30 Cats in one trailer...oh my gosh...

[sasvermont]

Last night when I was volunteering at the shelter I asked about one group of cats that was isolated. It seems that some folks were keeping 30 cats in a trailer, un-vetted, unaltered etc. and boy are they in bad shape.

I am going again tonight, to play and sit with them. Some have eyes missing - all are well fed - all FIP positive..... and only two colors....yellow/tanish or white.... and there are three little white kittens. They have all been spayed/neutered now and are recovering.

I was so angry when I saw the group of them that I could just spit! What sick person(s) would accumulate so many. I can tell that they are all related, so there goes the gene pool variation theme right out the window.

The staff does not know why so many have eyes missing or are blind. My guess is infections unattended.

You know, if people don't have the money and or brains to care for pets, they should not have them. Plain and simple. Same goes for children. Of course you cannot turn in a child if your money runs out.....

I get so darn angry sometimes. .... Sorry if I brought up a tough subject for such a time of year.......

I will give them all a hug from you all, tonight.

SAS:eek:

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Well I guess the good news is that they have been rescued, and will hopefully all find good homes now.

I, too, don't understand people like that, but maybe with the first one or two they thought they were doing good by getting the kitties off the street, but when things started getting out of hand they should have done something before it got to the point of 30 of them!

My guess on the eyes is the infections untreated too. Since they are all FIP positive, it's highly likely they've got that eye/herpes thing going around too. Poor, poor kitties.

Thanks, SAS, for giving them all an extra hug from us. Sound like they really need it.

[hellostranger]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! :mad: People like that make me so angry! I don't understand how anyone can treat animals that way. Poor kitties...

Thanks for all the work you're doing with them, SAS. After working with one stray kitten I feel exhausted and sad - I really admire you for going to the shelter and helping to take care of so many. After you give them a hug from us, please give yourself one, too.

[sasvermont]

I was heartbroken last night when I saw them. I know that someone will adopt them and if not, they will go to a permanent foster home, if that makes any sense. They cannot be put with other catsm that's the problem. The shelter where I volunteer do not put animals down unless they are ill - never because they are unadoptable. That is the only positive side to this story. They will live out their lives in comfort, somewhere. One white kitty has one eye completely clouded over. I will see tonight if she has any vision at all. I will take a camera the next time I go.

Thanks for your well wishes for these kitty cats.

[wayne0214]

it sounds to me like they had unattended clymedia, when they were kittens.

........wayne

[sasvermont]

I spent two hours with a group of 12 of them. They have them in two groups - and some have been adopted. They ask people to take two at a time, since they were such close buddies all their furry lives.

I was in heaven last night. They were all starved for affection and loved me sitting and playing with them. One sat on my lap and wouldn't move. I had them hanging off me all night. Once in awhile one would try to nap but then the others would start jumping around, playing and it was just too tempting and then they would all start.

The really sad ones had skinned up noses and eyes missing. I don't think any one cat is totally blind. Some have one clouded over eye....some just missing an eye. I haven't seen the other group.

The shelter is brand new and they have a state of the art facility now. Each room has an easy chair(s) and lots of tables, cubby holes and platforms. They even have scatter rugs.... just like home.... I will take pictures next time.

I was (NEW rule) only able to play with one group last night and will switch to the other group on Thursday night. The shelter is trying to keep the disease spreading problem down and allow volunteers in only one area per night. They keep bleach in pan outside the critical areas, for feet swiping etc.

I will try to remember to take my camera tomorrow night.

These kitties need good homes and some individual attention.... they are all very jealous of each other..... it showed.... I think attachment to each other only goes so far - and after that, jealousy plays a big role in their lives.

What a mess. What a furry delight for me though!:cool:

[Logan]

I'm so glad they have you, Sallyanne, to help them learn the real meaning of love. What a terribly sad situation. :( I hope that each of them will find wonderful, loving homes. The shelter sounds marvelous! Wouldn't it be great to have more like them all over the world? Wishful thinking............but better yet, it would be great if there were no need for shelters at all.

[shais_mom]

Sounds similiar to the story on Animal Planets Animal Cops where they found one man living in a house with 247 cats that came from and unaltered pair. They were wild jumping on the people as the walked by. They were all euthanized unfortunately.And they didn't press charges b/c the man was mentally ill, I believe they did something to help him, tho.

[BastetsMum]

I congratulate you for your compassion towards the group of kitties first off. Secondly it sounds like that they all were infected by a disease as kittens which is why their eyes could be clouded over. I know that the Cat flu can cause that. Also what is FIP?

[sasvermont]

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is spread via Feline Coronavirus (FCoV),a virus endemic to most multi-cat environments. There is a new vaccine for FIP however, statistics are still being gathered on the extent of the protection it provides to cats.

Bordetellabronchiseptica (kennel cough) is a disease first thought to only affect dogsbut recently, laboratories have tested cats and found them to be infectedwith Bordetella.

They have been exposed to so many out of control diseases, since they were never vetted.

I suspect they have/had this too:

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR, also known as Feline Herpesvirus) is arespiratory disease caused by Feline Herpesvirus type 1. Symptoms includessneezing, coughing, photosensitivity (where the eyes are sensitive tolight), swelling in the conjunctiva (eyelid tissues) in one or both eyeswith discharge from eyes and nose. Depression and lack of appetite andfevers may be seen. Ulcers of the eye may develop and may lead to severe eye infections or blindness.



Yikes.


:eek:

[Pam]

:( :( :( This is just too sad to even ponder. Another misguided person creates kitty misery for so many. I hope that some of them can grow up to live 'normal' lives. I look forward to the pictures although I am sure they will make me sad. {{{Hugs}}} to you for being there for them. :)

[smokey the elder]

FIP is dangerous and there is NO unequivocal test for it. The good news is that it typically only affects cats with otherwise compromised immune systems (FIV, FLV, etc.) The bad news is that this collector's cats probably are all compromised and have genetic damage to boot. Poor kitties!

[sasvermont]

I forgot my camera today - so no pictures. I surely hope someone has adopted a couple of these guys and gals.

I will have a good time playing with them....etc....so I will be happy....and I suspect they will be happy having me there for 2 hours!

Catch you later.

SAS:)

[sasvermont]

http://www.chittendenhumane.org/cats/Gordy.jpg
Gordy

He has 7 or 8 toes on each front foot and extras on the back as well. All of the orange cats have too many toes.

Can't wait to see them all tonight!
:D

www.chittendenhumane.org
http://www.chittendenhumane.org/cats/Charlie.jpg
Charlie - his right eye is cloudy....

http://www.chittendenhumane.org/cats/Denim.jpg
Denim - one of the more friendly ones...
http://www.chittendenhumane.org/cats/Gurvin.jpg
Gurvin

The others are not listed because they are not so very friendly...these photos came from the Humane Society's web page...not from my camera....

[hellostranger]

What a sweetheart with his "mittens"! The picture makes me want pick him up and kiss him between his ears!

Has anyone been interested in adopting them yet? I am so glad they are in a no-kill shelter. Thanks again for looking after these furries. :)

[sasvermont]

I will know more tonight. I will ask about the numbers. I know that they have them in two groups - and know that there were 12 in the group I sat with on Tuesday. I suspect the kittens (white) will go quickly. They just reunited them with the group this week. They are around 8 weeks old now.

I will fill you in tonight.

SAS

[Randi]

Originally posted by Logan
I'm so glad they have you, Sallyanne, to help them learn the real meaning of love. What a terribly sad situation. :( I hope that each of them will find wonderful, loving homes. The shelter sounds marvelous! Wouldn't it be great to have more like them all over the world? Wishful thinking............but better yet, it would be great if there were no need for shelters at all.
Logan, you said it so well! :)

Sas, I just saw the picture of the orange guy - he's just wonderful! I really hope someone will adopt these kitties! Thanks for caring! I wish I could come along and hug them all! :)

[sasvermont]

Well, there were 11 in the one "condo" unit tonight. I stopped at the store and bought 3 good cat toys, so I was a big hit! They actually liked the price tags better than the toys!

It was fun playing with them all again. Next week I will head to the "East Dorm" to visit with the rest of them. Hopefully more will have been adopted out by then.

By the way, there were 32 to start and now are 25 left. They said 8 or 9 had only one eye. So the East Dorm must have the rest of the guys with one eye. There are more orange cats than white, so my guess is that they are mostly male cats.

Anyway, things were fun tonight. They were playing with my keys, shoes and socks.... and they were FULL OF IT most of the time...running, jumping, playing....it was fun to see. A couple of them sat in my lap for about 10 minutes each...then off on a chase!

I will go twice a week until the majority of them are adopted. It is unheard of to bring in 32 cats at one time, so the shelter is packed with cats. And these cats cannot mingle with the general population due to illnesses they have had and have been exposed to.....

Stay tuned.

=^..^= x 32

[Candy16]

Oh, the picture of the kitty you posted is absolutely adorable! I can't see how anyone could do such a thing to such wonderful, loving creatures. If they are all as cute as that multi-fingered doll-baby I saw, I don't know how anyone could pass them up! You are an angel in disguise for working as hard as you do for them. You go girl!! :D

[sasvermont]

I posted more near the original picture...one is cuter than the other....!

[smokey the elder]

This sounds a lot like a rescue Little Orphan Animals did this summer. An old man was feeding approx. 2 dozen cats, mostly orange. We pulled, vetted and fostered them; there was a fairly high mortality among the kittens and possible genetic damage, but a lot of the kittens were adopted and are doing really well. If the colony in the trailer had orange and white cats, then it's probably close to 50/50 male/female.

I'm glad these kittens are socializing well!

[hellostranger]

SAS,

How are the kitties doing? Have some of them been adopted?

Laura

[RussianBlueKitty03]

Yeah please keep us updated!! I just read through the whole thing and I hope theres a happily ever after at the end

[sasvermont]

I didn't visit the Humane Society this week, but last week I went twice. While I was there with these guys, one little fella was adopted. It was Charlie, actually. Two of the three white kittens were adopted, and slowly they are getting out of there. There were only 7 left last week. Once they are all adopted, it will free up one entire condo for several other cats .... individual ones and not so restricted.

It has been fun to see them form relationships with the inn keepers and how they now love to have visitors.....they are socialized now...and I had a tiny part of that fun. They really broke my heart when I first saw them. There were so many and from what I understand, 9 had one eye, most have jaw and teeth issues and the kittens (3) had heart problems from inbreeding so much.

So the ending to this story is not a fabulous one, but a good one. This particular part of Vermont has a great shelter and a great concerned community. As you get further out in the sticks (where I live) the farmers etc. tend to treat their animals less nicely. Not all farmers, but many just let their dogs and cats run and they shoot them when they become a burden. Such is life unfortunately.

I will let you know when the last kitty has been adopted, which probably won't be TOO long!

Thanks for asking.;)

[Karen]

Thank you so much for keeping us updated - what a heartbreak - so many sad kitties, partially blind, sick, all because of unthinking people. But then so much joy you have had playing with and bringing toys (and price tags) to so many kitties.. And how much joy they will bring, we hope, to however many homes they fill - that, my friends, will be unmeasurable!

[mel55smiles]

NEAR OUR HOUSE WE HAVE A CAT COLLECTOR, WITH 60+ CATS
AND NONE OUR ALTERED, BECAUSE EVERY TIME YOU PASS BY THEIR IS AT LEAST TEN MORE CATS,.


CAT COLLECTORS ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY ARE HELPING BY GIVNG CATS A HME BUT REALLY THEY ARE ONLY MAKNG IT WORSE,
ONE DAY I SAW A KITTEN, ABUOT 6 WEEKS OLD OVER THEIR, WITH A BULGING EYE...:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[sandragonfly]

Originally posted by shais_mom
Sounds similiar to the story on Animal Planets Animal Cops where they found one man living in a house with 247 cats that came from and unaltered pair. They were wild jumping on the people as the walked by. They were all euthanized unfortunately.And they didn't press charges b/c the man was mentally ill, I believe they did something to help him, tho.

What the....jesus..how did that mental ill man got those kittens in first place??? That means there's other mental ill people out there...giving him these cats in need! Shais_mom, when I see this story, I understood and simply am boiled...I also once saw on a show, "ASPCA" (one of my favorite show) - A woman who had those animals and was never found...that had 173 cats, and 56 dogs...ALL in a small shelter! The show also showed the video of this ugly, gross, terrible shelter...crumbs of mold, bacteria, old food, several leftover turkeys, chickens, about an inch of liquid on the carpet, (water,milk,V-8, etc.), no beds, no dry areas and all!! I was like HUH?? Where does she lives!!!

I always dreamed and dreamed to have this small-kind of electric device...and ask a question to it, "Where are the kittens that are in need" and Dog-God will answer, "By the coffe store in SF on Lombard" or "By the creek in Oregon across the street, Udsteam".. - Applies to all of the animals so that we can SAVE THEM ALL Anytime!!!...anywhere!!! *tears falling*

[Jasonscatmom]

I know exactly how you feel, I went in and removed over 175 cats and kittens from a cat collector's house and the smell was sickening and it was dark and all the animals were silver or black or Siamese and very few were altered, but I had to remain calm to get all the cats out before the county stepped in to euthanize them. It is sickness with some people. keep up the good work the kitty's need you.

[NoahsMommy]

Oh my goodness, this is so sad!

I'm so glad that they were rescued and brought to a good place. You are wonderful for helping out so much, you really do help with your time, the cats crave it.

They are so cute too, I'm sure they'll we adopted soon. :)

[sasvermont]

I went to the humane society on Tuesday but didn't sit with the trailer kitties this time. Another volunteer was already sitting with them so I went to another "kitty condo" and played with four cats that did not like to mingle with other cats. They were caged individually, so I played with them one at a time. I did check on the trailer kitties and no more had been adopted. I am not worried as this shelter is a no kill one and they have the space to keep them.

A couple of the trailer cats have such bad feet and eyes that I doubt if they will ever be adopted. They will probably end up in a permanent foster home. I will keep you posted!

:)

[Jasonscatmom]

Originally posted by mel55smiles
NEAR OUR HOUSE WE HAVE A CAT COLLECTOR, WITH 60+ CATS
AND NONE OUR ALTERED, BECAUSE EVERY TIME YOU PASS BY THEIR IS AT LEAST TEN MORE CATS,.


CAT COLLECTORS ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY ARE HELPING BY GIVNG CATS A HME BUT REALLY THEY ARE ONLY MAKNG IT WORSE,
ONE DAY I SAW A KITTEN, ABUOT 6 WEEKS OLD OVER THEIR, WITH A BULGING EYE...:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:


Hi, I am new to this site but I am wondering why this neighbor is allowed to have that many cats? Every county has a limit on cat ownership, in mine we are allowed only five. Can't you call animal control and have the cat's removed? Cat Collecting is illegal and if you turn these people in you will be doing a great service to those cats. If there is a rescue group in your area they can also work with animal control and go in and take the cats.
I am with a no kill rescue group and we work closely with animal control in these situations and the cats are always found with health problems that could have been resolved if caught earlier.

[mel55smiles]

WE LIVE IN THE COUNTRY.

SHE IS MY BEST-BEST FREINDS GRANMOTHER.

SHE IS ALSO MOVING TO OHIO SOON, I DON'T WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE CATS...

[MissyB]

We have Spay Neuter Programs in our area that provide free or low cost Spay /neuter to those who cannot afford it. Maybe you could do a search for something similar in your local area.

If you think she will be moving soon and unable to take the cats with her you may want to help her get as many spayed/neutered and adopted as possible before she goes. Unfortunately most shelters do euthanize and with those numbers it is unlikely they would be able to take them all in one go especially since you say you live in the country.

Try and find a good rescue group in your area who will be able to give you advice on how to deal with the problem. Most shelters are totally donation funded so they may not have the resources to take the cats but most are willing to offer advice.

If the younger cats are sociable then they stand a better chance of finding a home, the sooner you can get them spayed/neutered the better their chances of finding a loving family.

Our local Spay Neuter Program offers Free S/N to cats under 6 months who haven't had a litter and is as little as $5 for a cat over 6 months/ or has had a litter.

If there is anything I can do to help let me know. If you need advice on listing cats for adoption, making your own website with pictures and bios or anything else web related just shout :)

[Jasonscatmom]

Originally posted by mel55smiles
WE LIVE IN THE COUNTRY.

SHE IS MY BEST-BEST FREINDS GRANMOTHER.

SHE IS ALSO MOVING TO OHIO SOON, I DON'T WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE CATS...


I live in a unincorporated area known as a green strip but we do have a shelter and you are not required to give your name when reporting an animal problem, maybe you can just tip them off. You might ask your friend what is going to happen to the cats and offer her help her Grandmother as a friend of the family, I know a lot of rescue groups that will come pretty far if they can help and they all have foster homes, The Grandmother might be worrying about the cats herself but doesn't know where to get help before moving. Every Rescue group in the country is listed on the web it's something to think about. I would be happy to help if I can.

[mel55smiles]

THANKS I WILL TALK TO BECCA AT SCHOOL TOMMOROW.




IF I NEED ANY HELP I WILL LET YOU KNOW MISTYB.

[sasvermont]

Well, I went to play with my little buddies last night. Only four left. Two white females and two orange boys. They all have issues, of course, but I am hoping that some kind soul will come along and take them two at a time. They were enjoying not having so much competition as before and they played like there was no tomorrow, last night. I really got to know them better this time. The shelter had a great adoption weekend this past weekend and many of the shelter's cats were adopted. There is a beautiful orange female kitten (along with her brother - black ) and boy am I tempted. Miley would NEVER forgive me if I brought another cat home. She is just now playing with Gabe and it has been several months since Gabe arrived.

Anyway, four left! :)

[hellostranger]

That's such good news! I'm so glad that the kitties are feeling happy and playful and so many of them got good homes. I like a kitty story that has a happy ending. :) Thanks for keeping us posted!

the voice of temptation: take the kitties....take the kitties....take the kitties.... Ooops, sorry SAS....usually that little voice only talks to me :D

[RussianBlueKitty03]

Well I hope that they all get adopted soon!