Advice welcome

I'm new to this forum, but not new to cats - LOL!!

This woman who lives a few doors from us is an irresponsible pet owner. I reported her to the local Humane Society last winter because of the conditions her dog was forced to be in daily. Now we are deeply involved with her cats.

She got one in the spring of 2002. That cat had 5 kittens in June 2002. She kept one of them. Neither has been spayed. The Momma cat had another litter of 3 this past April. They kept 1 from that litter. So now she has 3.

Come September and Momma is pregnant again, and has 4 babies in our back yard. I call the woman - she didn't know the Momma was pregnant!! After a day or so, she comes and gets the kittens and Momma. So Momma is back at our house the next day looking for food. Well, I'm a sucker for a cute face so I continue to feed her - I know I shouldn't have.

When the kittens are 4 weeks old, momma moves them back to the place they were born - in our back yard. this time it takes 3 days for this woman to come and get them, and she puts them right back in her garage where they had been living. When I saw the condition of this garage, I cried. Two absolutely filthy litter pans, not a shred of a rug or blanket or towel for Momma and the kittens to lie on.

The next week we go on vacation. We have two fantastic neighbors who watch out for our 4 - and end up with the kittens again. But Momma moved them back to the garage after 3 days. Then the morning after we get home, Momma brings them back again.

That was this past Monday. The kittens are now 6 weeks old. I was totally fed up with this person and her total lack of caring. I have found a place for the kittens - they are warm, and fed, and loved - and will get proper Vet care and be neutered/spayed so the cycle will end with them.

Apparently she doesn't know that the kittens are gone - or perhaps she doesn't care? Anyway - now we have Momma and her daughter from the 1st litter to deal with. They spend every night on my back porch. I don't know what to do about them - we can't adopt them - we have 4, and my husband is allergic - but a saint!! And one of our 4 was the one she kept from the April litter.

If I call her, she will just put them in the garage, from which they will leave again tomorrow. She also has her house for sale.

Suggestions anyone??

I apologize for being so long-winded on my first post. Thanks for listening.

Grace

Grace, first of all welcome to PT. You're a cat saint IMHO (along with your wonderful husband!) I know many on this board can be more helpful than I can. Perhaps there is a rescue shelter nearby that will help you get mama cat and daughter spayed for free or a very nominal fee and rehomed? I dunno .... this is where the rest of the PT gang pitches in .... :)

Bless you for taking on this situation. Can you "foster" this mamma and her babies and find them good homes yourself? I did a search for Michigan no-kill shelters, and found this website that had some links. They may be able to help also. We adopted our kitty (Cammie) from a no-kill shelter. She has a forever home with us. Please let us know how this turns out.

p.s. A stray boy kept jumping in my sister's window. He obviously belonged to someone but they weren't feeding him or taking care of him. She put a collar on him with her phone number on it. NO ONE ever called her and asked shy she had put a collar on THEIR cat. So, we took him to the vet got him neutered and a through exam, and she belongs to him now. That mamma kitty knows a good thing when she sees it. I wonder if the lady would even notice if you had her spayed -- I doubt it!

http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm

Michigan

2nd Chance Animal Adoption Agency
ADOPT-A-PET - Western Michigan
Adopt-A-Pet, Inc, Fenton
All Paws Animal Rescue, Ann Arbor
Animals Deserve Adequate Protection Today & Tomorrow
Animal Placement Bureau in Lansing, MI
Animal Welfare Society of Southeastern Michigan
Betsy's Haven Rescue
Cat Connection, Berkeley
Charly's Exotic and Small Animal Rescue
Companion Cat Adoption Agency, Grand Blanc
GreyHeart Greyhound Rescue/Adoption of Michigan
Help Orphaned Pets Everywhere, Ironwood
Humane Society of Saginaw County
Jethro's Place Animal Sanctuary, Memphis
Kalamazoo Animal Rescue, Kalamazoo
K-9 Stray Rescue League, Oxford
Mason County Humane Society,
Michigan Animal Adoption Network
Michigan Animal Rescue League, Inc., Pontiac
Mid Michigan Society for Animal Protection, Mason
P.A.W.S., Sault Ste Marie
Pets Alive, Inc.
Volunteers For Animals in Utica, Michigan
West Michigan SPCA, Muskegon

Welcome to Pet Talk Grace. :) I'm so sorry to hear that your neighbor doesn't seem to care about her cats. :( She shouldn't be allowed to have animals in the first place. Hopefully you can get some help from a local rescue organization. Maybe Moosmom ,who is a Pet Talker, can help you or give you some advice since she lives in Michigan. Good luck and please keep us updated. :)

Welcome to pet talk. I wonder if you can ask the lady (if she comes to pick up the cats again) "will you be taking the cats when you move?". She might have every intention of just leaving them (people do, you know). If that were the case you could with all clear conscience find them a shelter or rescue group or foster home so they have the chance to find new homes.

kuhio – the babies are no longer here. They were 6 weeks old on Monday, and went to a place where they are warm and loved and getting all appropriate Vet care. And good homes will be found for them. Thank you for the list of shelters – it is much appreciated. I can’t foster the Momma and her other daughter. We have four of our own – that’s one more than we planned on. Douglas is allergic and we are retired, on fixed incomes. If I could, I would, but I can’t!!

jenluckenbach – I wish it were as easy as talking to her!! We have had difficulties with this woman and her animals going back 5 years. The last time I spoke with her – when the kittens were a month old, and Momma had brought them back to where they were born – she gave me this long song-and-dance story about one of her daughters seems to be allergic, and she doesn’t know where she will be moving, yada, yada, yada. I call and tell her the cats are here – she sends one of the kids over – the next morning the cats are back. The animals LIVE in her garage. They are never in the house. She leaves the garage door open about 4-5 inches at the bottom. There are not kitty beds or rugs to sleep on; the daughters just throw the food on the cement floor. And since her divorce, and he doesn't give her any $ $ $, she doesn't have enough to have the cats fixed!! But there's enough for dancing lessons for the kids, and enough to pay somone else to cut her grass. She disgusts me!!

Momma brought the kittens back Monday – no one from that house has so much as asked if any of the neighbors have seen them.

I mentioned in my original post that Momma had a litter in April, and they kept one of those kittens. He is now 6 months old, and has been living with us for a month – and no one has ever asked if any of us have seen him. He has been neutered, had all appropriate vaccines, and decided living indoors is a wonderful thing!!

The last two, Momma and her daughter from the first litter (June of 2002) have been sleeping on our back porch every night for the past week. I wonder if anyone over there has even noticed they are gone??