerate dumped this kitten. I would give that person a taste of what the kitten went through.
September 17, 2008 at 5:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Thanks for all the kind comments. The story has a happy ending. A woman from Emporia read this and called to see if I still had the kitten. I did and she wanted him. I took him in to her and they hit it off right away. She had several well cared for and loved pets she showed me. Now the little guy has a loving home. I'm very grateful to her generous heart that was willing to take in a rescued animal.
Grace Short
September 17, 2008 at 8:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Good job, Grace. I like your name: it fits you well.
September 17, 2008 at 10:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
Oh! And thanks to the kind lady who called and adopted the kitten.
September 17, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
It seems that we only hear about bad news and read about people who are exercising their First Amendment rights to tell the rest of us how stupid they are. Sometimes, I worry about mankind. Then a story like this comes along and it makes me realize that there are some very good and kindhearted people out there.
September 17, 2008 at 11:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
i know alot of animals are purposely dumped in the country, i know a couple of people who are convinced the animals will find a great home that way. the flip side is my cat strayed when i left him with a relative in the country to be babysat, i would have been happy if someone would have found him and used the freebies ads so i could have my cat back, some of those animals may have owners looking for them. im glad the kitten found a good home.
September 18, 2008 at 12:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
Sorry about your cat, slipandslide. If you're like me, my pets become part of the family, and losing one is very difficult indeed. I hope that you find him.
September 18, 2008 at 1:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
They make safety cat collars. I keep one on each of my cats and put the rabies tag on it. Sometimes they slip them and I keep a couple spares around. Even without a tag on it, if someone finds a cat with a collar they know to look for an owner nearby. Cats don't like the collars at first but adapt well. I put bells on my cats to help protect the birds, too. Just an idea for your next cat, slipandslide. We lost one of our cats but he finally made it home. We're pretty sure he jumped up on the trailer loaded with hay across the road and went for a ride several miles down the road. He made it home over a week later, footsore and skittish. So don't give up hope just yet.
September 18, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
the tags on my dog work good, hes been returned to me several times by kind folks who would take time to pick him up and use the information on the tag to get in touch with me. the cat didnt like the collar hes been gone a couple months now, so he has either found a new home or run into an animal thats bigger than him. i guessing he didnt find a home. im glad the kitten found a good home. animals are sweet.
September 18, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
In a world gone wild with politics and Wall Street woes, how refreshing it is to hear about someone who is willing to devote a little time to finding a stray kitten a home, and how appropriate for Bj to compare Grace to her name.
Someone who would dump a helpless baby animal would likely harm a child too. Spaying and neutering takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
September 18, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nutsaboutools (anonymous) says...
Jayhawker,
I couldn't have said it better. I often get so disappointed and frustrated with the human race (or in-human race), and then I read about such wonderful people like Grace and the woman who adopted the kitten. There's still some hope for mankind. Thank you Grace :)
October 23, 2008 at 11:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )