This is such a Sad Story.. I just want to Cry for you & O.C... That is just Horrible that you had to make that decision.. Poor You & the Baby O.C... Many Many Huggss & RIP wittle O.C.= Play Hard at the Bridge..
Quote Originally Posted by pomtzu View Post
No problem - I'll TRY to be brief!

O.C. and Sherbie were/are resident strays for several years - outside kitties taking up residence here - and I fed them. O.C. sustained an injury to his leg, so I took him to the vet for treatment. Being that it was an injury of unknown origin, my vet would have to consider the possibility of a bite by a rabid animal (I live in a rural area), and I had no proof of a rabies vaccine. That left only 2 options - one was to cage quarantine him here for 6 full months with only one person allowed to care for/treat him for that time, and the second was euthanasia. Since the quarantine would have been next to impossible, there was no alternative.

Then to make matters worse, my vet was required by law to report it as possible rabies to animal control. I in turn, was served the following day with a citation by animal control for failing to vaccinate MY cat. It seems DE law says that if you provide food to an animal for 3 days, then the state considers you the owner. I pleaded not guilty and took it to court, and the case was dismissed on a technicality.

So I was punished for feeding him and then trying to care for him when he got injured, rather than let him wander off into the woods and die a slow and painful death when the infection took over - and he lost his life because I elected to help him. It's a shame that the state doesn't put more time and effort in to punishing those guilty of neglect and abuse to animals, and not those who are being humane to them. Sends a very bad message - IMO!